“One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all.” _MLK Jr. When you see a speed limit sign, do you intentionally go faster? When you hear
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“Human rights are a fine thing, but how can we make ourselves sure that our rights do not expand at the expense of the rights of others. A society with unlimited rights is incapable of standing to adversity. If we do not wish to be ruled by a coercive authority, then each of us must
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One of the major sticking points with statists considering agorism, or any form of anarchy really, is the idea of national defense. They take this as a necessary element of life, despite even statist examples such as Costa Rica, that proves that a national defense or standing army is unneeded. If we are going
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Who makes the laws? Who controls us today? Who decides what we can and cannot do? The answer is simple: the government, obviously. But this simple and accurate answer is also misleading. It allows for some equivocation. What is the government after all? In the fields of political science and political philosophy, it is
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The apathetic are apathetic. We are highly unlikely to inspire them to take action. A few might be more resigned than apathetic and they might be open to agorism as a path to real freedom and respect for persons, but overall, a person who is just trying to get by won’t care about our message.
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Is convenience always a good thing? Of course it is! Who doesn’t want life to be more convenient? We measure much of human progress in convenience. Easier travel, more access to food, easier communication, and more are the hallmarks of progress. Right? We live in a world where most everything is convenient. What
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“What, then, is the school of today, no matter whether public, private, or parochial? It is for the child what the prison is for the convict and the barracks for the soldier — a place where everything is being used to break the will of the child, and then to pound, knead, and shape it
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A new destination requires a new direction. As agorists, we are actively trying to change the world we live in. Unlike some anarchists, we are not merely trying to stir the pot, we have specific goals in mind. We seek to reach a peaceful and voluntary society through demonstrating the effectiveness of voluntary interaction. To
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Agorists often speak of organizations, including businesses, that we can create to promote freedom. As these often help those not familiar with agorism or anarchism see peaceful ways to progress this is a great approach. These alternatives address immediate practical concerns, which is often a great way to get others on board. However, there is
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Thanks to the covid-19 virus, or more accurately, the hysteria that came as a result of it, we are facing a great many changes in social interaction for the foreseeable future. As agorists we ought not sit idly by merely allowing these changes to happen to us. Instead, let us take positive action to make
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We are seeing governments around the world doing what they always do, which is telling people what they are allowed to do, of course without any moral basis. Worse yet in most cases, it is without any reasoned belief in the success of their actions. Those in power tell people that they are taking action
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In most anarchist circles it is taken for granted that the black market is a great ally and resource. Is that really the case though? Are there negatives inherent to the black market? Could it be that the black market actually helps the state, perhaps as much as the state creates the conditions for black
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The Building Trades: An Opportunity Uniquely Suited to Agorism. Today, the skills gap is wider than it’s ever been. The cost of college tuition has soared faster than the cost of food, energy, real estate, and health care. Student loan debt is the second highest consumer debt category in the United States with more than
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What actions should we engage in as agorists trying to make a better world despite the legal obstacles? That question may be impossible to answer in a precise manner. The actions we choose to take will depend factors from our opportunities, abilities, and of course the level of risk we are willing to take. First, I would suggest that we stay focused on helping others. Secondly, we stay focused on depriving the state of taxes. This helps us stay focused on the bigger picture of transitioning to a free society, as opposed to just reacting negatively to the existence of tyranny.
Agorism embraces the idea of basic respect for persons, though Konkin may never have spelled it out in these terms. The core idea is that the individual is inherently worthwhile, and no one has a right to own or otherwise control the peaceful actions of that person. However, what is missing from agorism,
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“If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free. If our wealth commands us, we are poor indeed.” – Edmund Burke Time is our most important asset. None of us can buy or earn more, we have what we have. Because we cannot do everything all at once, we discovered that through trading
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As agorists seeking to demonstrate that the state is obsolete, we look for new solutions to real world needs. To be successful, we must look to alternatives and to the fringes to find voluntary solutions to the problems of the world. We cannot take the well-trod path, doing the same thing everyone else has been
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“My schooling not only failed to teach me what it professed to be teaching, but it prevented me from being educated to an extent which infuriates me when I think of all I might have learned at home by myself.” George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) We all want to provide an education for our children, but
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Appealing elements of agorism One of the more appealing elements of agorism is the sheer practicality of it. We deny the lifeblood of the state while creating solutions to real-world problems. We need to be just as practical in our interaction with those who believe that government is necessary or worse yet, good. We need
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“Occupational licensing directly affects nearly 30 percent of U.S. workers today and continues to grow in density and scope.”(Thornton 2015)This figure ought to scare all liberty-minded people, as well as those simply concerned with safety and quality. Licensing does nothing to guarantee safety or quality. In practice, licensing does quite the opposite. Licensing acts as
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For hundreds of years, money lenders have been viewed in a poor light, often for good reason. Lenders were essentially a cartel that controlled interest rates and allowed a narrow set of conditions in which loans would be made, all while being protected by political powers. This left many — if not most — people
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By now, it is likely you know what agorism is, but you may feel overwhelmed by all the things seemingly have to do as an agorist. Perhaps it is unclear as to what can be done right now. Hopefully, this will clear confusion and draw inspiration from some unlikely sources. Three primary ways to act
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