Anarchist or Libertarian?
Am I an Anarchist or a Libertarian?
For some time I have wondered where I might officially fall on this spectrum. I know there is a difference between the two, but not the exact details. So I think I am going to look into this and determine what they each mean, and where I connect on each. Below, I share my findings on each.
Where I come from...
First, a little about myself. I up to now have usually answered this question as being that I am both a Constitutional Anarchist and card-carrying (literally if you count my CWP) Libertarian. I live in Utah, which is predominately Republican, with the exception of the capital, Salt Lake City, which almost always swings Democrat.
We all firmly believe in being prepared for the collapse and would be just fine without a Federal government. Now I am not sure I like how the Church (yes, we just call it that around here) would behave without the check on it's power here, but I would still prefer that over the current regime.
This has all instilled in me a distrust of the large mechanical authority that government represents. I don't need anyone telling me how to live my life or make my decisions for me. Doesn't this sound like either Anarchism or Libertarianism?
Let's see what the difference is...
So here is what I have found.
First, some definitions I found online.
Wikipedia expands on this here with more facets and types of Anarchism.
Wikipedia also goes into more detail here regarding the wide-ranging thoughts behind Libertarianism.
Now, the main difference I see between the general versions of either of these?
Government.
So, in really broad terms:
- Anarchism is a lack of all government to allow for total personal freedom.
- Libertarianism is less government to allow for more personal freedom.
Neither is based on force or subjugation to reach that state.
So where do I feel I fit in? Let's dive in.
Why I am an Anarchist.
There are a great many currents running through Anarchism at this point. Looking over them, it is difficult to say where I fit in. Mutualist Anarchism is probably a closest fit.
Mutualist anarchism is concerned with reciprocity, free association, voluntary contract, federation, and credit and currency reform. According to the American mutualist William Batchelder Greene, each worker in the mutualist system would receive "just and exact pay for his work; services equivalent in cost being exchangeable for services equivalent in cost, without profit or discount." Mutualism has been retrospectively characterised as ideologically situated between individualist and collectivist forms of anarchism. Proudhon first characterised his goal as a "third form of society, the synthesis of communism and property."
Quotation from Wikipedia page.
I believe in allowing people to self-govern on this practice of fair and equal trade of services. Doing something of equal worth for each other instead of payment with an invisible currency.
Why I am a Libertarian.
While many of the facets of Anarchism are positive in my eyes, I do believe that a minimal governance is required to maintain some order. The irony of someone named Discordiant looking for order is not lost on me.
I find that the specific type of Libertarianism that suits me is fitting since I tend to straddle both these idealogies.
Anarcho-capitalism (also referred to as free-market anarchism, market anarchism, and private-property anarchism) is a political philosophy which advocates the elimination of the state in favor of individual sovereignty in a free market. In an anarcho-capitalist society, law enforcement, courts, and all other security services would be provided by privately funded competitors rather than through taxation, and money would be privately and competitively provided in an open market. Therefore, personal and economic activities under anarcho-capitalism would be regulated by privately run law rather than through politics.
Quotation from Wikipedia page.
In conclusion.
So I guess I am mostly a Libertarian, but with a lot of love for some of the ideas behind Anarchism. In my research I wasn't able to find a really defined school of thought or name for this spread of beliefs. I think I will have to dive deeper into the many divisions among each and see if I can determine if I have a more specific name for my own brand of belief.
To each their own.
How about you? Do you fall into one of these schools of thought? A different one?
