Discovering Austrian economics was like finding the holy grail. A presidential candidate Ron Paul was my introduction. The ideas on his platform were radical, and resonated with vast swathes of people around the world. The Austrians were about to confirm all my suspicions. Argument after argument, all competition was crushed with their relentless logic.
I found the Austrian school of economics because I had been forever trying to understand the mechanics of the economy. My family’s financial situation was severely affected by the high interest rates in the late 80s, and since then I took it upon myself to figure out why this had happened. I got an economics diploma from secondary school and went on to business economics at university. There were still holes. Big holes I couldn’t put my finger on. Then I realised how government policy could impact on our financial and career prospects, our political beliefs and how we view our objectives in society.
It concerns me that the vast majority of any nation are educated in state schools, effectively restrained from pursuing intellectual dissent at the academic level. But there are many problems with statism. The fact that the state is the monopoly on money and the monopoly on force should be the most obvious. It also seems to breed monopolies and it rewards it’s favorite sycophants. The impact in such universally vital areas as education, energy, communications and healthcare certainly leads me to ask some serious questions regarding Britain’s treasured public sector.
This isn’t to say I’m what many believe to be called an anarchist. The term conjures visions of the Black Bloc smashing up RBS engaged in street battles with riot cops. I take the term academically, fully understanding it’s as loaded as the forsaken C and S words. But I can’t honestly claim minarchism. The idea that the state is the most violent and anti-progressive creation of man resonates with me.
Anarcho-capitalism is heavily, if not totally, based on Austrian economics. And like the Austrian school, it takes in a lot of the anarchist philosophy that emerged mostly in the United States in the 20th century. Some describe situations in Iceland (circa 1200AD) and the Wild West as anarcho-capitalist societies. It is also referred to as Market Anarchism and is often associated with individualism, subjective value theory, post-political thought, emergentism and objectivism. But it seems the most distinctive feature is praxeology; the study of human action.
With the founding of Mises.org, the Mises Institute has made available an incredible amount of open source material.
Welcome to Anarcho-Capitalist.org. The main focus here is anarchism, atheism, emergentism, post-politics, psycho-history, anti-statism, anti-corporatism and the total market.
Will also be looking at current events, economics and the markets. Currency, precious metals, oil, food, real estate, employment, interest rates, tax, trends...
