It seems that on this forum there are no minarchists. Everyone is an anarchist. As far as I know most libertarians are minarchists, and most Austrian school adherents are minarchists. So how come there are so few (if any) minarchists on this site?
It might be because many minarchists consider the anarachists to be too radical.
I don’t think most Austrian school adherents are minarchists. Seems to me that most people who take Austrianism seriously will come to anarchy at one point (hence, what you see @ this forum).
I know Mises was never explicitly an anarchist, but if you take his philosophical principle of universal and unlimited right to secession then is that not implicitly condoning anarchy?
I just believe it is taking the NAP to its logical conclusion, and being consistent in its application. Even in the case of a “very small” government, having a monopoly in anything (be it courts, law, roads, military, police, water, garbage collection, etc):
-
Who decides what is the optimal size of government?
-
What if I disagree about your optimal size of government?
Those who disagree with paying for certain things are going to have to be FORCED to pay for this whether they like it or not. Or those who want to enter the monopoly market are kept from doing so BY FORCE.
The more time I spend on these forums, the less libertarian and more conservative I become.
In what way?
Where do you get the idea that most Austrian school adherents are minarchists? Apart from a bunch of Ron Paul acolytes who don’t know anything about the Austrian school, besides the fact that Ron Paul is a fan of it, I’d say that the majority of Austrians are anarchists.
I’d say the Mises Institute is strongly anarchist because it was founded by Lew Rockwell and Murray Rothbard - two anarchists.
We’re anarchists because we apply the economic arugements against state intervention to every aspect of society (including law and order).
Sheldon Richman on Minarchists:
The crux of the economic difference between market anarchists and market minarchists is that the minarchists – a priori – find a market failure in the provision of law and security. Market anarchists do not. Considering that the minarchists embrace market theory in every other area, it seems they have the burden of showing why their own principles don’t apply in those excepted areas. (It is significant that the first market anarchist we know of was an economist, Gustave de Molinari.)
Market anarchists have the theory, the history, and the moral philosophy. What’s left?
http://sheldonfreeassociation.blogspot.com/2009/06/anarchists-vs-minarchists-defining.html
I am an anarcho-minarchist.
Kaju hit the point on the head. Most libertarians are minarchist for sure (i.e., Reason and Cato Institute) who aren’t really in tune with Austrianism. You may have a Tea Partier here and there who read The Road to Serfdom (because Glenn Beck told them to), but that does not make them Austrian. The LvMI is the main think tank of Austrianism and just about every one of the scholars involved there are anarchists.
I’m a left minarchist Republican.
I would say that it’s because minarchists can’t be bothered posting on this forum, especially on topics related to the minarchism vs. anarchism ‘debate’. This means that on this forum, minarchists aren’t really visible.
I know of minarchist libertarians interested in AE that can’t be bothered with the forums here, calling the forums the ‘rothbard institute’, with all that enrails. It’s not that people who have read the works of Mises, Menger, Bawerk(sp), Weiser, Hayek (or whoever else) all become anarchists, it’s just that the minarchist adherents of AE tend not to post here. Mostly, minarchists think that you’re just a bit hilarious. I have read this forum a bit, over the years. And it’s a very small forum in the very big internet, so don’t take it too seriously. I expect some one(s) to take exception to this post, but I’m simply not interested, so don’t expect a reply - arguing on the internet being like competing in the special olympics etc..
This isn’t a small forum.
There are generally two types of people here. Those who understand markets and those who don’t. Those who don’t are minarchists and/or some type of socialist. Those that do are generally more market(anarchy) leaning.
“I’m a left minarchist Republican.”
No offense but what does that mean?
I’m just trying to learn.
I am fairly certain he is making fun of the whole thing.
There are generally two types of people here. Those who understand markets and those who don’t. Those who don’t are minarchists and/or some type of socialist. Those that do are generally more market(anarchy) leaning.
I don’t think so. Remember the posters Hayekianxyz and Lam? They clearly knew more about markets than most here, yet they were not anarchists. Personally, the more I learned about markets, the more I lost faith in anarcho-capitalism.
He displayed an excellent ability in rhetorical speech. I never got the impression that he was overly knowledgable about markets. He seemed more concerned with other things.