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Anarcho-capitalism
Political philosophy and economic theory / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Anarcho-capitalism (colloquially: ancap or an-cap) is a political philosophy and economic theory that seeks to abolish centralized states in favor of systems of private property enforced by private agencies, based on concepts such as the non-aggression principle, free markets and self-ownership. An anarcho-capitalist philosophy extends the concept of ownership to include control of private property as part of the self, and, in some cases, control of other people as private property.[2][3] In the absence of statute, anarcho-capitalists hold that society tends to contractually self-regulate and civilize through participation in the free market, which they describe as a voluntary society involving the voluntary exchange of goods and services.[4][5][6][7] In a theoretical anarcho-capitalist society a system of private property would still exist, and would be enforced by private defense agencies and/or insurance companies that were selected by property owners, whose ownership rights or claims would be enforced by private defence agencies and/or insurance companies.[2][3]
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According to its proponents, various historical theorists have espoused philosophies similar to anarcho-capitalism.[8] While the earliest extant attestation of "anarchocapitalism" [sic] is in Karl Hess's essay "The Death of Politics" published by Playboy in March 1969,[9][10] American economist Murray Rothbard was credited with coining the terms anarcho-capitalist[11][12] and anarcho-capitalism in 1971.[13] A leading figure in the 20th-century American libertarian movement,[7] Rothbard synthesized elements from the Austrian School, classical liberalism and 19th-century American individualist anarchists and mutualists Lysander Spooner and Benjamin Tucker, while rejecting the labor theory of value.[14][15][16] Rothbard's anarcho-capitalist society would operate under a mutually agreed-upon "legal code which would be generally accepted, and which the courts would pledge themselves to follow".[17] This legal code would recognize contracts between individuals, private property, self-ownership and tort law in keeping with the non-aggression principle.[7][17][18] Anyone who disagreed with the legal code would ultimately be subject to enforcement measures such as those utilised by a state.[citation needed] Rothbard views the power of the state as unjustified, arguing that it restricts individual rights and prosperity, and creates social and economic problems.[7]
Anarcho-capitalists and right-libertarians cite several historical precedents of what they believe to be examples of quasi-anarcho-capitalism,[23] including the Republic of Cospaia,[24] Acadia,[25] Anglo-Saxon England,[26][4] Medieval Iceland,[25] the American Old West,[25] Gaelic Ireland,[7] and merchant law, admiralty law, and early common law.
Anarcho-capitalism is distinguished from minarchism, which advocates a minimal governing body (typically a night-watchman state limited to protecting individuals from aggression and enforcing private property) and from Objectivism (which is a broader philosophy advocating a limited role, yet unlimited size, of said government).[27] Unlike most anarchists, anarcho-capitalists support private property and private institutions.[26]