individualist anarchism against bosses, inequality, corporate power, and structural poverty Edited by Gary Chartier & Charles W. Johnson Individualist anarchists believe in mutual exchange, not economic privilege. They believe in freed markets, not capitalism. They defend a distinctive response to the challenges of ending global capitalism and achieving social justice: eliminate the political privileges that prop up capitalists. Massive concentrations of wealth, rigid economic hierarchies, and unsustainable modes of production are not the results of the market form, but of markets deformed and rigged by a network of state-secured controls and privileges to the business class. Markets Not Capitalism explores the gap between radically freed markets and the capitalist-controlled markets that prevail today. It explains how liberating market exchange from state capitalist privilege can abolish structural poverty, help working people take control over the conditions of their labor, and redistribute wealth and social power. Featuring discussions of socialism, capitalism, markets, ownership, labor struggle, grassroots privatization, intellectual property, health care, racism, sexism, and environmental issues, this unique collection brings together classic essays by Cleyre, and such contemporary innovators as Kevin Carson and Roderick Long. It introduces an eye-opening approach to radical social thought, rooted equally in libertarian socialism and market anarchism. “We on the left need a good shake to get us thinking, and these arguments for market anarchism do the job in lively and thoughtful fashion.” – Alexander Cockburn, editor and publisher, Counterpunch “Anarchy is not chaos; nor is it violence. This rich and provocative gathering of essays by anarchists past and present imagines society unburdened by state, markets un-warped by capitalism. Those whose preference is for an economy that is humane, decentralized, and free will read this book with – – Bill Kaufmann, author of Bye Bye, Miss American Empire “It will be hard for any honest libertarian to read this book – or others like and think tanks. In a world where libertarianism has mostly been deformed into a defense of corporate privilege, it is worth being told or reminded what a free market actually is. Our ideal society is not ‘Tesco/Wal-Mart minus the State.’ It is a community of communities of free people. All thanks to the authors and editors of this book.” – Sean Gabb, director, UK Libertarian Alliance “Libertarianism is often seen as a callous defense of privilege in the face of existing (and unjust) inequalities. That’s because it too often is. But it doesn’t have to be, and this fascinating collection of historic and current argument think about.” – Ken MacLeod, author of Fall Revolution <.:.Min0r.:.> .c0mp0siti0ns. www.minorcompositions.info autonomedia Minor Compositions Open Access Statement – Please Read This book is open access. This work is not simply an electronic book; it is the open access version of a work that exists in a number of forms, the traditional printed form being one of them. All Minor Compositions publications are placed for free, in their entirety, on the web. This is because the free and autonomous sharing of knowledges and experiences is important, especially at a time when the restructuring and increased centralization of book distribution makes it difficult (and expensive) to distribute radical texts effectively. The free posting of these texts does not mean that the necessary energy and labor to produce them is no longer there. 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Omnia sunt communia! Support Minor Compositions / Purchasing Books The PDF you are reading is an electronic version of a physical book that can be purchased through booksellers (including online stores), through the normal book supply channels, or Minor Compositions directly. Please support this open access publication by requesting that your university or local library purchase a physical printed copy of this book, or by purchasing a copy yourself. If you have any questions please contact the publisher: [email protected]. Markets Not CapitalisM individualist anarchism against bosses, inequality, corporate power, and structural poverty Edited by Gary Chartier & Charles W. Johnson ISBN 978-1-57027-242-4 Gary Chartier and Charles W. Johnson Markets Not Capitalism: Individualist Anarchism against Bosses, Inequality, Corporate Power, and Structural Poverty Includes bibliographic references 1. Economics – philosophy. 2. Socialism. 3. Capitalism. 4. Anarchism. I. Title II. Johnson, Charles W. III. Chartier, Gary Cover image based on an image by Walter Baxter. Released by Minor Compositions, London / New York / Port Watson Minor Compositions is a series of interventions & provocations drawing from autonomous politics, avant-garde aesthetics, and the revolutions of everyday life. Minor Compositions is an imprint of Autonomedia www.minorcompositions.info | [email protected] Distributed by Autonomedia PO Box 568 Williamsburgh Station Brooklyn, NY 11211 Phone/fax: 718-963-0568 www.autonomedia.org [email protected] In memory of Karl Hess CoNteNts acknowledgements ................................ ix introduction .......................................1 Part One .................................17 The Problem of Deformed Markets ...............17 1. the Freed Market...............................19 William Gillis 2. state socialism and anarchism: ....................21 Benjamin R. Tucker 3. General idea of the revolution in the Nineteenth Century ...37 Pierre-Joseph Proudhon 4. Markets Freed from Capitalism ....................59 Charles W. Johnson Part Two .................................83 Identities and Isms 5. Market anarchism as stigmergic socialism ...........85 Brad Spangler 6. armies that overlap.............................93 Benjamin R. Tucker 7. the individualist and the Communist: ................97 Rosa Slobodinsky and Voltairine de Cleyre 8. a Glance at Communism.........................103 Voltairine de Cleyre 9. advocates of Freed Markets should oppose Capitalism ...107 Gary Chartier 10. anarchism without Hyphens .....................119 Karl Hess 11. What laissez Faire? ...........................121 Sheldon Richman 12. libertarianism through thick and thin .............131 Charles W. Johnson 13. socialism: What it is ...........................145 Benjamin R. Tucker 14. socialist ends, Market Means ....................149 Gary Chartier Part Three ...............................155 Ownership 15. a plea for public property ......................157 Roderick T. Long 16. From Whence Do property titles arise?............169 William Gillis 17. the Gift economy of property ...................175 Shawn Wilbur 18. Fairness and possession ........................181 Gary Chartier 19. the libertarian Case against intellectual property rights . .187 Roderick T. Long Part Four ................................199 Corporate Power and Labor Solidarity . .201 Roderick T. Long 21. Does Competition Mean War?...................211 Benjamin R. Tucker 22. economic Calculation in the Corporate Commonwealth ...213 Kevin Carson 23. Big Business and the rise of american statism.......223 Roy A. Childs, Jr 24. regulation: the Cause, Not the Cure, of the Financial Crisis...241 Roderick T. Long 25. industrial economics ...........................247 Dyer D. Lum 26. labor struggle in a Free Market .................255 Kevin A. Carson 27. should labor Be paid or Not? ...................269 Benjamin R. Tucker Part Five ................................271 Neoliberalism, Privatization, and Redistribution 28. Free Market reforms and the reduction of statism...273 Kevin A. Carson 29. Free trade is Fair trade: .......................279 Joe Peacott 30. two Words on “privatization” ...................283 Charles W. Johnson .......................289 Karl Hess ..........293 Murray N. Rothbard Part Six .................................299 Inequality and Social Safety Nets ............... 299 33. let the Free Market eat the rich! .................301 Jeremy Weiland 34. individualism and inequality.....................309 Joe Peacott 35. How Government solved the Health Care Crisis .....315 Roderick T. Long 36. the poverty of the Welfare state ................319