Agorism

The term was coined by Samuel Edward Konkin III and comes from the word agora (Ancient Greek: ἀγορά), referring to an open place for assembly and market in a polis (Ancient Greek: πόλις; city-state).[1]

According to Konkin, agorism and counter-economics were originally fighting concepts forged in the revolutionary atmosphere of 1972 and 1973.[2] Konkin credits the Austrian School and particularly Ludwig von Mises as the base of economic thought leading to agorism and counter-economics.[2]

In the 1960–1970s, there was an abundance of political alienation in the United States, particularly for those in favor of libertarian ideologies. Whereas Murray Rothbard chose to create political alliances between the Old Right and the New Left, Robert LeFevre and his West Coast followers pursued a non-participatory form of civil disobedience.[2]

LeFevre's anti-collaboration methods ultimately lost favor and faded away. According to Konkin, after the creation of the Libertarian Party in 1971, the debate shifted from anarchy vs. minarchism to partyarchy vs. agorism.[2]

The goal of agorism is the agora. The society of the open marketplace as near to untainted by theft, assault, and fraud as can be humanly attained is as close to a free society as can be achieved. And a free society is the only one in which each and every one of us can satisfy his or her subjective values without crushing others' values by violence and coercion.

— Samuel Edward Konkin III[3]

Konkin characterized agorism as a form of left-libertarianism,[4][5] and, generally, that agorism is a strategic branch of left-wing market anarchism.[3] Although this term is non-standard usage, agorists identify as part of left-wing politics in the general sense and use the term left-libertarian as defined by Roderick T. Long, i.e. as "an integration, or I'd argue, a reintegration of libertarianism with concerns that are traditionally thought of as being concerns of the left. That includes concerns for worker empowerment, worry about plutocracy, concerns about feminism and various kinds of social equality".[6]

Counter-economics

Flag of agorism in which the pattern represents anarchy and the colors represents the grey and black markets

The concept of counter-economics is the most critical element of agorism. It can be described as such:

The Counter-Economy is the sum of all non-aggressive Human Action which is forbidden by the State. Counter-economics is the study of the Counter-Economy and its practices. The Counter-Economy includes the free market, the Black Market, the "underground economy," all acts of civil and social disobedience, all acts of forbidden association (sexual, racial, cross-religious), and anything else the State, at any place or time, chooses to prohibit, control, regulate, tax, or tariff. The Counter-Economy excludes all State-approved action (the "White Market") and the Red Market (violence and theft not approved by the State).[7]

Konkin opposed the concept of intellectual property and wrote in an article entitled "Copywrongs" in support of such a thesis.[9] J. Neil Schulman criticized this thesis in "Informational Property: Logorights".[10] Whereas Konkin was opposed to the laws of the state in the cases of patents and copyright, seen as creators of monopolies and distortion, Schulman agreed with Konkin that the state could not be a foundation for any class of rightful property yet sought to demonstrate that exclusive ownership rights could apply to what he ultimately termed "Media Carried Property"—created objects that exist independent of the subjective human mind yet are not themselves made of atoms or molecules.[11]

Konkin's treatise New Libertarian Manifesto was published in 1980.[8] Previously, the philosophy had been presented in J. Neil Schulman's science fiction novel Alongside Night in 1979. Ayn Rand's example, presenting her ideas in the form of a work of fiction in Atlas Shrugged, had inspired Schulman to do likewise. Konkin's afterword to the novel, "How Far Alongside Night?", credited Schulman with integrating the "science of counter-economics" with Konkin's basic economic philosophy.[12]

J. Neil Schulman adapted Alongside Night as a feature film released in 2014,[13] as a graphic novel,[14] and as an unabridged audiobook.[15]