2014/01/12

What is Agorism? –

In essence, Agorism is Economic Anarchy.

According to Wikipedia (Skip the Wiki paragraphs if you already have a clue and scroll down to Most Of Us Stumble Into Agorism)

Agorism is a libertarian social philosophy that advocates creating a society in which all relations between people are voluntary exchanges by means of counter-economics, thus engaging in a manner with aspects of peaceful revolution. It was first proposed by libertarian philosopher Samuel Edward Konkin III in 1975, with contributions partly by J. Neil Schulman.^[1]

Agorists consider themselves market anarchists, while many characterize it as a form of left-libertarianism.^[2] Agorists generally oppose voting for political candidates and political reform. Instead, agorists stress the importance of alternative strategies rather than politics to achieve a free society. Agorists claim that we can achieve a free society more easily and sooner by employing such alternative methods as education, direct action, alternative currencies, entrepreneurship, self sufficiency, and most importantly “counter-economics“.^[1] Agorists consider their message to be scientific because science is an appeal to reason, which they believe is only possible in the Agora or free market.^[3]

 Konkin’s agorism, as exposited in his New Libertarian Manifesto,^[2] postulates that the correct method of achieving a voluntary society is through advocacy and growth of the underground economy or “black market” – the “counter-economy” as Konkin put it – until such a point that the State’s perceived moral authority and outright power have been so thoroughly undermined that revolutionary market anarchist legal and security enterprises are able to arise from underground and ultimately suppress government as a criminal activity (with taxation being treated as theft, war being treated as mass murder, et cetera).

According to Konkin’s pamphlet Counter-Economics:

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).^[3]

According to Konkin, counter-economics also allows for immediate self-liberation from statist controls, to whatever degree practical, by applying entrepreneurial logic to rationally decide which laws to discreetly break and when. The fundamental principle is to trade risk for profit, although profit can refer to any gain in perceived value rather than strictly monetary gains (as a consequence of the subjective theory of value).

Most of Us Stumble Into Agorism

Life, is the ultimate teacher, especially if you’ve spent 13 – 20+ years being indoctrinated by teachers, TAs and Professors who have zero experience in the subjects they claim to be expert in. The most honest professors I ever encountered in real life were a Human Sexuality professor who brought his dog to class each day and allowed the class to vote on our preferred terms for genitalia and an Economics professor, who the very first day of class told us, “Macroeconomics is completely theoretical, has absolutely no relevance to the real world, but you need to pass this class for your degree and most of you will fail to pass this class unless you catch an orange.” *

*Realizing how ridiculous his chosen field of study is (and continues to be Mr. Bernanke and Ms. Yellen), after every test and exam, the professor would toss a dozen oranges, one at a time into the auditorium and if you caught one, your grade would be an “A” regardless of how you actually performed on the test or exam. You think women competing to catch a bride’s bouquet is brutal? Imagine hundreds of undergrads trying to snag an orange in this Econ class!

Sooner or later we leave the Hallowed Halls of bullshit behind and venture into the real world. A world where Psyche professors don’t point out that their dog licks his balls because he can, and you don’t have to catch citrus fruit to get ahead. This is when most of us are first attracted to Agorism, even if we don’t realize what it is. But most of us are acquainted with Agorists who had a clue long before we did. I met my first Agorist in fifth grade; his name was Norm and he was huge – like Arnold Shwarzneggar huge, a head or two taller than the rest of the class, he was physically ripped, and studied martial arts while most of us were learning to hit a curve ball. Norm wound up in prison at 16 years old for killing someone after joining a Motor Cycle gang, but before all that violence, Norm was a Candy Man and an Agorist.

Our school was not in an urban area, but a suburban area that had homes with acres of property, and not a lot of small businesses to support the populace. The nearest Party Store (liquor/convenience store to some of you) was a mile from my home and close to two miles from my elementary school, so kids didn’t have the luxury to blow their lunch money on bubble gum on the way to school. If I recall, you could buy a Bubs Daddy which was essentially a piece of bubble gum about a foot long and as thick as a Tootsie Roll for about a quarter. By the time that bubble gum got to Woodcreek Elementary school it was worth about a dollar more, and kids routinely went without lunch in exchange for bubble gum and Jolly Rancher hard candies. Norm was easily making $50-$100/week selling contraband candy to kids with more money than sense. And this was in 1971 dollars, so Norm was grossing $300-$600/week in equivalent 2013 fiat currency! A fifth grader was grossing more in candy sales in 1971 than many folks gross today in so-called Real Jobs!

From Candy to Drugs, Sex, Weapons and Legitimate Businesses

If you aren’t pretending to be someone that you aren’t, or weren’t, you have dealt with Agorists. I smoked my first joint in 1974 and bought my first Nickle Bag (yeah, there was such a thing) not long after. When I was about twenty, my boss rented a hooker for me after a wild night of bar hopping. Though I bought my first gun from a licensed dealer who happened to be a retired cop, all of the firearms I’ve owned since, I have purchased from private parties. This is the essence of Agorism. I would rather voluntarily deal with individuals than be coerced to deal with anyone with the government’s seal of approval and all the strings attached to such a seal.

If you’ve ever been Unemployed you know what a joke UnEnjoyment (my preferred term) insurance is. It seldom is enough to cover your rent, let alone Cobra Health insurance which is likely to be far more than your rent. The last time I accepted UnEnjoyment benefits, the monthly  benefit was maxed at  about $1200.00, while my mortgage was about $1100.00/month. You see the situation. So what does an Agorist do? He or she stops accepting employment and begins working for themselves as an Independent Contractor! Why? Because there is zero withholding to your income. You receive 100% of all your earnings, AND just about every expense you have becomes a tax reducing write-off, all perfectly legal, at least for the time being. The next time I was between jobs, rather than having nothing in the bank and waiting for the State to flip me $600.00 every two weeks, I had $17,000.00 in the bank and over $10,000.00 in Receivables to carry me through until cash-flow improved. Which would you rather have?

The Intentional Agorist

While most Agorists tend to stumble into the market as a result of learning that the Statist models don’t work sufficiently to be worth participation, for those of you who haven’t yet learned these hard life lessons, I suggest you begin to build your wealth off the radar now. If you have a hobby or interest turn it into an Off the Radar income stream! I turned a hobby, raising and training bonsai trees into an income stream that grossed over $100,000.00 in its first year.  I began preparing taxes for others after learning how to properly prepare them from my bonsai business experience. I purchase gold and silver coins, antiques and collectibles at auction and sell them at a profit – all off the radar.  Would I grow and sell pot? You betcha. Would I manufacture, trade or sell arms? In a heartbeat. My personal values are the only arbiter of what I am willing to do to meet demands in the market place. How about you?

Are you willing to take responsibility for your economic well-being?
Or are you willing to let an army of bureaucrats determine how you support yourself and your family?

The answers to these questions will determine whether or not you will thrive or survive in the new reality of Global governance and tyranny.

To Support the Boot-Strap Expat IndieGoGo project visit http://igg.me/at/Boot-Strap-Expat/x/5929170

The Boot-Strap Expat on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BootStrapExpat

Want to advertise on The Boot-Strap Expat? You can contact me directly at alex.z@consultant.com

Please consider being a Sponsor for this adventure. If you have suggestions for Sponsors, please feel free to share them and their contact information directly.

To support my efforts directly, donations through PayPal can be made to: alex.z@consultant.com