Foreword

This book is dedicated to those who believe government is a necessary evil: You’re half right.

The following essays show that the two most crucial “functions” of government—law and defense—can be efficiently supplied on the free market. The State is thus shown to be completely unnecessary. Anarchy, the absence of coercive government, must not be confused with chaos.

Rather than engage in philosophical debates over values, I focus instead on the mechanics of “anarcho-capitalism” or “market anarchy,” the only social system that respects the sanctity of property rights and contract. Rather than tackle the socialist ideal of equality, I offer the market anarchist ideal of equity.

I ultimately leave it to the reader to decide which system—State or market—is the better arrangement.

Bob Murphy