Practical Anarchy: The Freedom of the Future

by Stefan Molyneux

Imagine a world without government – this thought exercise seems impossible for many, because the power and reach of state monopolies is so omnipresent in our lives. However, there is no rational, economic or moral reason to assume that governments are necessary for the provision of roads, healthcare, charity, dispute resolution, courts, policing, national defense, jails – or any of the other services currently monopolized by the state. Governments are extremely dangerous, responsible for over 250 million deaths in the 20th century alone – if it is possible to run a society without a government, surely this is something that we must strive towards as a species. Practical Anarchy makes strong case for the private – that is to say voluntary – provision for public services. It reveals the idea of government as a dangerous and unnecessary anachronism, and points the way towards a peaceful and voluntary future for mankind.

Genres: Philosophy, Politics, Nonfiction, Economics

213 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Stefan Molyneux is the founder and host of Freedomain Radio, the largest and most popular philosophical show in the world. With more than 2,600 podcasts, 10 books and 50 million downloads, Stefan has spread the cause of liberty and philosophy to listeners throughout the world.

As the host of Freedomain Radio, Stefan has interviewed experts Noam Chomsky, Dr. Nathaniel Branden, Dr. Warren Farrell, Peter Schiff, Dr. Peter Boghossian, Dr. Mary J. Ruwart and many others.

Prior to launching Freedomain Radio, Stefan built a thriving career as a software entrepreneur and executive. In 2006, he left his work in the tech industry to devote his efforts to Freedomain Radio. Now a self-identified full-time parent and philosopher, Stefan speaks regularly at liberty-themed events all over North and South America. His speeches cover subjects ranging from politics, philosophy, science, atheism and economics to relationships, parenting and how to achieve real freedom in your life.

Stefan is the author of two novels, "Revolutions" and "The God of Atheists," as well as eight non-fiction books on relationships, government and religion.

Past live appearances include presentations at the New Hampshire Liberty Forum, the Porcupine Freedom Festival, Libertopia, Students For Liberty, FreedomFest, LibertyNow, Capitalism and Morality, LibertyFest West, the Brazilian Mises Institute's Idieas em Movimento, Freedom Summit, and the Global Escape Hatch.

Stefan has participated in a number of live debates, among them: "Bitcoin vs. Gold: The Future of Money" with Peter Schiff, "Zeitgeist Versus the Market" with Peter Joseph, "The Function of the State in Society" with Professor Vladimir Safatle and "How Much Government is Necessary?" with Michael Badnarik.

In addition to hosting his own regular show, Stefan has been a guest on audio and television programs such as RT America's "Breaking the Set" with Abby Martin, "Adam vs. The Man" with Adam Kokesh, "The Keiser Report" with Max Keiser and "The Joe Rogan Experience" with Joe Rogan.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 1 out of 5]

One star for Anarcho-capitalism (the biggest oxymoron of all time). If you are new to Anarchism, stay well clear of Stefan Molyneux's nonsensical ramblings. Start with Peter Marshall's Demanding The Impossible: A History of Anarchism instead.

[David Robins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Describes how an anarchist ("stateless") society could work (which of course overlaps almost completely with a minarchist libertarian society), focusing on the use of DROs (Dispute Resolution Organizations) to provide physical and contract security, and private provision of the present functions of government. Details how private solutions offer more choice through competition, encourages looking at the provider side of things, and explains government's present violent system. Compelling and highly recommended. Might make an anarchist of me yet.

[Shane Lees · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked how this books addresses how practical anarchism can be and touches how it can work.

[Marc D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Logical and definitely some food for thought because this book is easy way out of the normal readers comfort zone.

[Max Lewy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A extremely enlightening, powerfully and ingeniously argued political philosophy in stunningly accessible and imaginative language. Stefan Molyneux makes a phenomenal cultural and intellectual leader for our times. A must read for anyone who doesn't understand the importance of a free economy and voluntaristic society. It won't convince everyone, but certainly makes an excellent contribution to an crucial debate we should be having about the virtues and practicalities of a Stateless society. To be read in conjunction with his other book, 'Everyday Anarchy'.

[Lloyd Ritchey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an easy, yet thought-provoking read. One need only approach this book with an open mind to see how little the State directly affects our lives; how we are each living as a matter of course, the vast majority our lives free of the State. Further, Molyneux builds upon the work of other thinkers, typically economists, in explicating the means by which even those aspects of our lives in which the State is present are fundamentally unnecessary and ultimately harmful.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

A complete waste of time. What I had hoped would offer ideas that could be practically lived (as the title suggests), or lay out a realistic foundation for a stateless society, was nothing more than one long hostile rant against the evils of the State (ergo, anarchic solutions must be good or at least no worse); a hodgepodge of slipshod ideas that revolved primarily around private arbitration--"Dispute Resolution Organizations"--and insurance entities to fill in the role of the State. I found it slightly odd (but okay) that his vision of a free market society remained organized primarily as it is (with stock markets, private companies, credit cards, monetary systems--but no central bank), but without the power and authority of the State to control those systems, or its citizens through taxation and coercive force. Essentially what he describes is a model of a chicken with its head cut off and replaced with a loosely defined and nebulous quasi-authority of competing private regulators, whose power would be checked by the free marketplace. What that would really mean is hardly explored in any practical or realistic manner. No empirical examples, nothing concretely laid out, no past evidence of how this might work. It's all loosely defined as no worse than the current world of State actors. I kept reading on looking for something that I could take away to apply. I can't even say he's a realistic idealist who's well thought out his ideas. This isn't Thoreau or B.F. Skinner, or Plato or Ursula Le Guin. This is just a self-published guy who hates the power the State has over his life and its ability to tax his life.

[Olafs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Molyneux is a philosopher to the same degree that Donald Trump (whose "statist" agenda he fervently supports these days) is a devout Christian.
Nevertheless, the book was surprisingly decent. You can really tell that the author possessed a certain amount of intellectual honesty 10 years ago, that is by now sadly lost.
Straw-manning opposing arguments appears to be done out of genuine ignorance rather than malice. Molyneux even seemingly attempts to steel-man some of these straw men to the best of his ability.
The book starts off with Molyneux whining about not having any friends due to principled political views, which seems to go on longer than necessary considering the views aren't even laid out yet.
There is a lot of repetition, but overall it has several very interesting ideas.
In the concluding section of the book Molyneux showers lavish praise on himself, fashioning himself as a “warrior” taking on the world in the service of truth. This section as well as the introduction would seem to be appropriate for notes during his visit to a therapist.

Would recommend to anyone considering reading Ayn Rand to read this instead. The wise move would probably be to read neither.

[Mikkip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable

A decent read although I think some points were not addressed. The argument I often hear is that the state (at least in western democracies) is not a one sided monopoly on power because— in theory — the democratic mandate of the people determines the direction of the state. If course, in practice this is a moot point, but it would have been interesting to discuss this. Related to this the idea of social contract was not mentioned which I think would have been interesting to hear Stefan’s thoughts on this. Overall accessible and interesting.

[Mikehendo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Quite possibly the worst book on anarchy that I've ever read. If you want to read an Alt-right fantasy this is for you. I can't believe anyone is surprised that this guy became an alt right poster boy

[Corey Mullins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple and Elegant

Very simple, to the point and finishes in a great flourish. The points are generally easy to follow and can be remembered in conversation and in real life without having to reference the book again. A compelling and changing read.

[Sebi Mihalache · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough analysis on what a stateless society would look like, a very hard to swallow pill for many of us.

[Thorben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interessante Ideen und sauber-durchdachte Punkte. An manchen Stellen aber sehr extrem und nicht unbedingt politisch korrekt

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mental masturbation.

DROs will solve everything and even if they won't it's still better than democracy because I said so. The magic of free market providing for all our needs and desires is invoked almost every time.

And stop being dishonest saying we have no empirical data, anarchist communities did exist and every time the nearest state would just roll up and trash the party. The author's solution is to have nuclear bombs. He clearly thought this one through.

[Bobby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a mind grenade. Thanks to Justin Odiogn for being the first to point out to me the chains we are all in, and to Stefan Molyneux for how we could one day cast off the shackles and live free.