The response was staggering. 134 comments on a single blog post here is a record likely to stand for quite a while. The post also spawned an enormous (182 comments) reddit thread on /r/anarchism and a smaller (34 comments) one on /r/libertarian, plus an essay (with footnotes!) by Alex Peak and a point-by-point reply by b psycho of the Psychopolitik 2.0 blog.

I responded to b psycho on his post, but Alex’s site doesn’t allow commenting so I’ll follow up here on two things he wrote there.

First, Alex asks: “But what does it mean to say that private property might be ‘impossible’ in a free society?” Here, my wording was poor. A better formulation would have been to ask about one’s preferences regarding the proposition that private property wouldn’t exist in a free society. I missed the mark with my language, but stimulated the discussion I wanted to create anyway.

I haven't read it either.

Alex then objects to my statement (in a comment) that property is a social construct, bringing in an argument regarding someone going and living off the land by themselves. I suggest that the isolated individual’s notions of property are irrelevant until he or she comes into contact with other human beings. It is only in interactions with other people that claims to property become worthy of consideration, and it is thereby a social process which determines what particular claims will be respected and which will not. Questions regarding Robinson’s property claims absent interactions with others simply vanish from relevance.

I’d now like to ask my dear readers a similar set of questions, again with the necessary caveats: the formulations of the questions also reflect my preferences, may be poorly worded, and are asked given the context that we can’t know what a free society looks like. Additionally, when I refer to “free societies”, I do not mean static, crystalline things never subject to change. Take the term, rather, as meaning “the early stages of a flexible, free society, subject to any number of changes going forward” if that makes you more comfortable.

Comrade Murray ripped Bob good for this one.

• If all things (except people and abandoned or never-owned things) are private property in a free society, do you prefer the state?
• If free societies are such that states never arise from them, even if things are so awful that a minimal state might seem justified, do you prefer retaining the state against that risk?
• If free societies are rife with beliefs and practices you condemn (domineering religion, poison culture, sexism, bigotry, racism), do you prefer the state?
• If living in a free society means that more children than today are beaten, abused, indoctrinated or otherwise harmed, do you prefer the state?
• If free societies are characterized by more crime, random violence and fraud than statist ones, not counting the crimes of states themselves, do you prefer the state?
• If transitioning to a free society requires those you love to change big portions of their lives — in ways perhaps unimaginable now — do you prefer the state?
• If mega-corporations along the Exxon-Lockheed-Monsanto model thrive in free societies, do you prefer the state?
• If intellectual property (copyrights, patents, trademarks, etc.) is stronger than today in a free society, do you prefer the state?
• If wage labor, profit, rent and interest are common and desired by many in free societies, do you prefer the state?
• If pollution of any sort is worse in free societies, do you prefer the state?

I assert, of course without proof, that if you answer “yes” to any of these questions, you’re not really an anarchist. Or a libertarian.

Join the lively discussion by posting your objections, critiques, arguments, disputes and complaints below!

An Agorist Primer by Samuel Edward Konkin III (SEK3) and published by KoPubCo - Buy now!

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One for the coffee table makes a great conversation starter! And it’s always good to keep at least one copy in the car for those annoying police searches and border crossings! And, why not buy a few hardcover first editions as gifts? The kids love ‘em, and they make great stocking stuffers! Buy a case or two if you like, send one to your Congresscritters and Senators! Leave copies on public benches, insert them surreptitiously into library collections (suggested heading: romance), and pass them out on Halloween! The sky’s the limit!

Enjoy!

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The Brag of the SubGenius. MP3 Audio, 5 minutes 25 seconds, 5MB. Read by Mike Gogulski aka Rabbi Guano Infusion, KSC (deceased).

–a fragment. Transcribed from a cassette tape recording made at a seance in 1973.

The Book of SubGenius -- Buy now!

“I PICK THE GOD DAMN terror of the fucking gods out of my NOSE! Pardon my language. But YEEEEEHAW, let the sons of God and man bear witness! Even in the belly of the Thunderbird I’ve been casting out the False Prophets; I’m busting a gut and blowing my O-ring, and ripe to throw a LOAF! For I speak ONLY the fucking TRUTH, and never in my days have I spoke other than! For my every utterance is a lie, including this very one you hear! I say, “Fuck’em if they can’t take a joke!” By God, “Anything for a laugh,” I say. I am the last remaining Homo Correctus, I am the god damn Man of the Future! I’ll drive a mile so as not to walk a foot; I am a human being of the FIRST god damn water! Yes, I’m the javalina humping junkie that jumped the Men from Mars! I drank the DEVIL under seven tables, I am too INTENSE to die, I’m insured for acts o’ God AND Satan! I was shanghaied by bodiless fiends and alien jews from a corporate galaxy, and got away with their hubcaps! I CANNOT be tracked on radar! I wear nothing uniform, I wear NO god damn uniform! Yes baby, I’m 23 feet tall and have 13 rows o’ teats; I was suckled by a triceratops, I gave the Anti-Virgin a high-proteine tonsil wash! I’m a bacteriological weapon, I’m ARMED and LOADED! I’m a fission reactor, I fart plutonium, power plants are fueled by the sweat from my brow; when they plug ME in, the lights go out in Hong Kong! I weigh 666 pounds in zero , COME AND GET ME! I’ve sired retarded space bastards across the Cosmos, I cook and EAT my dead; YAH-HOOOOO, I’m the Unshaven Thorn Tree of the Atlantis Zoo! I pay no taxes! The Devil’s hands are my IDEAL playground! I hold the Seven-Bladed Windbreaker; the wheels that turn are behind me; I think BACKWARDS! I do it for FUN! My imagination is a FUCKING cancer and I’ll pork it before it porks me! They say a godzillion is the highest number there is. Well, by God! I count to a godzillion and ONE! Yes, I’m the purple flower of Hell County, give me wide berth; when I drop my drawers, Mother Nature swoons! I use a python for a prophylactic; I’m THICKER, HARDER, and MEANER than the Alaskan Pipeline, and carry more spew! I’ll freeze YOUR seed before it hits the bathroom tile! YEE! YEEE! I kidnapped the future and ransomed it for the past, I made TIME wait up for me bleed my lizard! My infernal breath wilts the Tree of Life, I left my SPOOR on the Rock of Ages, WHO’LL TEAR FLESH WITH ME, WHO’LL SPILL THEIR JUICE? WHO’LL GOUGE WITH ME, WHOSE CANDLE WILL I FART OUT? WHOOP! I’M READY! So step aside, all you butt-lipped, neurotic, insecure bespectacled slabs o’ wimp meat! I’m a Crime Fighting Master Criminal, I am Not Insane! I’m a screamer and a laugher, I make a SPECTACLE of myself, I am a SIGHT! My physical type CANNOT be classified by science, my ‘familiar’ is a pterodactyl, I feed it dipshits!  I communicate without WIRES or STRINGS! I am a Thugee, I am feared in the Tongs, I have the Evil Eye, I carry the Mojo Bag; I swam the BERMUDA TRIANGLE and didn’t get wet! I circumcise dinosaurs with my teeth and make ‘em leave a tip; I change tires with my TONGUE and my TOOL! Every night I hock up a lunger and extinguish the SUN! I’m the big-footed devil of Level 14, who’ll come SHOE me? Where’s the robot giant who’ll try to blow me down? I’ve packed the brownies of the gods, I leak the Plague from my nether parts, opiates are the MASS of my religion, I TAKE DRUGS! Yes, I’m a rip-snorter, I cram coca leaves right into my arm-veins before they’re picked off the TREE! SPACE monsters cringe at my tread! I wipe the PYRAMIDS off my shoes before I enter MY house. I’m FUEL-INJECTED, I’ll live forever and remember it afterwards! I’m IMMUNE!  I’m RADIOACTIVE! Come ON and give me cancer, I’ll spit up the tumor and butter my BREAD with the juice! I’M SUPERNATURAL, I bend CROWBARS with my meat ax and a thought! My droppings bore through the earth and erupt VOLCANOES in CHINA! Yes, I can drink more wine and stay soberer than all the heathen HINDOOS in Asia! YEEEE HAW! GUT BLOWOUT! I am a MORAY EEL, I am a KOMODO DRAGON, I am a KILLER WHALE BEREFT OF IT’S PUP! I have a triple backbone, I was sired by the Wolf Man, give me ALL your Slack! I told JESUS I wouldn’t go to church and He SHOOK MY HAND! I have my OWN personal saviors, I change ‘em every hour, I don’t give a fuck if there’s life after death, I want to know if there’s even any fucking SLACK after death! I am a god damn VISIONARY, I see the future and the past in comic books and wine bottles; I eat BLACK HOLES for breakfast! I bend my genes and whittle at my DNA with the sheer force of my mighty WILL! I steer my OWN god damn evolution! I ran ‘em out of Heaven and sold it to Hell for a PROFIT! I’m enlightened, I achieved “Nirvana” and took it HOME with me. YIP, YIP, YEEEEEEEE! I’m so ugly the Speed of Light can’t slow me down and  won’t tug at my cuffs! When the Rapture comes, I’ll make ‘em wait!  They’ll NEVER clean MY cage! Now give me some more of…”

(Tape runs out.)

          -a fragment.  Transcribed from a cassette tape recording
          made at a seance in 1973.
  "I PICK THE GOD DAMN terror of the fucking gods out of my NOSE!  Pardon my
language.  But YEEEEEHAW, let the sons of God and man bear witness!  Even in
the belly of the Thunderbird I've been casting out the False Prophets;  I'm
busting a gut and blowing my O-ring, and ripe to throw a LOAF!  For I speak
ONLY the fucking TRUTH, and never in my days have I spoke other than!  For my
every utterance is a lie, including this very one you hear!  I say, "Fuck'em
if they can't take a joke!"  By God, "Anything for a laugh," I say.  I am the
last remaining Homo Correctus, I am the god damn Man of the Future!  I'll drive
a mile so as not to walk a foot; I am a human being of the FIRST god damn
water!  Yes, I'm the javalina humping junkie that jumped the Men from Mars!  I
drank the DEVIL under seven tables, I am too INTENSE to die, I'm insured for
acts o' God AND Satan!  I was shanghaied by bodiless fiends and alien jews from
a corporate galaxy, and got away with their hubcaps!  I CANNOT be tracked on
radar!  I wear nothing uniform, I wear NO god damn uniform!  Yes baby, I'm 23
feet tall and have 13 rows o' teats; I was suckled by a triceratops, I gave the
Anti-Virgin a high-protien tonsil wash!  I'm a bacteriological weapon, I'm
ARMED and LOADED!  I'm a fission reactor, I fart plutonium, power plants are
fueled by the sweat from my brow; when they plug ME in, the lights go out in
Hong Kong!  I weigh 666 pounds in zero gravity, COME AND GET ME!  I've sired
retarded space bastards across the Cosmos, I cook and EAT my dead; YAH-HOOOOO,
I'm the Unshaven Thorn Tree of the Atlantis Zoo!  I pay no taxes!  The Devil's
hands are my IDEAL playground!  I hold the Seven-Bladed Windbreaker; the wheels
that turn are behind me; I think BACKWARDS!  I do it for FUN!  My imagination
is a FUCKING cancer and I'll pork it before it porks me!  They say a godzillion
is the highest number there is.  Well, by God!  I count to a godzillion and
ONE!  Yes, I'm the purple flower of Hell County, give me wide berth; when I
drop my drawers, Mother Nature swoons!  I use a python for a prophylactic; I'm
THICKER, HARDER, and MEANER than the Alaskan Pipeline, and carry more spew!
I'll freeze YOUR seed before it hits the bathroom tile!  YEE!  YEEE!  I
kidnapped the future and ransomed it for the past, I made TIME wait up for me
bleed my lizard!  My infernal breath wilts the Tree of Life, I left my SPOOR on
the Rock of Ages, WHO'LL TEAR FLESH WITH ME, WHO'LL SPILL THEIR JUICE?  WHO'LL
GOUGE WITH ME, WHOSE CANDLE WILL I FART OUT?  WHOOP!  I'M READY!  So step
aside, all you butt-lipped, neurotic, insecure bespectacled slabs o' wimp meat!
I'm a Crime Fighting Master Criminal, I am Not Insane!  I'm a screamer and a
laugher, I make a SPECTACLE of myself, I am a SIGHT!  My physical type CANNOT
be classified by science, my 'familiar' is a pterodactyl, I feed it dipshits!
I communicate without WIRES or STRINGS!  I am a Thugee, I am feared in the
Tongs, I have the Evil Eye, I carry the Mojo Bag;  I swam the BERMUDA TRIANGLE
and didn't get wet!  I circumcise dinosaurs with my teeth and make 'em leave a
tip; I change tires with my TONGUE and my TOOL!  Every night I hock up a lunger
and extinguish the SUN!  I'm the big-footed devil of Level 14, who'll come SHOE
me?  Where's the robot giant who'll try to blow me down?  I've packed the
brownies of the gods, I leak the Plague from my nether parts, opiates are the
MASS of my religion, I TAKE DRUGS!  Yes, I'm a rip-snorter, I cram coca leaves
right into my arm-veins before they're picked off the TREE!  SPACE monsters
cringe at my tread!  I wipe the PYRAMIDS off my shoes before I enter MY house.
I'm FUEL-INJECTED, I'll live forever and remember it afterwards!  I'm IMMUNE!
I'm RADIOACTIVE!  Come ON and give me cancer, I'll spit up the tumor and butter
my BREAD with the juice!  I'M SUPERNATURAL, I bend CROWBARS with my meat ax and
a thought!  My droppings bore through the earth and erupt VOLCANOES in CHINA!
Yes, I can drink more wine and stay soberer than all the heathen HINDOOS in
Asia!  YEEEE HAW!  GUT BLOWOUT!  I am a MORAY EEL, I am a KOMODO DRAGON, I am a
KILLER WHALE BEREFT OF IT'S PUP!  I have a triple backbone, I was sired by the
Wolf Man, give me ALL your Slack!  I told JESUS I wouldn't go to church and He
SHOOK MY HAND!  I have my OWN personal saviors, I change 'em every hour, I
don't give a fuck if there's life after death, I want to know if there's even
any fucking SLACK after death!  I am a god damn VISIONARY, I see the future and
the past in comic books and wine bottles;  I eat BLACK HOLES for breakfast!  I
bend my genes and whittle at my DNA with the sheer force of my mighty WILL!  I
steer my OWN god damn evolution!  I ran 'em out of Heaven and sold it to Hell
for a PROFIT!  I'm enlightened, I achieved "Nirvana" and took it HOME with me.
YIP, YIP, YEEEEEEEE!  I'm so ugly the Speed of Light can't slow me down and
Gravity won't tug at my cuffs!  When the Rapture comes, I'll make 'em wait!
They'll NEVER clean MY cage!  Now give me some more of..."
                           (Tape runs out.)

It is a necklace with a pendant in the shape of Kurdistan, bearing the Kurdish national emblem and colors.

Free Kurdistan!

Stateless anarchist Gogulski posting a nationalist statist symbol! Way off, you say?

Free Kurdistan is an idea. It is a dream shared by millions inside and outside the territory. First and foremost, it is an idea about community, identity and self-determination. A dream and an idea to celebrate.

Secondarily, Free Kurdistan is an idea that must touch the ground someplace. Within the generally-accepted context of things on this planet, that means that Free Kurdistan should become a state.

‘Round these parts, we hold that states are illegitimate, unnecessary and undesirable. However, I support the idea of Kurdistan becoming a state, both because that’s what a lot of Kurds want for themselves, and because I hold that so long as we are to have states, we should have as many as possible, and that they should be as small as possible.

Free Kurdistan!

With a single exception, attendees responded with words evoking free markets, individualism, free association, self-determination, respect for property, the ability to create and retain wealth, no interference in peaceful trade, ideological consistency, and so on.

I then told them that they are all absolutely right. And at the same time absolutely wrong.

I said: Capitalism is an exploitative system of privileges granted to wealthy interests to the detriment of the poor.

And that definition is also right, because it lives in the minds of billions.

Discuss.

Interested? Check out the whole offer, over there.