True Capitalism vs. Might Makes Right

True Capitalism is the economic system which is man’s most productive response to the state of Anarchy in which he finds himself. Far from being an undesirable reign of chaos, Anarchy, the absence of government, is the natural state of man. If Anarchy is simply an ultimate given, then it is man’s response to Anarchy that must be examined.

In response to this natural state, man has two options: He can choose to mutually cooperate with his fellow man, respecting both his fellow man’s right to live and his right to property or He can choose to take his fellow man’s life and property through the use of force.

In other words, man may choose the path of True Capitalism or Might Makes Right. Ideologically, there is no middle ground. In practice, men live at various points on the spectrum between these two extremes.

What may come as a surprise is that all of the Nation States on the planet have come into existence by and base their operations on the principal of Might Makes Right. No matter how much freedom the Nation State may allow its citizens, it must be recognized that the Nation State stakes its claim on the individual’s life at birth, by declaring them a citizen and in many cases requiring either military service or registration to be conscripted into military service should the nation state deem it necessary. The Nation State then stakes its claim on the individual’s property through either taxation or a myriad of rules and regulations regarding the use of said property.

Far from being an ultimate given, the Nation State, at a basic level, is an entity which provides varying levels of security and welfare services. What differentiates the Nation State from other agencies providing security and welfare services (think security firms and insurance companies) is that the Nation State enjoys a geographic monopoly which it enforces by both the threat and use of violence against its captive audience, otherwise known as citizens.

This is the world today, and any sober look at the facts will lead one to conclude that man has chosen Might Makes Right as the dominant response to our Anarchic natural state.

Yet there is a better way. True freedom and prosperity can be found by embracing True Capitalism and abandoning the Might Makes Right doctrine. In contrast to Might Makes Right, a revolution cannot be undertaken to change man’s response to Anarchy from Might Makes Right to True Capitalism by violence, for by definition violence is simply a furthering of the Might Makes Right response, not a step towards a Truly Capitalistic society.

As the famous David Wilcox lyric goes: “resentment doesn’t die with the dead”

Rather, a revolution which would naturally, by definition, bring about a Truly Capitalistic society involves rejecting all aspects of the Might Makes Right doctrine. It involves renouncing any and all choices which make use of violence, whether undertaken personally or by directing the Nation State to use violence on one’s behalf, to take the life or property of another while at the same time asserting one’s rights to have their own life and property respected as inviolate.

On the surface, a Truly Capitalistic society may not look that different from the current structure of things. There may arise security and insurance companies which serve geographical areas in tandem in such a way that they closely resemble current Nation States. However, assuming that the paradigm is changed and man truly embraces Truly Capitalistic ideology, nobody will be compelled under the threat of violence to be a client of the security or insurance company. Rather, individuals holding property would be free to choose between defending and securing their own property and income streams or voluntarily contracting with the security and insurance companies for these services.

In a Truly Capitalistic society, the division of labor would flourish and the property and resources would quickly pass from unproductive hands to productive hands, organically balancing the competing goals of maximizing output and capital preservation.

Companies who abuse their clients would quickly be abandoned and weakened while those who deliver the best service and value to their clients would prosper and attract more clients. This rule naturally applies equally to security and insurance companies in stark contrast to the monopoly on these services currently claimed by the Nation State.

The lack of compulsion under the threat of violence is the key difference between the response of True Capitalism and Might Makes Right. Might Makes Right naturally engenders fear and evokes a response to others based on this fear. True Capitalism engenders, encourages, and rewards trust and evokes a response of trust in others.

Only upon this trust can a truly free and prosperous society blossom.

The choice between True Capitalism and Might Makes Right is one which must be made. Anarchy demands a response, and these two options are the only responses known to man. All other supposed choices are simply points on the spectrum between these extremes, but the choice of guiding ideology determines where man and society are moving along this continuum.

The ideologies of True Capitalism and Might Make Right are like magnets, and remaining at a point in between them on the continuum is not an option, for society is always being pulled in one direction or the other depending upon the dominant ideology adopted by a majority of the people.

This is an ideological battle which must be won if mankind is to survive and prosper. Life and death are laid before us. Choose life, that you may live.