Samuel Edward Konkin III

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Samuel Edward Konkin III (1947–2004) was a libertarian theorist, writer and editor best known for his variation on anarcho-capitalism he termed Agorism. He was also a minor figure in science fiction fandom and writing.

His beginnings as a political activist were as an ultra-conservative in the Social Credit party of Canada but he said he was radicalized by the libertarian movement as it was starting to take form during the late 1960s. He became opposed to political parties, especially the Libertarian Party, because he was against voting viewing it as a coercive act that went against libertarian principles.

Konkin's most famous contribution to libertarianism, not to mention anarchism in general, came due to a response from Murray Rothbard who challenged the anti-voting and anti-party libertarians to come up with some path to liberty of their own. Konkin's answer was The New Libertarian Manifesto: a booklet published in 1980 that helped bring Agorism into being and popularized his philosophy.

Contents

[edit] The New Libertarian Manifesto

The New Libertarian Manifesto advocated the growth of the underground economy outside of government control which would eventually lead to a showdown where the government would attempt to initiate force against the black market to suppress it. However the black market would be too strong by that point and the government would wither away out of irrelevance.

Konkin termed this black market the "counter-economy" and the advocacy and practice of it, "counter-economics". Konkin included a rather broad range of activities under the heading of counter-economics. Examples of this included truck drivers who drove over the speed limit, yard sales where sales taxes were not collected, illegal/undocumented immigrants, workers crossing union picket lines, prostitutes, smugglers, drug users and drug dealers.

Despite describing his Agorism as "left-Rothbardian" and crediting its creation to Murray Rothbard, the said person panned the book. He claimed Konkin's counter-economy could only ever consist of marginalia such as gambling and prostitution, but would never be able to address vital needs of mass production and manufacturing. He said it was absurd to lump together businessmen and factory owners skirting regulations together with the underground/illegal economy as if they were all consciously part of the same mass movement. One example of an organized counter-economy mass movement, said Rothbard, was the Mafia which doesn't exactly follow the libertarian non-aggression principle. Furthermore the black market in such countries, like the Soviet Union, were no threat to the state at all but may have helped extend its lifespan.[1]

As was to be naturally expected, Konkin was not amused. Almost immediately Konkin took Rothbard to task for his comments. In a long reply Konkin meticulously addressed all the major points Rothbard made. He countered, in a nutshell, by saying Rothbard's points were incorrect, inconsistent, ignorant and, in some cases, stupid.

He even went so far as to point out holes in Rothbard's philosophy. His most notable was in pointing at his hypocrisy in claiming to be for the end of the government yet still encouraging people to use the political process. Konkin was especially keen to point out that Rothbard's support of voting was misguided and illogical. It's definitely not something an actual, consistent anarchist would do when there are other options that don't help legitimize the government.[2]

Coincidentally, Konkin's consistent anti-electoral ideology and advocacy of it was one of the key reasons he was largely kept of the mainstream libertarian movement during his lifetime. His battles with Rothbard and his mainly right-libertarian supporters didn't help matters either.

[edit] Influence in Sci-Fi

Originally from Canada, Konkin eventually settled in Long Beach, California where he lived in the same apartment complex with several libertarian-leaning science fiction writers. Besides Konkin this also included J. Neil Schulman, Brad Linaweaver, and Victor Koman.

J. Neil Schulman's novel Alongside Night is dedicated to Konkin and based on his theories. The novel posits a future world in which an alternative economy, complete with its own underground currency, flourishes while the government-sanctioned economy is collapsing amid hyper-inflation. A "free market" economist who is a dead ringer for Milton Friedman is eventually convinced to switch his allegiance from the collapsing government to the emerging stateless economy. Linaweaver's and Koman's sci-fi writings also incorporate some influence from Konkin's political theories.

[edit] Neologisms

Konkin coined several terms which have entered the mainstream including Kochtopus and minarchist. He is also responsible for a bunch of others which have not encountered any usage outside of his own circles such as left-Rothbardianism and partyarch. His most significant and lasting contribution may well be the term Kochtopus, which has since been adopted as a term of derision by a wide range of people critical of the Koch family's money and political influence.

[edit] Well, At Least He Was Consistent

The New Libertarian gave advertising space to the Institute for Historical Review, a Holocaust denial group founded by Willis Carto. Konkin himself rejected Holocaust denial, but supported the IHR out of the belief that their freedom of speech was under attack.[3]

[edit] Legacy

Konkin's Agorism and philosophy have recently seen something of a post-humorous revival since his death. A notable example of this is Bitcoin many of whose more fervent advocates view cryptocurrencies as a counter-economy finally emerging and believe such currencies will supplant the existence of the government.

[edit] See also

  • Dana Rohrabacher, his libertarian mentor who has since become a conservative Republican
  • Murray Rothbard, his most adamant opponent but also one of the biggest influences on the creation of Agorism

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. Konkin on Libertarian Strategy Strategy of the New Libertarian Alliance May Day 1981
  2. Konkin's Reply to Rothbard
  3. Heider, Ulrike (1994). Anarchism: Left, Right and Green. San Francisco: City Lights Books.
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