How Our Minds Are Programmed
Brains may have killed anarcho-capitalism.
I don’t mean to say that smart people have done this. Heavens, no. Our brains use schemas—cognitive frameworks, or think of them as mental blueprints that organize and interpret words and concepts. They come from what we learn and experience throughout life. Schemas help us process information. It’s actually very efficient for our brains to operate in this way. Think about friendship, for instance. Your schema for the concept of friendship might include your best friend, laughing, having a beer together, having a good time in general, or trust, or even a location where you have spent a lot of time with your friends. When you encounter the word “friendship,” your brain activates this schema and allows you to quickly retrieve the associated information. This retrieval process is efficient because your brain already has it organized and ready to go.
Schemas allow us to navigate by judgments and predictions based on what we already know. We use them for both concrete objects and abstract concepts. But the weakness of schemas is their tendency toward biases and prejudices. Effective propaganda hacks those schemas and affects how we interpret new information when it doesn’t fit our established beliefs and knowledge.
Think of words as buttons, and the schemas as the program that plays when you push those buttons. When your brain hears a certain word, it’s like pushing the corresponding button, and whatever is programmed activates. Sometimes our buttons have faulty programming. Things like propaganda and public opinion are some of the things that can program these buttons the wrong way. Refer to this blog I wrote about the telekinetic nature of language.
Bastardized Words
Terms like “capitalism” and “anarchism” have veered sharply from their original connotations. Capitalism has become synonymous with cronyism, the unholy alliance between big business and big government; while anarchism has become synonymous with lawlessness. For most people, the programming of their “capitalism” and “anarchism” buttons has been hijacked by liberalism and statism respectively.
What does that mean for those of us who use these two words to describe ourselves? Advocates for freedom and liberty are late to distance themselves from the negative associations of these terms so they can better communicate their vision for a free society.
I am an anarcho-capitalist, a term that has existed for almost 100 years, but I’m afraid that the words on their own have each run their respective courses, and it may be time for retirement. What is the point of keeping the word “anarcho-capitalism” when both of those words have been so bastardized, and no longer mean to most people what they mean to us?
Capitalism
The term “capitalism,” which once meant free and unrestricted trade, has transformed into a system where wealth and power are concentrated in the hands of a few, highly corrupt, well-connected politicians and those who do business with them. It has come to stand for corporations using political connections to lobby, gain advantages, manipulate regulations, and secure monopolies. This distortion contradicts its fundamental premise of fair competition and economic liberty. By the strictest definition, government interference of any kind negates free trade. Taxes, fees, workplace regulations, the minimum wage, these all bring economic circumstances that affect free trade. This means we do not live in a capitalist country, contrary to the beliefs of our well-meaning left-wing anarchist friends. But the destructive consequences of “capitalism,” so called, are decried by many, and unfortunately lumped in with business of any sort. Free trade itself becomes the enemy, not corporate collusion with the state.
Anarchism
The term “anarchism” originally referred to voluntary cooperation in the absence of coercive authority. Now, warped by popular perception, just like capitalism, it conjures chaos, disorder, and lawlessness. The schema attached to anarchism is a molotov cocktail that breaks through a storefront window. It’s a murder that goes completely unpunished. It’s a climate catastrophe that no one is in charge of, and therefore no one solves. It is ANTIFA, or societal breakdown, rather than a community organized through voluntary associations and mutual respect.
The term “anarcho-capitalism” is the combination of two words that have come to stand for their opposites, both opposed to the principles of anarcho-capitalism. Destruction of property, big business in bed with big government, these things are the antithesis of our beliefs.
Voluntaryism
In response to these misconceptions and misrepresentations, a new word rises to prominence. Voluntaryism has the potential to be anarcho-capitalism reborn. Voluntaryism means that all interactions should be voluntary, while anarcho-capitalism is a stateless system based on private property rights. Anarcho-capitalism may follow from voluntaryism, but not necessarily the other way around. Other than those highly autistic qualifications, they are largely synonymous, or at least used interchangeably.
Voluntaryism, as a concept, has existed since the 19th century, but hasn’t been widely used until the last few decades. The core principle is voluntary interactions, where individuals engage in consensual exchanges and associations without the coercion or intervention of government. It embodies the idea of voluntary collaboration, the free exchange of goods and services, and solutions to problems without the need for external imposition or force. I believe, in light of Keith Knight’s successful Voluntaryist Handbook, and Jack Lloyd’s book series on libertarian voluntaryist philosophy, this will soon be preferable to anarcho-capitalism.
We used to be liberals. “Liberal” was the word that referred to libertarians. Other than those who refer to themselves as “classical liberals,” we all acknowledge that the word has evolved past what we mean by it. “Liberal” no longer refers to libertarians, but quite the opposite. It doesn’t stand for liberty, but statism. That’s the sad reality of how words evolve over time.
Voluntaryism is not weighed down by the bloated baggage that has accumulated around the twisted terminology of anarchy and capitalism. This word is right at home in a society that claims to value consent and hate force. It invokes better concepts, enacts better schemas, of a society where individuals engage in voluntary associations, adhere to agreed-upon rules and principles, and resolve conflicts through non-coercive means. It emphasizes the responsibility of individuals to make choices that align with their values and preferences, and to respect the rights and freedom of others.
“Capitalism” and “anarchism” have been intentionally misprogrammed in a lot of people’s minds. Voluntaryism offers a fresh, renewed focus on voluntary cooperation and consensual interactions as the cornerstone of a free society. Tear off the tarnished label of “anarcho-capitalism,” and replace it with “voluntaryism.” It allows for a more accurate articulation of our beliefs and goals—a society built on voluntary exchanges, individualism, and peaceful cooperation. It will carry our message to the itching ears of those who hate corrupt government-centric business practices, as well as the black-masked hoodlum who loots a local business.
Welcome to the new era of voluntaryism.