: : : http://www.economic.net/somalia/ a rosy alternative: Couldn't get it to work...
SDF: Me neither.
: : SDF: Anarcho-capitalism is a phony ideal through and through. Capitalist competition needs government to make sure the competitors don't get out of hand. Without it, capitalist competition will always degenerate into a regime of theft and syndicates. There is something to the possiblity of socialism, though its realization is far far away.
: Lets not forget that thorny issue of how many can exist without the state, we've yet to here a convincing argument on that one yet. Still waiting.
SDF: Plenty of businesses can operate without the state, they just offer protection as one of their line of products. This is what they do in that other great anarcho-capitalist paradise, Russia. From the report of the Center for Strategic and International Studies on "Russian Organized Crime":
When a business comes "under the roof" of a Russian organized crime group, it is not always viewed as a clear case of extortion. Often, the krysha (referring to the protection services offered by such groups) offers a range of services. The busienss can expect to be defended from other racketeers, including corrupt law enforcement; effective technical and guard protection of property; debt collection; asssistance with customs clearances; legal and business advice from an adroit "legal staff"; and banking privileges at criminal-controlled banks. (Note that when these folks call a business "criminal-controlled" it must be taken with a grain of salt, since according their own estimates 71% of the banks break the law. Law is not important in today's Russia.)-p. 29
So it sounds to me like business is thriving in Russia, though of course the Russian economy is shrinking quite a bit at present. Also see John Gray's "Anarcho-capitalism in post-communist Russia," pp. 133-165 of his book FALSE DAWN.
