Is there a danger in agorism- the so-called "black- and gray-markets"- that is not present when dealing with "governmentally licensed" businesses?
Would a loan-shark be more likely to arbitrarily change the terms of your deal than an "FDIC-insured" bank? Or a credit card company? Are you sure? Have you read those notices they send you on a regular basis?
Is gray-market aspirin more likely to be a worthless placebo or to come from a dangerous batch than that which has been governmentally inspected or approved?
Even if this is the case, how much of the danger comes directly from the consequences of government meddling in what should be a free market, and keeping good people out of such endeavors? A lot of otherwise good people still have a morbid desire to be "law-abiding".
If you have chosen to deal with those who, by the very nature of avoiding "imperial entanglements", must remain "outlaws" you can't go running to tattle to the state if they harm you. This leaves private arbitration. Since private arbitration hasn't really taken off yet, you might have a hard time finding someone to act as a go-between.
I don't see this as a flaw in the free markets themselves, but as a temporary danger due to government getting in the way of free trade and interfering with the natural tendency of bad-actors to suffer the consequences of their dishonesty. No one is forcing you to deal with any particular un-sanctioned business. Only government (or other mafia) forces people to do business with its agents and offices. Find out who is trustworthy and who is not. Buyer beware, always.
I think the risk is worth it. Nothing is 100% safe, after all. Free trade, without government "permission", is probably the most powerful place to start, after your recognition of your self-ownership. "Trade" is moving beyond the self into the wider world. If you really want freedom, it is necessary. You have to start sometime and somewhere.
And, who knows, maybe you are just the right person to start a counter-economic career arbitrating, under the radar, for the real free market.
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Start by trading goods and services with your neighbors and friends. Buy whatever you can from your local merchants. Build a base of trusted trading partners now. You'll be glad you did.
I like the logo of the linked site...! :)
Another fact to remember:
"Smuggling" equals "freedom."
"Smuggling" is just a government weasel-word for "free trade". It isn't a real, separate, thing. Han Solo and Malcolm Reynolds are just businessmen.
lol@Black Flag.....
Actually, people who trade in the grey and black markets can go tattle to the government, and frequently do. That isn't always helpful to them, as gov't tends to be brutal and arbitrary to everyone. But it does happen. Which is why so many people use pseudonyms.
There is a distinction that Sam Konkin made between black/grey markets and red markets. People in some markets use force and coercion. Pimps that hook their prostitutes on drugs, or beat them, are engaged in a red market. Immigrant smugglers that engage in slavery are in a red market. Killers for hire are in a red market. Many enforcement types are bullies in a red market.
Jim,
I'm pretty sympathetic to agorism, but I think you're building some sandcastles in the sky. First, black markets are not free markets (and I don't think most agorists claim this)-they are inexorably corrupted by state influence-their simple illegality confirms this. Humanity contains a significant percentage of vermin, and while this certainly not universal with black-marketeers, the nature of the market attracts a higher proportion of vermin. To pretend that the nasty bits in a black market don't exist, or are somehow something else, separate from the black market...a "red" market. To do this overstates the case-or indeed creates a straw man. And it is unnecessary.
The Bloods, the Crips, MS-13, the Gambino Family...whoever, are not doubt guilty of unspeakable evil, but last I checked none of them have incinerated a city- a la Dresden. And none of them are as anywhere as accomplished at theft.
Those supposed "free-marketeers" who do tattle to the state (which negates their claim of being "free-marketeers") would be showing their untrustworthiness and would be the ones to avoid, and to tell others to avoid as well. And those who use coercion and violence are trying to be just like the state.
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