Counter-economics is a term originally coined by Samuel Edward Konkin III, a radical libertarian activist and theorist, who defined it as "the study and/or practice of all peaceful human action which is forbidden by the State. Samuel Edward Konkin III (aka SEK3) ( July 8, 1947 - February 23, 2004) was the author of The New Libertarian Manifesto Libertarianism is a term used by a broad spectrum of political philosophies which prioritize individual Liberty and seek to minimize or even abolish the " The term is short for "counter-establishment economics". The Establishment is a Pejorative term used to refer to the traditional Ruling class Elite and the structures of society that they control Counter-economics is central to Konkin's doctrine of agorism, an explicitly revolutionary variant of market anarchism. Agorism is an anarchist Political philosophy founded by Samuel Edward Konkin III that holds the ultimate goal as bringing about a society in which Free-market anarchism (sometimes called market anarchism) refers to an Individualist anarchist Philosophy that harmonizes the abolition of the state with [1]
The term counter-economics is also used in a separate but arguably compatible sense to refer to addressing social justice and sustainability concerns in a market context, although one more generally counter-establishment rather than explicitly illegal.
In both senses, it can include non-monetary forms of exchange, such as a barter economy or a gift economy. Barter is a type of Trade in which goods or services are directly exchanged A gift economy is a Social theory in which goods and services are given without any explicit agreement for immediate or future Quid pro quo.
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Origin
The first presentations of the theory of counter-economics were made by Samuel Edward Konkin III at two conferences organized by J. Neil Schulman, CounterCon I in 1974 and CounterCon II in 1975, both held in Cheshire, Massachusetts. Joseph Neil Schulman (born April 16, 1953 in Forest Hills New York, USA is a novelist screenwriter journalist radio personality filmmaker composer Other speakers at these conferences included Robert LeFevre, Kenneth Kalcheim, and Dennis Turner. Robert LeFevre (1911–1986 was an American libertarian Businessman Radio personality and primary theorist of Autarchism.
The first book to portray counter-economics as a strategy for achieving a libertarian society was J. Neil Schulman's 1979 novel Alongside Night. Alongside Night (ISBN 1-58445-120-3 is a Prometheus Award winning Libertarian and Anarchist Dystopian Novel by science
Relationship with agorism
Konkin's agorism, as exposited in his New Libertarian Manifesto[2], postulates that the correct method of achieving a market anarchist society is through advocacy and growth of the underground economy or "black market" -- the "counter-economy" as Konkin put it -- until such a point that the State's perceived moral authority and outright power have been so thoroughly undermined that revolutionary market anarchist legal and security enterprises are able to arise from underground and ultimately suppress government as a criminal activity (with taxation being treated as theft, war being treated as mass murder, et cetera). Free-market anarchism (sometimes called market anarchism) refers to an Individualist anarchist Philosophy that harmonizes the abolition of the state with
According to Konkin's pamphlet Counter-Economics[3]:
The Counter-Economy is the sum of all non-aggressive Human Action which is forbidden by the State. Counter-economics is the study of the Counter-Economy and its practices. The Counter-Economy includes the free market, the Black Market, the “underground economy,” all acts of civil and social disobedience, all acts of forbidden association (sexual, racial, cross-religious), and anything else the State, at any place or time, chooses to prohibit, control, regulate, tax, or tariff. The Counter-Economy excludes all State-approved action (the “White Market”) and the Red Market (violence and theft not approved by the State).
According to Konkin, counter-economics also allows for immediate self-liberation from statist controls, to whatever degree practical, by applying entrepreneurial logic to rationally decide which laws to discreetly break and when. The fundamental principle is to trade risk for profit, although profit can refer to any gain in perceived value rather than strictly monetary gains (as a consequence of the subjective theory of value). Financial risk is normally any Risk associated with any form of financing. The subjective theory of value (or theory of subjective value) is an economic theory of value that holds that "to possess value an object must be both useful
Alternative usage
The term counter-economics is also used in a separate but arguably compatible sense to refer to addressing social justice and sustainability concerns in a market context, although one more generally counter-establishment rather than explicitly illegal. In this second sense, counter-economics has been described as "money at the service of people, instead of the other way around. Money is anything that is generally accepted as Payment for Goods and services and repayment of Debts. An English Noun The English noun people has two distinct fields of application as a countable noun, a group of Humans "[4]
According to adherents to this usage of the term, the fairness of trade can be measured by several factors:
1. The extent to which workers have a direct and ongoing say minimally in their working conditions, hours, and pay, and optimally in hiring practices, the products they make, and even what to do with profits. Occupational safety and health is a cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting the Safety, Health and welfare of people engaged in
2. Transparency of business practices. Radical transparency is a Management method where nearly all decision making is carried out publicly Business ethics is a form of Applied ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment Consumers should be able to find out nearly anything there is to know about a company - business practices, working conditions, the make-up of goods, and more . Consumers refers to individuals or households that use goods and services generated within the economy.
3. The company's willingness to use true-cost pricing, environmentally sustainable practices, and suppliers who do the same .
4. Favoring local production for local consumption, to the extent possible.
See also
References
External links
- Agorism.info
- Just Things | The Fair Trade Journal of Applied Counter-Economics
- Alongside Night by J. Neil Schulman
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