>>7792468>>7788999>>7783382>>7780108Perhaps this is not the place to ask for levelheadedness, but I'd like to make a good faith argument and hope for a measured response. I do not mean to insult. I'd like to think we can disagree on ideals without taking things personally:
There is a thought experiment that always troubles me when I try to take AnCap or Anarchy seriously and that is: Individual use of Gunboat Diplomacy and Extortion. Let me explain:
I currently own a 'big enough' boat and a shop capable of producing cannons. Even if I didn't, I (and many others) have the knowledge to make such things.
In the nominal bright AnCap future, what is to stop me (or anyone else) from making a Gunboat and simply extorting all of my neighbors with the threat of naval artillery shelling? And when that is done, what is to stop me from pressing inwards with land based artillery encampments?
The first obvious answer is "someone with bigger ships and guns". Okay, but what is to stop THEM from firing up an extortion racket? What if we simply join forces to extort the landlubbers instead of fighting each other? We can even upgrade it to a protection racket where we demand tribute to keep you safe from other pirates. At that point... we're basically just another government taking what are effectively taxes and providing what is effectively a form a property protection.
I'm focusing on the naval bit because that's a field I know all about. But I'm sure an equal argument exists for land-based warlords as well. If there is no organized government extorting the labors of the working class, history shows one will crystallize around sufficient force.
What I don't understand is how Anarcho Capitalism keeps from devolving into simple Anarchy, and further how Anarchy keeps from devolving into Warlords.
