Freedom, Society, and State - Ludwig von Mises Institute

CHAPTER VIII
The Areas of Anarchist-Minarchist Agreement
There is considerable agreement between the anarchists
and the minarchists. The single, though very
important, difference between the two factions of libertarianism
centers on the issue of police, court and
nat ional defense services. While "minarchists" such as
Ayn Rand, John Hospers, and Robert Nozick do not believethat
the rna r ketca n fur n ish s uc h s e r vicesandadvocate
a "night watchman" state to provide them, the
anarchists maintain that the market can be extended
into these areas as well.
While a "blueprint" for the operations of such a
society cannot be presented for every area, their proposal
s for deali n g wit h the rna j 0 r iss ue s ca n be ind i ­
cated. The areas of agreement between the anarchists
and minarchists will be the focus of this chapter. The
anarchist proposal for providing protection services,
both domestic police and courts and "national defense,"
will be examined in Chapter IX.
1. ROADS
In the absence of government all roads would, of
course, be privately owned and operated; they would be
run on the same profit/loss principles as any other
bus iness. Since roads are commonly thought to be a
classic example of a "collective good," the typical
reaction is that a viable private road system would be
impossible. Yet libertarians argue that "there is
not h i n gun i que abo u t t ran s po r tat ion; t hat the e con om i c
p r inc i pie s we a c c e ptas a rna t t e r 0 f cour s e i n prae t i ­
ca lly every other area of human experiences are appl icab
I e her e too." ( 1 ) Per haps the bes t wa y topres en t
the libertarian proposal in this area is by examining
their responses to several of the more common criticisms
that can be raised against the prospect of private
roads. These are:
8. Cos t •
The cost
be so high as
enterprise.
of producing and maintaining roads would
to be prohibitive if left up to private
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