Recently the governor of Illinois proposed the use of military helicopters to fight gang violence in Chicago. Not much earlier, DC announced that the local standing army would block off certain neighborhoods and check people entering to decide if they belong there.

Social control of this level is the logical consequence of giving the state responsibility over the lives of individuals. Both cities are notorious for their outright handgun bans, making them national leaders in taking responsibility for safety away from individuals. The increasing police state mentality in the US affects them most noticeably. Unwilling to release their hold on the population, the only solutions they can conceive are those that project more government force into the situation. Predictably, one state program leads to another that addresses the problems the former created, and other factors will be blamed for this supposed necessity.

Urban violence seems to present a challenge for agorism, as those who participate in state-banned economic activity are often engaging in violence that usually cannot be justified by libertarian principles. Between these red market coercive enterprises and state crackdowns, counter-economic ventures may have little room to grow. But challenges often present opportunities. Counter-economic agencies could protect people from gang violence. Such agencies would help the local economy by their involvement in it and their protection of peaceable trade and movement. They should recruit locally to get firm ties with the community and local knowledge that is best attained by spending time in an area. And of course, the Zero Aggression Principle must be adhered to.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 18th, 2008 at 7:02 pm and is filed under libertarian. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.