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by face 5710 days ago
I do not think he is arguing against property rights. I think that forms of anarchy allow for property rights and other individual liberties.
4 comments

ESR might not argue against property rights, because I'd bet he's an "anarcho"-capitalist. All other forms of anarchism don't believe in property, but ancaps do. This is why you'll often (well, in anarchist discussions, anyway) hear that "ancaps aren't anarchists."
Can you explain more? How can property rights and individual liberties be secured without the police?
In theory, but not practice. Hobbes particularly, makes the point that without government, property rights are largely unenforcible. The strong will out.
> In theory, but not practice. Hobbes particularly, makes the point that without government, property rights are largely unenforcible. The strong will out.

Umm, the strong will out even with govt. In fact, govt will enforce the will of the strong.

Consider how eminent domain works in the US. One of the seminal cases in the US involved GM wanting to build a plant where a bunch of poor people lived. The local govt took the land under eminent domain and basically gave it to GM. (It's the "poletown" case if you're looking for cites.)

Yes, you get to vote, but as they say, democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting over what to have for dinner.

At least that sheep has a vote. I dislike eminent domain abuse as much as anyone but there is a big difference between what property right abuse looks like now and what it would look like without a discernible and relatively incorrupt government.
> there is a big difference between what property right abuse looks like now and what it would look like without a discernible and relatively incorrupt government.

Those aren't the only possibilities. (And relatively incorrupt is optimistic. It isn't consistently corrupt.)

Consider the sudan (no functioning govt) with zimbabwe (malevolent govt). It's not obvious that the sudan is worse.

Also, remember that the effective genocides have had govt backing.

I thought that as soon as you start introducing rights, you're talking about a libertarian