Chip In to get C4SS and Markets Not Capitalism to Libertopia!

ChipIn: Markets Not Capitalism! at Libertopia (Oct 2012)

Libertopia is an annual convention / festival for voluntaryists, market anarchists, and other people seeking liberty and peace through radical means, outside of electoral politics. It’s held every year in San Diego; the 2012 convention is coming up next weekend, from October 11 to October 14.

We’re happy to note that this year there will be a veritable mob of left-libertarians, free-market anti-capitalists, C4SSers, and other lefty-friendly commentators who have been invited to speak throughout the event — including a number of panel discussions, breakout sessions, and tabling with literature and one-on-one conversations. There’ll be a panel on Markets Not Capitalism featuring editors Charles Johnson and Gary Chartier, and contributors Roderick Long and Sheldon Richman. There’ll be breakout sessions by Charles Johnson and Roderick long for the Molinari Institute, on Race, Gender and Anarchy, and Ask an Anti-capitalist! A Freewheeling Q&A on Markets Not Capitalism, Left-Libertarianism, and Mutualist Ends Through Free-Market Means (The latter has been scheduled to be held Sunday morning in the John Galt Room, which I will just have to chalk up to one of the more hilarious examples of culture clash I’ve encountered since I got into the left-libertarian gig.) And also look for intriguing talks from C4SSers like Gary Chartier, Sheldon Richman, Stephanie Murphy, as well as presentations by Angela Keaon, Sharon Presley, and Anthony Gregory. You can see the full schedule online.

In addition to the line-up of talks, C4SS and its fiscal sponsor, the Molinari Institute, will be hosting a table in the exhibition space with copies of Markes Not Capitalism; the newly-released magazine, the Industrial Radical; and left-libertarian booklets, pamphlets, buttons, and zines galore. The Molinari Institute, C4SS’s fiscal sponsor, is holding a fundraiser this month to help make possible all this possible — to cover the travel costs and the cost of the exhibition-space table for Charles Johnson and Roderick Long. We’ve done everything we can to do this on a shoestring, from ridesharing to couch-surfing, but there’s still a couple of hefty charges we’re currently paying out of pocket to get Markets Not Capitalism and a rambunctious left-libertarian presence out to California. (In particular, $440 for the rental of a shared ride to transport C4SSers to San Diego, and $400 to reimburse Roderick Long for the expense of the exhibition-space table.)

If you want to help out, and to support left-libertarian outreach, engagement and scholarship, you can toss a few coins in the hat using the ChipIn widget above. We’re hoping to spread out the costs with a lot of small donations, and anything you can give towards the fundraising goal would be really helpful, and definitely appreciated. (Donations go to the Molinari Institute, and proceeds above the reimburseable travel and registration expenses, in the event there were any, would then go towards supporting the Molinari Institute’s production and distribution of market anarchist literature.) If you believe, as we do, in bringing out an uncompromising left-libertarian, individualist anarchism, please click through and contribute today.

Thanks! Hope to see y’ALL in California!

Recently, I touched base with Gary Chartier (C4SS Advisory Panel member and Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Law and Business Ethics, School of Business, La Sierra University) on how the Introduction to Anarchism class is going, curious about student participation, the text being used and coursework. Since contributors to C4SS help to fund the course of study for which Intro to Anarchism is the budding branch, I wondered also about the significance of the course itself, since nothing of the kind is being offered in the greater academic universe.

Gary Chartier

Admittedly, I’m more ignorant of the text, The Market for Liberty by Morris and Linda Tannehill, than I would prefer, having read only excerpts of it, but had noticed interesting objections arising from its use in the class in various blog and forum comments. What was the bugaboo about the Tannehills’ book?

“The Tannehills were Objectivists. I’m not one, and neither are many of our students, and this means we’ve found a lot to argue with at some points. [The Tannehills] tend to treat ethics as a matter of rational self-interest, and, indeed, to criticize as immoral anyone who isn’t willing to use force to defend herself. Also, the Tannehills tend often to view market society as coextensive with commercial society, whereas I think many of us prefer to think of “the market” as a label for the sphere of peaceful cooperation, voluntary interaction, whether or not related to the cash nexus.”

“My vision of anarchy is a vision of peace, of non-aggression, and I think people can interact peacefully in all sorts of non-commercial ways. For instance, while the Tannehills tend to think of security services as provided by for-profit companies, I like to point out that we’re likely instead, in a stateless society, to see such services as provided by a combination of for-profit companies, not-for-profit companies, cooperatives, volunteers, and self-help.”

“…I think the Tannehills’ vision is unduly limited. The book has some advantages: first, it’s got a long history in the freedom movement; second, it’s pretty accessibly written; third, when we used it, we understood that it was available on-line for free. I’d also point out that the Tannehills can be humane and decent in very welcome ways. They often exude a hippie sensibility that I quite like, and that certainly isn’t Randroid; and their comments on criminal justice are often very good–the explicitly reject retribution as irrational and argue instead for restitution. So I think their work is a mixed bag.”

“We’re still working on what’s next. The certificate, [as currently imagined] is to feature [at least] four classes.”  One possible list, offered by Brad Spangler, is as follows:

ATP 101

ATP 102

ATP 110

ATP 111

Market Anarchist Praxis II  (practicum: a mentored self-planned activist project, “start something”)

ATP 115

Survey of Anarchist Thought (a guided tour of the Anarchist FAQ — because advocates of Market Anarchism ought to be able to intelligently discuss anarchism generally)

[1 elective]

ATP 200

Gary says that he’ll be working on lining up instructors for the other courses. Also, possibly in addition to the course on Agorism, Kevin Carson will likely be teaching something related to the left-libertarian tradition. Lastly, Gary confirmed my suspicion: these offerings are both rare and groundbreaking:

“C4SS’s “Stateless U” project offers an outstanding opportunity for people to complete college level coursework at an extremely affordable price. The Center’s courses in anarchist studies offer opportunities to study anarchist theory and practice unavailable anywhere else.”

As Stateless U evolves, perhaps it will stimulate a more global revival of anarchist study; with the excellence of the personnel involved, one does wonder how other schools, both virtual and “actual” will evolve to compete for the attention of the burgeoning ranks of students pursuing studies in human freedom. It can only be positive.

Please give generously to help us reach our goals and help us further the incredible work of C4SS!