Why People Espouse Anarchy

WHY PEOPLE ESPOUSE ANARCHY? Because they believe that kindness is better than cruelty, cooperation is better than conflict, truth is better than lies, reason is better than force, honesty is better than deception, peace is better than war, beauty is better than ugliness, love is better than hatred, wealth is better than poverty, generosity is better than selfishness, progress is better than decline, health is better than sickness, gentleness is better than violence, innocence is better than guilt, wisdom is better than folly, respect is better than contempt, intelligence is better than stupidity, freedom is better than slavery, sanity is better than lunacy, honor is better than treachery, and justice is better than injustice.

WHY PEOPLE ESPOUSE THE STATE: Because they believe that anarchy won’t work or because they are evil.

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Robert Higgs is Senior Fellow in Political Economy at the Independent Institute and Editor at Large of the Institute’s quarterly journal The Independent Review. He received his Ph.D. in economics from Johns Hopkins University, and he has taught at the University of Washington, Lafayette College, Seattle University, the University of Economics, Prague, and George Mason University. He has been a visiting scholar at Oxford University and Stanford University, and a fellow at the Hoover Institution and the National Science Foundation.