Overthrowingthe Anarchists 301termfor it, to be sure,not Friedman’s. In any case,in a societysuchas the one Friedman
advocates,there“mightbe manycourtsand evenmanylegalsystems.”^5 As therewould
be a varietyof disparatetastesamongclients,one protectionagencymighthaveage-of-
consentlawswhereasanotherdoesnot.Friedmantrumpetsthatyoushouldbe ableto
choosebetweena ProtectionServicethatforbidsabortionversusonethatpermitsthe
procedure.Insofaras thereare a varietyof modelsfromwhichto select,that indicatesthe
industryis competitive.By contrast,the moredisparatefirmsin an industrygrowsimilar
fromone another,offeringproductsor servicesthatare hardlydistinguishablefromeach
other,the less competitivetheyseem.For a firmto distinguishitselffromits competitors
by offeringa legalsystemwithrulesvastlydiscrepantfromits competitors’ rules,is for
thatfirmto be verycompetitive.Wheneveryfirmactsalike,thatis a formof collusion,
and is no less a decreasein competitivenessthanis collusionon price.The morehomoge-
nousthe rulesystemsof the separateagenciesbecome,the moretheybehaveas a cartel,
and theywill,in practice,seemto be a singleregionalmonopoly.
Notethatthisentireattemptto sell the systemof competingprotectionservicesis
basedon a falseideawe exploredinThe Freedomof PeacefulAction. It is the presumption
thata politicaladministration’s morallegitimacyis contingentsolelyuponwhetherit
forgeda SocialContractwithits citizens—in this case,subscribers—priorto performing
any actionin presidingoverthem.
TheInevitabilityof MonopolisticHegemony
The proponentsof anarchyassertthatif the privatedefenseagencyto whichyouare
currentlysubscribedis treatingyou crummy,you can unsubscribefromit and purchasea
subscriptionfromits competitor.Fortunately,RobertJamesBidinottoobservesthe prob-
lem withtherebeing“competingjusticesystems” in the samegeographicregion.Sucha
system“posits‘competition’ in the use of force,but more:‘competition’ indefiningthe
rightfulusesof force.To whommustthesecompeting‘protectionagencies’ ultimately
answer?To whatstandardare theirownactionsandverdictsto be held?... Shouldsex
betweenadultsand youngchildrenbe allowed?Shouldkidsbe freedfromthe controlof
theirparents,andshouldtheybe permittedto walkout at whim?If yes in eachcase,
shouldparentswhointerferebe stopped—by deadlyforce,if necessary?”^6 (emphases
Bidinotto’s). Anarchistsjust takeit for grantedthateveryprotectionservicewillallow
you to unsubscribefromit. Theydo not anticipatethe possibilitythat a protectionservice
wouldthreatento initiatethe exerciseof forceagainstyou if you try to unsubscribefrom
it. Rothbardianshaveyet to delivera trulycompellinganswerto thisquestion:“What
happenswhenI try to unsubscribefrommy defenseagency,andmy defenseagency
resultantlytellsme thatif I try to unsubscribefromit, it willbreakmy legs?” Werea
privatedefenseagencyto issuethatthreat,I willnot be ableto call the policefor help.
Thisis anarchy,remember—thereare no policeotherthanthe privatedefenseservice
businessesthemselves.
Massachusetts-basedscholarsDaronAcemogluandJamesA. Robinsondescribea
real-lifesituationthat parallelsthat hypotheticalscenario:in one partof the globe,“politi-
cal power” is “widelydistributed—almostpluralistic.Indeedthereis no realauthority
that can controlor sanctionwhatanyonedoes.Societyis dividedinto... clansthat cannot
dominateone another.Thisdistributionof powerleadsnot to inclusiveinstitutionsbut to
chaos,andat the rootof it is the... lackof any kindof politicalcentralization,or state
centralization,andits inabilityto enforceeventhe minimalamountof law andorderto
supporteconomicactivity,trade,or eventhe basicsecurityof its citizens.”^7 Acemoglu
andRobinsonweredescribingthe anarchyof Somalia,andthatis whatan anarcho-
pluralisticsocietywouldresemble,at leastpriorto a singleprotectionagencygaininga