Overthrowingthe Anarchists 311Whenanarchistsinsistthat it is a violationof yourrightsfor a nightwatchmanstateto
crackdownon vigilantes,theyoverlookthe followingpoints.
- Dueprocessof law is essentialfor fightingagainstspoliationandfor preventing
would-becrime-fighters—be theygovernmentemployeesor privatecitizens—from
spoliatinginnocentpeopletheywronglysuspectof spoliation. - Nothingbut a centralnight-watchman-governmentcan exercisethe powerto re-
quireeverysingleperson—includingthe nightwatchmangovernment’s ownem-
ployees—to abideby due-processprocedures. - Anyvigilanteunboundby due-processruleshas freereignto spoliateinnocent
persons. - The factsinescapablypointto the conclusionthat a nightwatchmangovernment—
boundby due process—minimizesthe inflictionof spoliationin a society,whereas
a societythat lets vigilantesrun rampantwillmaximizespoliation.
Yes,Rothbardianshowlthattheycan achievea laissez-faire,spoliation-minimizingsoci-
ety in the absenceof universallygovernment-mandateddue process.Theyglossoverthe
fact thata laissez-faire,spoliation-minimizingsocietycannotexistin the absenceof that
universallygovernment-mandateddueprocess.Despitethe intrinsicismof his faulty
epistemologyandfaultyethics,RobertNozickis correctaboutanarchy—insofaras hu-
manbeingsachievelivablesocialconditions,the resultwillnot be competingprotection
firmsunderanarchybut theirhavingdelegatedthe authorizedexerciseof retaliatory
forceto a single,hegemonicbodywhichis government.^16 Someonecan givea societythe
labeloflibertarianuntilhe turnsbluein the face.The bottomline is that if that societyhas
no due processof law,thenit is not a free society,but a spoliativeone.As we realizedin
BookOne,thereis no propersubstitutefor the nightwatchmanstate.
Whatthe LabelMinarchyTriesto Minimize
By nowI shouldhavemademyselfclearon whyI haveavoidedthe employmentof a
particularneologismthrownaroundby libertarianactivists—minarchism. Accordingto
anarchistlibertarianSamuelEdwardKonkinIII (d. 2004),laissez-faireadvocatesfall into
twocamps—anarchistsandminarchists—withKonkinproudlyfallingintothe former.
Konkinandotherlibertariansemploytheminarchisttag becauseof theirmisplacedem-
phasison whatcan be termedthe “size” of government.Government’s “size,” in this
context,refersto the scopeof its powers—powerspertainingboth(1) to its night-watch-
man-statedutiesand(2) to the governistinitiativesthatreachbeyondthe night-watch-
man-statefunctions.Governmentalsize also herepertains(3) to the government’s period-
ic budgetsand(4) to the numberof its employees.Thosewhostressa minarchism-
anarchismspectrumwishto emphasizethatthe “size” of a society’s governmentis al-
waysinverselyproportionalto the degreeof libertywhichthatsocietyenjoys.According
to this standard,maximumlibertyentailsa governmentof absoluteminimumsize.Henry
Hazlitt,to his discredit,emphaticallyproclaimedhimselfto be an advocateof “minimal
government.”^17 RobertNozickfallsfor this fallacyas well,referringto the perfectnight
watchmangovernmentas an “ultraminimalstate.”^18
I knewa ratherpushylibertariananarchistwhokepttryingto pressureme to accept
the designationminarchist. At that moment,I did not knowwhy.At this writing,I do. The
anarchisttriesto get his sparringpartnersto describesthemselvesas supportersof mini-
malgovernment.At thatjuncture,the anarchistpatshimselfon the backfor having
corneredthesepeople.He pointsout thatto shrinkgovernmentto an absoluteminimum
in size is to havezerogovernment.Thus,in Konkin’s view,purelyconsistentadvocatesof
libertyare invariablyanarchistic.Konkinand otheranarchiststhencondescendinglycon-