An Introduction to Agorism in both Theory and Practice

Dr. Paul Dylan-Ennis and W.W. Barlowe

"Just once wouldn't you like to read a manifesto that′s been practiced before it's preached?" — Konkin III, 2009

A Brief History of Agorism

Agorism is obscure enough that in Brian Doherty's 800-page history of American libertarianism, Radicals for Capitalism, Samuel Edward Konkin III (SEK3) is mentioned only a handful of times. Konkin's work was preserved by his friend Victor Koman. The two had lived in a Long Beach apartment block called The AnarchoVillage. Koman tells us Konkin simply left him all his writing when he moved out (Koman, 2021). The website for The AnarchoVillage suggests the block housed science-fiction writers with libertarian leanings. We know Konkin's work did inspire various science-fiction writers such as Koman, William H. Patterson, and J. Neil Schulman. Konkin's sparse LinkedIn profile tells us he was an ‘On-Demand Publishing Consultant and Contractor' and he is listed as Executive Director of ‘The Agorist Institute.' One suspects most of his employment was off-the-books. From the inherited archive, Koman has faithfully constructed something of a body of work. The primary literature consists of two-and-a-bit “books." These are very slim volumes. The first is the New Libertarian Manifesto, published in 1980 by the obscure Anarchosamisdat Press, and it appears to be the only book published in Konkin's lifetime. Koman is responsible for two later editions (1983, 2006). An Agorist Primer was written in 1986 but failed to find a publisher. Koman published it in 2008 under his imprint KoPubCo. There is also a Kindle edition of Konkin's unfinished Counter-Economics: From Back Alleys to the Stars (Konkin III, 2018) that emphasises the practice of agorism, but it's rough. Other than these sources, we have some grainy VHS clips of Konkin speaking at ‘The Agorist Institute'. The footage suggests something more informal than an institute, like a discussion club.

What is Agorism in Theory?

Here is Konkin's definition of agorism: ‘...the consistent integration of libertarian theory with counter-economic practice; an agorist is one who acts consistently for freedom and in freedom' (Konkin III, 2009, p. 18). Agorism is a theory of society (libertarianism), but also advocates for how to act in society, a practice (counter-economics). Konkin wants you to put the book down and smuggle oil or bootleg some movies. Or start an unregulated DeFi exchange. But he also stresses you should ‘get your head right' with theory and he usually takes this to mean consistency in relation to traditional libertarian ideals: voluntaryism, non-violence, pro-market, socially-permissive, anti-state, anti-war. Konkin believes these ideas are already implicit or latent in most people, but because the state is powerful and coercive we have internalized statist ideas.

Konkin believes the move from statism to agorism will involve various stages (phase 0-4) (2006, p. 60). In Phase 0 (Zero-Density Agorist Society) there are nascent or proto-agorist libertarians and the task is to convert people. Even so, theory is never just theory. Konkin insists on recruiting and educating individuals, but also encouraging them to engage in counter-economic activity. Those already involved in such activities can be shown the theory missing from their practice (Konkin III, 2006, p. 60).

In Phase 1 (Low-Density Agorist Society) libertarian ideas have some traction, but there is a struggle over the right approach, e.g. should we have a Libertarian Party or not? Counter-economists are those libertarians who reject party politics at this juncture. Konkin encourages coordination among early agorist activists in the form of alliances: ‘...the basic organization for New Libertarian activists is the New Libertarian Alliance' (Konkin III, 2006, p. 57). Konkin veers between names when talking about agorist alliances: sometimes New Libertarian Alliance, sometimes New Libertarianism, sometimes Left Libertarian. An NLA would not be a traditional party organization and would comprise tacticians and strategists selling agorism. These New or Left Libertarians are encouraged to agitate within established libertarian organizations in Phase 1 (Konkin III, 2006, p. 62).

Agorism in Practice

Since agorism rejects state laws, it ultimately requires autonomous spaces, zones, and territories beyond the reach of the state to proceed to Phase 2. It needs a swell of like-minded agorists living and working together. Konkin sees the path from theory to practice as crucial here because the agorists will show life outside the state is not just possible, but preferable. This is because you will be living more authentically, more consistently with yourself, rather than pretending to prefer the staid, safe life of the current system.

These autonomous zones and the activity within them will constitute the Counter-Economy: ‘All (non-coercive) human action committed in defiance of the State constitutes the Counter-Economy' (Konkin III, 2009, p. 45). Counter-economic activity is a way of life and not just a theory. It involves: ‘Tax evasion, inflation avoidance, smuggling, freed production, and illegal distribution...' (Konkin III, 2009, p. 47). Current counter-economic activity is valued because it is a beachhead that can be leveraged to develop full-blown agorism: ‘The goal is living in the agora and the path is expanding Counter-Economics' (Konkin III, 2009, p. 76). Agorism is our end, Counter-Economics is our means.

In Phase 2 proper (Mid-Density, Small Condensation Agorist Society) agorism has started to ‘contaminate' the wider society (Konkin III, 2006, p. 63). Konkin imagines the appearance of agorist ghettoes (his word) and districts that have some implicit support or sympathy from the wider society (2006, p. 63). It is unclear in Konkin how this support would emerge, but presumably agorist ideas have proliferated enough that even those outside these zones would support their right to exist, perhaps recognizing, even desiring, the sense of authenticity on display.

In Phase 3 (High-Density, Large Condensation Agorist Society) Konkin conceives a scenario where the State and the Agora (both now capitalized) are more and more matched in terms of their resources. The State, perhaps pushed by confrontation with the Agora, enters into a series of ‘terminal crises' (Konkin III, 2006, p. 65). New Libertarian Alliances (NLAs) are vigilant and work to ensure the final gasps of statism are ineffective.

Here Konkin sees NLAs as themselves eventually phased out and former New Libertarian practitioners transitioning into roles opened up by a pure agorist society, i.e. taking up functions once provided by the state, such as arbitration or protection. After a final push by the state to rescue itself, we transition to Phase 4 (Agorist Society with Statist Impurities). In this final phase, the remnants of the State are rooted out and then re-integrated back into the new agorist society, reformed!

Konkin′s Relevance

There is nothing unusual about Konkin's status as a forgotten thinker. You can find them everywhere in the spines of old textbooks. People of great insight relegated to obscurity. What is unusual is the extent of Konkin's prescience about our society and how the model of agorism seems to map so well on to the practice of cryptocurrency specifically. Konkin is crypto avant la lettre and he should be more well-known by cryptocurrency advocates.

Here is Konkin on how counter-economics could benefit from advancements in encryption technology (writing in 1986):

...should the Counter-Economy lick the information problem it would virtually eliminate the risk it incurs under the State's threat. That is, if you can advertise your products, reach your customers and accept payment (a form of information), all outside the detection capabilities of the State, what enforcement of control would be left? (Konkin III, 2009, p. 49)

If it were possible to create an anonymous market to sell illegal goods then the Counter-Economy would solve the problem of law enforcement. This is the earliest description of dark net marketplaces I am aware of. It is worth mentioning that Ross Ulbricht was influenced to create Silk Road by reading Konkin. Interestingly, both Konkin and Ulbricht had studied chemistry to an advanced level.

Next, here is Konkin's definition of a New Libertarian Alliance: ‘...an association of entrepreneurs of liberty for the purpose of specializing, coordinating, and delivering libertarian activities' that can be formed and disbanded as needed' (Konkin III, 2006, p. 57). To my eye, this sounds like the contemporary Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). A community of entrepreneurs oriented towards specific goals that when attained can be abandoned or reconfigured. And where much of the activity happening exists somewhere between grey and black market activity, e.g. Decentralized Finance (DeFi).

Konkin's phases mirror the subtle mindset underlying cryptoeconomic activity where decentralized innovations are first created, gain a foothold, and are then conceptually difficult to eradicate. In particular, the success of cryptocurrency ultimately depends on constructing autonomous zones within pre-existing states and then switching-on users to this attractive counter-economic activity, e.g. yield farming rates. This opens an aperture within mainstream society about what is economically possible or even permissible.

Conclusion

Agorism is the promotion of black market activity. It valorizes counter-economics as an expression of our true selves outside the state's watchful eye. It promotes the widening of counter-economic participation until the contiguous territory of the state is eroded by agorist autonomous zones. In the end, agorism negates itself as the very distinction between counter-economic activity and general activity collapses into one, a world where you are allowed to be consistent with your true self once more.