link to original reddit post by /u/RayneXero
Hey Reddit,
I'm a pretty strong Libertarian (at least compared to most of my family and social circle). Because of this, I sought out and found related subs on reddit to follow.
I then discovered this sub and the Anarcho-Capitalism sub and it was the first time that Anarcho-Capitalism was introduced to me as a concept. I looked into it and it seems pretty close to the Libertarian ideal.
However, I have issues with the concept. I strongly believe in small government with very few (if any) reaches into the lives of private citizens. But I do believe that some form of government is necessary for certain functions of a nation.
Anarcho-capitalism stands for absolutely no government and that all functions of government would be run by private businesses in an open market (at least from my brief reading on the subject). But from what I understand about people and my belief in still needing some form of small government, I can't agree with the Ancap position.
Am I missing something here or is it really just the belief that government functions can be replaced by businesses? If my understanding is correct, can someone please explain to me how this system would work and how things wouldn't devolve into Industrial Revolution Britain (in terms of how businesses would undercut wages, material costs, safety precautions, etc just to improve profits)? Wouldn't there be a real chance of this system going down the drain especially since, unlike the government (and I know its not always like this, but this is the idea behind government) which would be answerable to the people, the businesses would be answerable only to the market?
I'm not bashing Ancap, I'm just genuinely curious if I'm missing anything or if Ancap is more an ideal than a real system?
Advice / insight appreciated!