Tuesday, June 21, 2005

What is "counter-economics"?

Vache Folle writes, "I would appreciate your expanding on the concept of counter-economics."

Allow me to defer to the late Samuel Edward Konkin III, who first used the term "counter-economics" in his New Libertarian Manifesto:
"The function of the pseudo-science of Establishment economics, even more than making predictions (like the Imperial Roman augurers) for the ruling class, is to mystify and confuse the ruled class as to where their wealth is going and how it is taken. An explanation of how people keep their wealth and property from the State is then Counter-Establishment economics, or Counter-Economics for short. The actual practice of human actions that evade, avoid and defy the State is counter-economic activity..."
In short, a peaceful black market or underground economy is an example of counter-economics in practice.

The most thorough explanation of counter-economics written thus far is in SEK3's New Libertarian Manifesto (link above).
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3 Comments:

At 9:08 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Counter-Economics will provide its adherents and disciples with a stay in Club Fed and the correctly despised IRS with the raw materials for the terrible examples of tax evasion that they cause to be published during the weeks prior to 15 April, 2005. The tax evasion only becomes worthwhile if many, many people do it and brag about doing it. A possible reform for the "PARTY", if the Anarchists can be said to have a party, to advocate the repeal of employer income tax withholding. The collection system would become unworkable, should the IRS cease "farming the tax" in this manner. Self-employed pay their tax without the intervention of an employer. Does not the IRS trust American Workers? We actually know the answer, but the query may embarrass any virtuous bureaucrats in the IRS, if any exist.

 
At 7:54 AM, Blogger Vache Folle said...

Thanks for the explanation and the source material.

 
At 2:25 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Income tax resistance is easier than it sounds, and doesn't necessarily put you on a collision course with the powers-that-be. My site, The Picket Line, describes a way of resisting the income tax in the U.S. that's legal (by the IRS's own rules, not "legal" as in you have to believe that a judge is going to swallow some half-baked legal theory to make it work), that's effective, and that's so easy that about a third of all people who file income tax returns today manage to evade all of their income tax this way.

 

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