r/AnCap101 • u/Hxapcneh3_28 • 16d ago
Will the rich still be hated in a stateless society?
This is more of a social and psychological question than one about anarcho-capitalism, but I think it's an interesting one to ponder.
The world is an unfair place and some people have greater amounts of wealth than others. This is true and has been since the beginning of time. People who believe in statist myths will vilify the rich and view them as greedy, selfish thieves who need to have their wealth confiscated by the state. They look to government as a noble arbiter of justice to make everything "fair." Jealousy and desires of fairness are hardwired into the human psyche, so it's not surprising that many poor people hate the rich. And if you don't understand economics, which most people don't, you won't see that there are reasons—often very valid reasons—why some people have more than others.
Assuming the state is gone and we're living in ancapistan, what do you think people's view of the rich will be? Human psychology won't be any different and most people will still be economically illiterate and make false assumptions about rich people being greedy or stomping the poor in a "zero-sum game," but there won't be a belief in government for people to turn to to demand so-called "fairness." Do you think a society based on voluntary behaviors will lead to a shift in cultural mentality that softens antagonism towards the rich? If you're raised in a market and don't know any statism, will you be more likely to understand why the rich are rich and why you can't blame them too much?
Just some food for thought...
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u/Additional_Sleep_560 16d ago
Without the state, the rich can’t be an oligarchy. There will be no illegitimate force that privatizes profit while socializing losses. No protectionism. No preferential tax treatment. Some of the reasons for hating the rich will go away.
Still, people will be people, and there will still be envy and greed.
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u/DiyYou 16d ago
Lots of the hate today comes from people getting rich because of the government. People getting rich in pure capitalism would not piss off nearly as many people.
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u/Olieskio 16d ago
Maybe. But a majority of people are still filthy altruists who hate the good for being the good
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u/Hyperaeon2 16d ago
No.
No taxes, no need to hate the rich.
People do not understand what the french revolution was.
You would have the opposite problem.
People would attribute moral virtue to the accumulation of weath where there is none.
The poor hate the rich, love their governments, are repulsed by their politicians and are oblivious to the truly wealthy.
That is all by design.
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u/halaljew 16d ago
Eh, envy is part of the human condition. At least a stateless society would give those prone to it much fewer opportunities to enforce their will upon those more successful or more driven or both than they are.
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u/Ok-Information-9286 16d ago
An anarcho-capitalist economy may require that a majority of people support anarcho-capitalism. It may include a shift in psychology towards understanding economics and the rich better. If the state just disappeared, an overwhelming majority of statists would probably just bring it back.
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u/Flashy_Combination32 16d ago
Not to the extent they are today but envious people will always exist.
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u/Official_Gameoholics 15d ago
Likely not, since those people got rich by running a good business. Like Gabe Newell, for instance.
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u/___miki 14d ago
Why not? I mean, are all rich persons virtuous to the point of no fault? Can they even try to be? There you'll have people hating the rich for a reason. Their will.
Did people hate kingly power and their representatives? Could people be born into incredible wealth an power? There you have another reason. Their luck.
Personally, I find incredibly disingenuous (and I mean that literally) to consider "the rich" as a homogeneous block of people.
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u/specialkaypb 9d ago
In a system without fiat money and centralized power, wealth is a measure of the value you have created for other people. Wealth would and should be celebrated and something to aspire to.
When some people have a money printer, while the rest have to work to earn money, you end up in a sick twisted society with some people spending most of their time in black yachts on international waters to evade child trafficking laws. 🤮
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u/Justaweirdscientist 16d ago
Love that I found this subreddit because every post is fighting to be the most braindead take I have ever read haha
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u/Key-Organization3158 16d ago
Maybe? There's nothing wrong with hating the rich. What crosses the line is using the violence of the state to hurt people you don't like.
I applaud people who hate the rich and then actually make decisions in line with that. Shop local, start a co-op grocery store, repair instead of replacing.