Atlas / Comparisons / Anarcho-Capitalism vs Minarchist Libertarianism
Anarcho-Capitalism and Minarchist Libertarianism
Measured distance across six axes
The same broad family. They agree within three points on EC, AU, SC, ID. No axis separates them by eight points or more.
Axis by axis
| Axis | Rothbard | Nozick, LP | Gap | Reading | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EC · Economic organisation | +10 | +10 | 0 | Agrees | Effectively the same position. Not what an argument between them is about. |
| CU · Social and cultural order | +01 | −03 | 4 | Differs | Real difference, but not the dividing line. |
| AU · Organisation of power | −10 | −08 | 2 | Agrees | Effectively the same position. Not what an argument between them is about. |
| SC · Scale of decision | −10 | −07 | 3 | Agrees | Effectively the same position. Not what an argument between them is about. |
| ID · Rule of membership | −02 | −04 | 2 | Agrees | Effectively the same position. Not what an argument between them is about. |
| CH · Method and tempo | +03 | −03 | 6 | Differs | Real difference, but not the dividing line. |
Each axis runs from −10 to +10; the distance is the straight-line separation across all six at once, out of a maximum of 49.0. How the scoring works →
The evidence behind the widest gaps
A distance figure is worth nothing unless the scores behind it can be checked. These are the artefacts supporting the axes that separate these two most.
Rothbard · CH +03
Coded mildly positive: education and secession rather than force, but with an explicit right of resistance.
- Programme textStrategy is framed as withdrawal, secession and non-compliance rather than seizure of the state.
Nozick, LP · CH −03
Coded −3: electoral and educational, with an explicit non-aggression principle.
- Programme textThe non-aggression principle is a membership requirement of the US party.
What this comparison does not establish
Proximity means similarity of stated position. It carries no claim about competence, circumstance, scale of operation, or what either organisation actually did to the people under it. Two organisations can sit close together and produce entirely different histories, because those things are not on any axis and could not be.
Anarcho-Capitalism
1970– · United States
All state functions including courts, police and defence should be supplied competitively on the market; taxation is theft.
Minarchist Libertarianism
1971– · United States, worldwide
A night-watchman state limited to police, courts and defence; maximum personal and economic freedom otherwise.
Distance is not the whole answer. Two organisations can sit the same distance apart for entirely different reasons, and the reason is the content of any claim about them. Open the comparison in the atlas to weight the axes yourself.
Open in the atlas