Atlas / Comparisons / Anarcho-Capitalism vs Social Liberalism
Anarcho-Capitalism and Social Liberalism
Measured distance across six axes
Opposed programmes with little shared ground. No axis places them within three points of each other. They diverge by eight points or more on EC, SC, CH.
Axis by axis
| Axis | Rothbard | Rawlsian liberalism | Gap | Reading | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EC · Economic organisation | +10 | +01 | 9 | Diverges | Carries the disagreement. Any claim that these two are alike has to explain this. |
| CU · Social and cultural order | +01 | −06 | 7 | Differs | Real difference, but not the dividing line. |
| AU · Organisation of power | −10 | −06 | 4 | Differs | Real difference, but not the dividing line. |
| SC · Scale of decision | −10 | +02 | 12 | Diverges | Carries the disagreement. Any claim that these two are alike has to explain this. |
| ID · Rule of membership | −02 | −07 | 5 | Differs | Real difference, but not the dividing line. |
| CH · Method and tempo | +03 | −07 | 10 | Diverges | Carries the disagreement. Any claim that these two are alike has to explain this. |
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 · EC +10
At the ceiling. Every function including law and defence is to be supplied by contract.
- Programme textRothbard's For a New Liberty treats taxation as theft without qualification and proposes private courts and defence agencies.
Rawlsian liberalism · EC +01
Coded +1: market economy with substantial redistribution.
- Programme textA Theory of Justice (1971) permits inequality only where it benefits the least advantaged.
Rothbard · SC −10
At the floor with anarcho-communism: no unit above voluntary association.
- Programme textDefence, adjudication and law are supplied by competing firms serving individual clients.
Rawlsian liberalism · SC +02
Coded +2: a national scheme of cooperation, extended internationally with difficulty.
- ScholarshipThe Law of Peoples applies a weaker principle across borders than within them, a much-criticised move.
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.
Social Liberalism
1971– · Global North
Equal basic liberties first, then fair equality of opportunity, then inequalities only where they benefit the worst off.
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.
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