"Autarchy" redirects here. For the economic concept, see Autarky

Flag of autarchism

Autarchism is a political philosophy that promotes the principles of individualism, the moral ideology of individual liberty and self-reliance. It rejects compulsory government and supports the elimination of government in favor of ruling oneself to the exclusion of rule by others.

Autarchists [ edit ]

Robert LeFevre (1911–1986), a "self-proclaimed autarchist"[1] recognized as such by Murray Rothbard,[2] distinguished autarchism from anarchy, whose economics he felt entailed interventions contrary to freedom in contrast to his own laissez-faire economics of the Austrian School.[3] In professing "a sparkling and shining individualism" while "it advocates some kind of procedure to interfere with the processes of a free market", anarchy seemed to LeFevre to be self-contradictory.[3] He situated the fundamental premise of autarchy within the Stoicism of philosophers such as Zeno, Epicurus and Marcus Aurelius, which he summarized in the credo "Control yourself".[4]

Fusing these influences together, LeFevre arrived at the autarchist philosophy: "The Stoics provide the moral framework; the Epicureans, the motivation; the praxeologists, the methodology. I propose to call this package of ideological systems autarchy, because autarchy means self-rule".[4] LeFevre stated that "the bridge between Spooner and modern-day autarchists was constructed primarily by persons such as H. L. Mencken, Albert Jay Nock, and Mark Twain".[3]

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882), biographer Robert D. Richardson, described Emerson's anarchy as "'autarchy', rule by self".[5][6] Philip Jenkins has stated that "Emersonian ideas stressed individual liberation, autarchy, self-sufficiency and self-government, and strenuously opposed social conformity".[7]

See also [ edit ]

Not to be confused with [ edit ]

Autarky, a homophone meaning "to be self-sufficient"