I expect the number to be very small. However, it's probaly too specific to be asking for AC. It might be interesting to find out about how many anarchists are out there as they probaly have a lot in common.

We most obviously already live in the best possible world.
If there really was a demand for an AC society the market for economic and political system would already have created it.
q.e.d.

Agreed, unless the system, in this case AC, is so fragile that it has no chance of ever succeeding. If that is so, gives me the attempts at a systematized democracy with a government, before any jungles!

I'm pretty sure any figures quoted are unreliable. I haven't read the rest of the post, so maybe there has been some polling of statistical significance.

Ten years later, I'd guess...

As always, the problem is not the A. The problem is the C.

These threads make me miss Borodog and Nielsio.

27allin, I'd be interested to hear your opinion on the merits of Ethical Egoism over Social Contract Theory.

I don't know why you phrase it as if these are the only two options. I don't even really believe in Ethical Egoism. I think Psychological Egoism has some plausibility though, from my quick Wikipedia read of it.

ACism is Ethical Egoism, your image is referencing Social Contract Theory. You are an ACist, right?

They're obviously not the only two approach to philosophy and ethics.

Where'd you get that from?

Contemporary Moral Problems last semester at University.

Can you tell me how ACism is connected to Ethical Egoism exactly?

I can tell you why I think the Social Contract is bunk. Simply because it doesn't mean anything. It's an empty, friendly-sounding phrase used to justify redistribution of wealth, aka socialism, and in the process governments can wage wars, engage in extremely burdensome regulation, and make peaceful activities illegal. It has nothing to do with what a real contract is.

I'd be very interested to hear what you think a "real" contract is.

There are lots of situations where you can be deemed to have made a contract with someone by virtue of your accepting the benefits of said contract.

From Wikipedia: "A contract is a voluntary arrangement between two or more parties that is enforceable by law as a binding legal agreement."

To me the key word is "voluntary". The Social Contract seems to be more of "You're using our goods and services that we provide and we'll tax you for it and you have no choice in the matter. We also reserve the right to alter the deal at our discretion. *Some of the money we take will be used to drone brown people."

There's some more to it, again from Wiki: "A contract arises when the parties agree that there is an agreement. Formation of a contract generally requires an offer, acceptance, consideration, and a mutual intent to be bound. Each party to a contract must have capacity to enter the agreement. Minors, intoxicated persons, and those under a mental affliction may have insufficient capacity to enter a contract. Some types of contracts may require formalities, such as a memorialization in writing."

I'd really love to see what the social contract would look like if the entirety of what it entailed was written down.

It would probably look a lot like the pop ups which companies have put in place to comply with EU cookie laws "This country uses taxes to improve your user experience. By remaining in this country you agree to our taxation policy. For more details click here"

I never agreed in a "contract" to those damn property ownership laws.

I guess, as I travel about in ACland, I'll get notices like: "This property uses rent to improve your user experience. By remaining on this property you agree to our rent policy. Oh yeah, you agree to the entire ACland constitution/courts/dro-goon regime too. FYI: This includes enslavement of your own children. For details sent gold here.

Dogecoins dude not gold. You're so 2007.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethical_egoism

That's not an accurate summary.

Thomas Hobbes came up with SCT, and it's summarized well in the book we used in class.

The Elements of Moral Philosophy - James and Stuart Rachels

Thanks for typing all that up, and to a large extend I agree with it. If people are fighting each other and refuse to cooperate then no system is going to work. What ACists believe is that for a State to be legitimate, there needs to be a real contract that people actually sign. We believe that it's possible for government to be voluntary, instead of people being born into it and unable to opt-out. We also believe that private law, private security, and private courts can all exist and do a better job than if there's a monopoly on those services, like what we have now. Competition would improve them immensely.

I find it amusing when people bring up Social Contract, because it can justify anything. Why don't we beat up that millionaire and take all his stuff? Social contract! Let's go over to those pot-heads and throw them in a cage. Social Contract! You're going to pay for endless wars overseas whether you like it or not. Again, Social Contract!

too many