[WillMagic]

Phil,

I'd add a few key things to your list of things that wouldn't probably wouldn't get provided by the free market - aggressive invasions of foreign countries and drug prohibition. HOLLA!

In regard the specific items on your list, prisons probably wouldn't be provided, but that doesn't mean other disincentives to violent crime couldn't be thought up. Dogs are good. Neal Stephenson had some great ideas in Snow Crash, like tattooing the bad thigns people have done on their forehead. That's a pretty quick, clean, and effective punishment. "DOESN'T PAY DEBTS" "RACIST, UNSTABLE." etc.

Drug safety enforcement already is provided by the free market - the kosher food certification is one example, and consumer reports can be said to be a broader example of organizations ensuring consumer safety. The market can provide that.

Covert operations would decrease a lot, yeah, and that's a good thing.

Child protection agencies...I really think that in the absence of government people would set up private agencies. People value children more than anything. I had some interesting ideas for a free market child protection service in a different thread, I'll see if I can go find it.

Laws to protect software, music, writing, inventions, etc...yeah, they just wouldn't work. Ideas aren't scarce.

tariffs and subsides, yeah, those would go away, but those suck and that's a good thing.

The US is a poor example of government and democracy? Then what's a good example? I mean, there are hundreds of democratic governments in the world, and I'd say that the US is probably one of the best ones. That's more a comment of how bad democracy is rather than how good the US is.

I say that Somalia flat-out isn't an example of AC because there is no capitalism in Somalia, because there is no culture of respect for property rights. Without such a culture of respect people will be poor - and they will be poor whether or not there is a state. AC isn't just about anarchy.