Introducing agorism

Agorism means voluntary free markets outside of the state’s control, censorship and surveillance – bypassing the state’s unethical monopoly on money (fiat), identity (government ID) and markets (regulations).

Agorism provides economic freedom right now and has worked for decades, including in authoritarian regimes, where free access to products, money and information is needed the most. No need to ask for permission or wait for a revolution.

Many people rely on agorist markets to access daily life necessities, including people who are facing financial discrimination (such as the 1 billion people worldwide who can’t get government ID), people who can’t access necessary products via the white market, and people who just want to save time and money.

Examples include under-the-table work, remote freelancing for cryptocurrency, informal apartment rentals, selling anonymous sim cards or importing medicine.

Agorist markets are also known as:
Gray markets; informal, circular, parallel or counter-economies; Second Realms; underground markets.

Free the markets, free the world

A short and practical introduction to agorism:

Or view the slides (PDF).



Free markets

Agorism offers a fair and free alternative to the state’s captured markets.

Peer-to-peer trade bypasses middlemen and profiteers, avoids state interference and makes direct deals, fair conditions and individualized service possible. An example is direct trade coffee vs. an unethical state-backed corporation like Nestle.

Agorism’s open markets allow everyone to participate without barriers – no permits, red tape or permission required. Supply and demand, skills and effort, are more important than the state’s arbitrary and harmful restrictions.

Cash, gold and cryptocurrencies offer accessible payment methods for agorist services. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Monero make it possible to send and receive money worldwide in a matter of minutes, no ID or bank account required.

Agorism doesn’t require mass adoption or integration with the statist white market in order to succeed. If you know one agorist employer, one agorist landlord and one agorist doctor, it matters less how the mainstream operates. This means a parallel economy can operate for those who need it, without the need for mainstream adoption or a "revolution".

More info: Crypto Agorism: Free markets for a free world

Dangers of KYC

Government ID requirements (also known as KYC) are by far the state’s largest mechanism of surveillance and censorship.

By requiring government ID for jobs, banking, apartment rentals, healthcare, travel, mail, sim cards, home internet, contracts and more, the state puts the finances, location, communication and actions of innocent people under constant surveillance.

KYC also totally excludes 1 billion people who can’t get ID from the economy (the state refuses to print ID for them), as well as millions more people who can’t show ID for safety reasons (such as victims of abuse or activists).

Through digital ID, the war on cash and the danger of social credit scores, this will only get worse and millions more will find themselves shut out of the mainstream economy.

In comparison, agorism doesn’t require government ID. Anonymous transactions are possible. For situations that require increased trust, long-term pseudonyms, passwords, word-of-mouth reputation, customer reviews, escrows or cash deposits can help.

For example: PGP and Bitcoin already use pseudonymous key pairs to prove identity, encrypt communications and send money worldwide – outside of the state’s control.

More info: The dangers of the state monopoly on identity

In practice

Agorism focuses on small businesses, communities and peer-to-peer trade, not state-backed corporations.

There are many ways to offer agorist services as an individual or a business. Motivations include ideological or humanitarian reasons, bypassing bureaucracy or restrictions, and saving time and money.

Gray man

A white market business sells agorist services under-the-table to trusted customers.

- A phone store sells anonymous sim cards on request. A hotel rents out rooms without ID to people in need, e.g. victims of abuse or undocumented people.


Proxy merchant

Offers their company as a proxy, so that people can access services anonymously for a fee.

- Personal shopping services. PO boxes (pickup mail at the company’s office). Proxy contracts (the company rents an apartment for you).


Second realm

Businesses that exist entirely outside of the state, without a registered company, ID or permit.

- Remote freelance work for cryptocurrency. Local lawncare work for cash. Selling refurbished laptops in Craigslist.


Peer-to-peer

One-time sales by individuals.

- Renting out your apartment for 1 month while you are traveling. Selling your old car for cash.

Examples:

Food
  • Homesteads and gardens
  • Farmers markets & direct trade
  • Crypto-friendly groceries and restaurants
Jobs
  • Under-the-table work for cash
  • Remote work for cryptocurrency
  • Proxy merchants for banking, offices & contracts
Accommodation
  • Informal apartment rentals without ID
  • Crypto AirBnB
  • Intentional communities & meetups
Healthcare
  • Anonymous health clinics
  • Crypto health insurance
  • Importing medicine
  • Home synthesis of medicine (Four Thieves Vinegar)
Services
  • Anonymous PO boxes and lockers
  • Crypto-friendly Uber for taxi and delivery
  • Anonymous sim cards & public wifi (Freifunk)
  • KYC-free prepaid debit cards & invoice payments

More info: Survival outside of the state with Crypto Agorism


Join the community

Got questions or want to discuss agorism? Join a welcoming agorist community, such as:

Liberdon
A censorship-resistant alternative to Twitter.
Nostr
A censorship-resistant network.
Matrix
Encrypted, decentralized chatrooms.
Lemmy
A federated, open source alternative to Reddit.
Freedom Cells
Local and online libertarian groups.
Telegram
A practical chatroom about Bitcoin and privacy tools.

Resources

More resources to get started with agorism:






More info: 100+ agorist, crypto and privacy links


Free the markets, free the world.