Iron Fist of the State vs. Invisible Hand of the Market

Iron Fist of the State vs. Invisible Hand of the Market

I think someone may have suggested the notion of having an Invisible Hand of the Market character opposing the Iron Fist of the State but if so, I no longer recall who. I apologize for not crediting you, if so.

My new computer had a faulty motherboard which I had to send back. The replacement arrived Monday and I finally got a chance to reassemble the computer including prying the CPU off the heat sink, cleaning all the gook off it, and putting new gook on it (to conduct heat). I hate that there was such a long delay between comics. There is more work to do on it, but at least it’s functional enough to make comics for now.


Discussion (21)¬

  1. sEtH cOhn says:

    Ah ha! Proof Positive that Dale (on some weird subconscious level) thinks Lizard People are behind the State. (ala David Icke and V series).

    The pose the Iron Hand is close enough to Lizard from the 5 position game called Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock. (Google it for history/rules…)
    See http://neuroticnomad.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/rock_paper_scissors_lizard_spock.jpg

  2. Lauren says:

    How many symbols are packed into just two objects?

    Iron fist = violence
    invisible hand = voluntary trade
    left hand = political left wing
    right hand = correct hand
    two fingers up = peace sign

  3. Aeon says:

    i can’t tell if this is pro free market or anti :P but dale is an ancap right?

  4. Bananen says:

    @ Lauren
    Two fingers up also means victory :)

  5. Dinnerboi says:

    @Aeon: He’s a free market anarchist, yes.

  6. Jim Johnson says:

    The Iron Fist is also a flaming ass.

  7. Alex Libman says:

    It doesn’t matter who you credit, Dale – all good ideas in the liberty noösphere originate from me and merely bounce and reflect off others. :P

  8. Dale says:

    There is only one consciousness and we each are suffering and benefiting from the delusion that we are separate from it, so in a sense, you are correct, Alex.

  9. kataqu07 says:

    Haha… I’ve had a six or seven year old say that to me before. What are they teaching kids, these days? Apparently that all problems are solved (or dissolved) by acid.

  10. Aeon135 says:

    although im completly anti anarcho-capitalist i still think these comics are great as they generally have strong “Anarchy without adjectives” themes, no a lot of capitalistic stories, i think most socialist anarchists would agree.

  11. Dale says:

    I don’t see how labels on anarchy makes much sense. It seems the moment someone applies a label to it, they’ve completely missed the point. So needless to say, I do not label myself an anarcho-capitalist.

  12. Dinnerboi says:

    @Dale’s last comment: What does that even mean?

  13. Dale says:

    Because anarchy is a negative position, i.e. against the state. It’s not describing what you support, which can (and usually does) encompass many things. You can be for capitalism or socialism or mutualism or quilting, but as long as you’re not attempting to impose your beliefs on others, then you’re not a statist. You’re an anarchist. Period. Any sort of “flavor” of anarchy, beyond a personal preference describing what YOU PERSONALLY are planning to peacefully engage in, would just be another state and so would be hypocritical.

  14. DinnerBoi says:

    I think you’re overreacting.
    I always thought of the “flavors” of it, as simply a hypothesis of what is expected to emerge absent a state, not what any of us tend to impose.

  15. Matt says:

    Well some of the flavors of “anarchy”, those who wish to use the state, not anarchist, and those who don’t respect the individual to secede, aren’t anarchist in my opinion. However I do agree that Free Markets, mutualism, syndicalism, Georgist, and voluntary forms of communist comunities will arise and can peaceful coexist.(well there will be some conflict on the issue of land, but people will probably settle the issue, after all the issue of unused but claimed land is a lot harder to sustain if the government doesn’t protect it.)

  16. DinnerBoi says:

    @Matt: Interesting thought.
    As an Anarcho-Capitalist/Free Market Anarchist, while I dislike the ideas of communism, socialism and syndicalism anarchy, I wouldn’t stop anyone, or use force/fraud/duress to stop them from establishing them, provided I don’t have to be a part of it, or am not forced into it against my will.

  17. DinnerBoi says:

    Will we see more of the Invisible Hand of the Market?

  18. mdh says:

    I go with anarcho-libertarian more as a statement of motive rather than personal desire or economic-system preference. The anarcho-libertarian label means, to me, someone who advocates anarchy specifically because of their core belief in the non-aggression principle. There are those who oppose the existence of a state but do not believe in/adhere to the NAP.

  19. Nutcasenightmare says:

    Haha, love the concept!
    (Well, might be biased here since I think I suggested it to you a while back… Like… Ten months ago. XP)

    ” AnarchyInYourHead (10 months ago)
    Remove | Block User | Spam Marked as spam
    Re: Iron Fist vs. Invisible Hand
    Oh, I might be able to work with that! “

  20. Sentient Void says:

    The difference between the anarcho-capitalist and the anarcho-socialists, et al – is that an ancap society would allow and be for interacting peacefully with an ansoc/ancom/etc society or enclave, however the ansocs would constantly be trespassing and thieving and aggressing against the ancaps – sparking a defensive reaction from the ancaps.

    This is due to the fact that ancaps recognize property as just, ansocs/et al, do not, and see the concept of property as theft.

    Because of this, unfortunately, adjectives are required, IMO. Ansocs/et al see property (and more specifically, Lockean ‘sticky property’ as unnatural and a manifestation upheld by the State. Try to tell that to a Bear coming back to his cave, or a dog coming back to see his dog-bone being played with by another dog, etc.

    Then again, while the ansocs are throwing sticks and stones at the ancaps (since they wouldn’t be able to create and accumulate capital and resources efficiently, which would greatly hinder the growth of technology), the ancaps would laugh at them behind their forcefields. ;D

  21. Dale says:

    Property isn’t a black and white idea. The principle is, but it’s application in reality never will be. What you call “sticky” is a really a range of stickiness. Even the most hardcore ancap must have some reasonable notion of abandonment and even the most hardcore left anarchist has some notion of stickiness. I hope what makes them both anarchist is an aversion to violence and a rejection of any particular authority figure that gets to set the arbitrary lines. I reject the labels because I reject the false dichotomy and I feel both sides have reasonable points to make about property. When we’re seeking to resolve our disputes without violence, hopefully we’ll find a happy middle ground using reason, maybe some third party arbiters, and then we won’t have to throw anything at each other, sticks, lasers, photon beams, whatever.

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