My Quora Answer to:
What are some historical examples of laissez-faire capitalism?
Basically all of humanity before the Agricultural Revolution.
There are a lot more examples since then, which I'll talk about later, but permit me to clarify a few things, especially in light of some of the erroneous and misleading Answers already posted here.
Laissez-faire capitalism is a relatively recent term used to describe the ancient practice of exchanging labor for goods and services without the intervention of the state. That's it. Money may or may not be involved. Witness cryptocurrencies.
The example given here about the factories in Industrial Age England is a misrepresentation and part of our educational system's indoctrination program. These factories were supported and encouraged by the British government, which profited from the exploitation of children and workers, too. This form of economics is called “mercantilism” and it's modern version is called “corporate cronyism.” In purely political terms, it is “corruption.” it is NOT LFC!
With the advent of the Agricultural Revolution, certain thugs realized that they could control others by controlling resources, such as grain, water, and arable lands. This is also the advent of “civilization,” which is the biggest misnomer ever. Those who placed themselves in charge had the best food and luxuries, slaves, their choice of women to screw (including those who were already partnered), and later hoards of gold, silver, and precious gems. And they also brought us war and genocide. Prior to the that, there were merely battles between tribes and intermingling through non-forced sex. If that's your idea of “civilization,” please read no further
The example of Somalia is just ludicrous. This is an African nation that has been controlled by various foreign states for centuries and what we are witnessing is not “laissez-faire capitalism” but rather chaos created by past statist failures. A better comparison would be between pre-state and present conditions. Claiming that this is LFC is as stupid as saying an older alcoholic is the same as when he was a baby.
Speaking of chaos, most confuse “anarchy” with it. They are not the same and even ancient Greeks knew better. How far we've fallen in terms of education since then.
Chaos is disorder, violence, and unacceptable. Anarchy simply means without government. The overwhelming majority of anarchists, yesterday and today, have been non-violent, loving, and compassionate. Antifa is an exception. And they are not Anarcho-Capitalists but rather Anarcho-Socialists, which is an oxymoron, and who, like most socialists, and unlike us AnCaps, believe violence justifies the ends.
More examples of successful stateless societies? Most of the Pre-Columbian New World, Ireland until taken over by England, many utopian societies that failed because of state suppression, the Amish, and most of the world's countries like Nicaragua which, while nominally socialist, thrive because of unfettered capitalism. I should know. I lived there.
