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An Agorist Primer
In the new paperback edition of AN AGORIST PRIMER, Samuel Edward Konkin III -- the creator and premier activist and theoretician of Agorism -- introduces the most powerful means to free yourself, protect and increase your wealth, and liberate the whole of human society in the process! Agorism is applied Counter-Economics -- the philosophy of engaging in free-market activities in defiance of government control. An evolution of libertarianism, Agorism embraces all non-coercive human action and opposes all force- or fraud-based attempts to stifle innovation, trade, thought, and wealth. If you have ever suspected that government, academia, and other entities are trying to pull the wool over your eyes in order to control your money, your morality, and your life, you'll find answers and remedies in AN AGORIST PRIMER. In one concise volume, Samuel Edward Konkin III explains the theory, principles, and -- most important of all -- the practice of Agorism. If you think that consistency between means and ends matters, this is the book for you! From the "Agorism is a way of thinking about the world around you, a method of understanding why things work the way they do, how they do, and how they can be dealt with -- how you can deal with them." Samuel Edward Konkin III is the author of the seminal work on libertarianism and New Libertarian Manifesto. Over the course of thirty years, he wrote, edited, and published newsletters and magazines such as Laissez Faire, New Libertarian Notes, and 101 issues of the longest-running publication of its kind, New Libertarian Weekly. Known to his friends as SEK3, Mr. Konkin graduated cum laude from the University of Alberta, serving as head of the Young Social Credit League there. He received his Masters in Theoretical Chemistry at New York University, but left NYU without submitting his Ph.D. dissertation in Quantum Mechanics to pursue his lifelong efforts to promote Counter-Economics and Agorism. He founded the New Libertarian Alliance, the Movement of the Libertarian Left, and the outreach organization The Agorist Institute. His body of work is available from KoPubCo. PRAISE FOR AN AGORIST "A lot of us have waited two decades for the release of this slender tome... Clocking in at just over 100 pages, An Agorist Primer offers not only a simple-but-thorough explanation of what agorism is, it also builds a rock-solid case for it... But trust me, Konkin's well-structured argument for a free society of the open marketplace ("as near to untainted by theft, assault, and fraud as can be humanly attained") is compelling. And he shows convincingly that such a society is absolutely achievable and sustainable. Sam's book truly is a primer; he strips down heavy-duty economic theory and libertarian philosophy without diminishing either of them. An Agorist Primer may be a quick walk through the basics, but it never shortchanges the reader. And best of all, it's awfully entertaining." --Wally Conger, Out of Step
112 pages, Paperback
First published December 10, 2008
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338 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 31, 2017
This is actually a very good primer on anarchocapitalism in general. SEK3 derives all the important economic and ethical ideas, then talks about how to implement them in daily life, all with a clever, elegant writing style. I particularly like how he derives the action-axiom, and thus the foundation of praxeology, and his critique of activism without theory and theory without activism. I'm not particularly convinced by his idea of agorism, however; Rothbard was right that the black market in countries such as the USSR didn't destroy the state, it merely managed to keep the terrible economy barely alive (I haven't read the entire exchange between the two, I must admit). Still, agorism is a worthy contribution to anarchocapitalism, and definitely a step in the right direction towards abolishing the state.
December 31, 2020
Meh. All hat and no cattle. Or very little cattle? I’m all for criticizing and undermining Statism, and certainly counter-economics is a good thing, but there’s a whole lot of stones left unturned. More needs to be developed and Konkin would have done better had he given actual practical tactics.
December 10, 2020
Disappointing book. I was hoping for more content on actual Agorist tactics and practices. Instead, 90% of the book basically consists in an ideological exposition of Austrian Economics, ignorant and demagogic comments on everything that may have connections with the State or banking or economists, half-baked revisionist history and some typical internal battles against other libertarian strands. After reading this, and given Konkin's popularity (although of course he is not the only libertarian leader of this type), I understand why so many people in the libertarian movement seem to live in a sort of science fiction movie...
September 15, 2019
I'm fed up with politics and agorist counter-economics seems like a realistic alternative at this point in my life. This is an excellent primer, outlining the ideas of agorism in a general way while pointing to further agorism resources at the end. I doubt it will be convincing to most statists or political libertarians, but this seems to me to be the sort of philosophy that is better caught than taught since its significance is more practical than theoretical.
November 27, 2020
This is a really good book for people whose thinking is prepared for it. Without that preparation, it may be a little bit less useful. By "preparation", I mean exposure to some ideas that fill in the gaps.
It might not be quite rigorous and detailed enough to convince the natural logicians among us, without that preparation.
It might not be quite emotionally moving and viscerally inspiring enough to convince the firebrands among us, without that preparation.
It is definitely not pragmatic enough to help those who are already willing but lack a view of the first steps to take on the road whose map this book hints must exist in the world. Of course, at least for this, if not for the other two shortcomings, Saemuel Edward Konkin III's promised upcoming book promised to provide exactly what this book missed. (I don't know whether it was intended to meet the other two challenges I mentioned; SEK3 passed away before finishing the next book, and I only just recently discovered that someone evidently published in some form based on his unfinished work).
All that said, it's a good read about good ideas, and worth sharing. It verges on being singularly important, lacking only that additional material needed to prepare a general reader for it. As a follow-up to years of exploring neighboring ideas, though, this book really can be of great value to many readers.
It might not be quite rigorous and detailed enough to convince the natural logicians among us, without that preparation.
It might not be quite emotionally moving and viscerally inspiring enough to convince the firebrands among us, without that preparation.
It is definitely not pragmatic enough to help those who are already willing but lack a view of the first steps to take on the road whose map this book hints must exist in the world. Of course, at least for this, if not for the other two shortcomings, Saemuel Edward Konkin III's promised upcoming book promised to provide exactly what this book missed. (I don't know whether it was intended to meet the other two challenges I mentioned; SEK3 passed away before finishing the next book, and I only just recently discovered that someone evidently published in some form based on his unfinished work).
All that said, it's a good read about good ideas, and worth sharing. It verges on being singularly important, lacking only that additional material needed to prepare a general reader for it. As a follow-up to years of exploring neighboring ideas, though, this book really can be of great value to many readers.
January 14, 2022
Like some other reviewers, I was kind of disappointed with the vagueness of this primer. I was hoping for a specific outlay of counter economic strategies and advice but instead got oversimplified overviews of Austrian economics, libertarianism, revisionism, and to a startlingly limited extent, counter economics. That being said, this does serve as a neat little introduction to several lines of thought in the liberty movement and I appreciate its clearness and brevity. To my knowledge, Konkin was working on a much larger volume called Counter-Economics that was supposed to be like the Das Kapital of agorism. I imagine that this book, if Konkin had ever completed it, would have been much more specific and helpful.
November 12, 2015
Al terminar de leer esta obra me pareció que esto pudo haber sido una versión mejorada del Manifiesto Neolibertario, está mucho mejor organizado y expone el argumento del Agorismo haciendo una síntesis de lo que es la economía a través de la historia, las influencias de la escuela Austríaca y la síntesis Rothbardiana del Anarcocapitalismo, esta es una de las obras que recomendaría para una iniciación en las ideas libertarias y agoristas.
May 14, 2022
I already knew the gist of Agorism before reading the book, this short book expanded on that knowledge only by a few tidbits of interesting information and arguments.
Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who has already been convinced of Anarchism and wants a good groundwork for a consistent praxis. In fact, I was gladdened to see Konkin's repeated insistence on consistency, as this was one of the biggest selling points of Agorism for me.
If you're not convinced of Anarchism, Rothbard's Anatomy of the State is a good place to start, on economics I'd recommend something like Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson, on the thinkers mentioned in the book Malice's Anarchist Handbook.
I'm not sure how useful the intro to economics could have been, I didn't really have any a-ha moments, but I did go into it with an existing basic understanding of Austrian economics.
The part of motivation of human action being to remove felt unease was new to me, so it did patch a few holes in my understanding. This part also repeats the essential Rothbardian idea of Economics (among other sciences) being put forth by a paid intellectual class whose explicit job is to uphold the legitimacy of the State, and provides historical examples of this happening, such as Lysenko's pseudo-biology being taught in the Soviet Union.
Overall for this I'd recommend something like Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt for a more thorough and convincing read on economics, before reading this for the more theoretical part.
The book goes on to provide real-life examples of counter-economies working even without ideological basis, and how technology is increasingly enabling counter-economies to form. It makes a prediction of businesses being able to use electronic cash and encrypted data would almost completely remove the State's ability to control, which should be of great interest considering encryption is now widespread and this electronic cash now exists and is increasingly adapted.
One interesting tidbit demonstrating the state's impotence and the power of the counter-economy was the 1974 federal speed limit of 55 mph, which was almost immediately destroyed by truckers who, working together with anyone else who wanted to speed, created a radio network warning each other of police lying in wait.
This is followed by a short history of libertarianism and what preceded it, from Godwin, Stirner and Warren, through Spooner and von Mises, ending in Rothbard and the birth of the modern Liberty Movement. Although this was a useful summation for me as someone who knew most of the names mentioned (from reading Michael Malice's Anarchist Handbook, which I recommend to find out more about these names), it's a good summation overall.
The book then explains how a Libertarian Party's contradiction with a "party line" lead to infighting and eventual break with Rothbard. This is followed by an explanation of how states came to be, which is more or less the same summation seen in Rothbard's Anatomy of the State.
The general discussion about national defense was quite interesting, with theories backed up by examples such as the Makhnovtchina for mustering a defensive militia or Hong Kong in how it's not strictly in the interest of states to conquer defenseless areas even though they could.
The final chapters deal with how Konkin thinks the State would transition into the Agora, with counter-economic activity becoming ever easier and more successful, which would lead to more people turning to it as well as more infrastructure being built to support it. This would then lead to parts of the Agora operating more and more openly, and while most would remain vulnerable to being crushed by the State, eventually one of them would grow strong enough to defend itself from State aggression. This would set in motion a death spiral where the Agora's sound money is more and more openly accepted and the State loses its monopoly on the currency. This in turn leads to more and more people abandoning the bribes and protection of the State, which it can provide less and less, until it eventually loses its ability to tax, and finally being unable to properly pay their thugs, their monopoly of violence, which marks the collapse of the State.
Finally, we get a bit of insight into how the State never really had the all-encompassing power that we think it does, and the first step should be to reject the state in our hearts and minds, going as far as to suggest "Agorist psychology", similar to the kind of psychological help abuse victims get to remove their Stockholm-syndrome.
Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who has already been convinced of Anarchism and wants a good groundwork for a consistent praxis. In fact, I was gladdened to see Konkin's repeated insistence on consistency, as this was one of the biggest selling points of Agorism for me.
If you're not convinced of Anarchism, Rothbard's Anatomy of the State is a good place to start, on economics I'd recommend something like Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson, on the thinkers mentioned in the book Malice's Anarchist Handbook.
I'm not sure how useful the intro to economics could have been, I didn't really have any a-ha moments, but I did go into it with an existing basic understanding of Austrian economics.
The part of motivation of human action being to remove felt unease was new to me, so it did patch a few holes in my understanding. This part also repeats the essential Rothbardian idea of Economics (among other sciences) being put forth by a paid intellectual class whose explicit job is to uphold the legitimacy of the State, and provides historical examples of this happening, such as Lysenko's pseudo-biology being taught in the Soviet Union.
Overall for this I'd recommend something like Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt for a more thorough and convincing read on economics, before reading this for the more theoretical part.
The book goes on to provide real-life examples of counter-economies working even without ideological basis, and how technology is increasingly enabling counter-economies to form. It makes a prediction of businesses being able to use electronic cash and encrypted data would almost completely remove the State's ability to control, which should be of great interest considering encryption is now widespread and this electronic cash now exists and is increasingly adapted.
One interesting tidbit demonstrating the state's impotence and the power of the counter-economy was the 1974 federal speed limit of 55 mph, which was almost immediately destroyed by truckers who, working together with anyone else who wanted to speed, created a radio network warning each other of police lying in wait.
This is followed by a short history of libertarianism and what preceded it, from Godwin, Stirner and Warren, through Spooner and von Mises, ending in Rothbard and the birth of the modern Liberty Movement. Although this was a useful summation for me as someone who knew most of the names mentioned (from reading Michael Malice's Anarchist Handbook, which I recommend to find out more about these names), it's a good summation overall.
The book then explains how a Libertarian Party's contradiction with a "party line" lead to infighting and eventual break with Rothbard. This is followed by an explanation of how states came to be, which is more or less the same summation seen in Rothbard's Anatomy of the State.
The general discussion about national defense was quite interesting, with theories backed up by examples such as the Makhnovtchina for mustering a defensive militia or Hong Kong in how it's not strictly in the interest of states to conquer defenseless areas even though they could.
The final chapters deal with how Konkin thinks the State would transition into the Agora, with counter-economic activity becoming ever easier and more successful, which would lead to more people turning to it as well as more infrastructure being built to support it. This would then lead to parts of the Agora operating more and more openly, and while most would remain vulnerable to being crushed by the State, eventually one of them would grow strong enough to defend itself from State aggression. This would set in motion a death spiral where the Agora's sound money is more and more openly accepted and the State loses its monopoly on the currency. This in turn leads to more and more people abandoning the bribes and protection of the State, which it can provide less and less, until it eventually loses its ability to tax, and finally being unable to properly pay their thugs, their monopoly of violence, which marks the collapse of the State.
Finally, we get a bit of insight into how the State never really had the all-encompassing power that we think it does, and the first step should be to reject the state in our hearts and minds, going as far as to suggest "Agorist psychology", similar to the kind of psychological help abuse victims get to remove their Stockholm-syndrome.
Read
May 16, 2025*An Agorist Primer* is a foundational guide to **Agorism**, a libertarian political philosophy that advocates for achieving a free society through **voluntary exchanges in the black and gray markets**, rather than political reform or violent revolution. Written by **Samuel Edward Konkin III (SEK3)**—the founder of Agorism—the book serves as a concise introduction to the theory and practice of counter-economic resistance.
---
### **Core Premise**
A truly free society cannot be created through the state; instead, it must **evolve organically** through individual action outside the state’s control. Agorism proposes **counter-economics**—the use of untaxed, unregulated, and non-violent market activity—as the **primary strategy for undermining and ultimately rendering the state obsolete**.
---
### **Key Concepts**
#### **1. What is Agorism?**
* Derived from the Greek word *agora* (marketplace), Agorism is **market anarchism**.
* It rejects both state socialism and crony capitalism, advocating instead for **voluntary, decentralized economic interaction**.
#### **2. Counter-Economics**
* Defined as all **voluntary human action** forbidden by the state.
* Includes activities such as:
* Working under-the-table
* Unlicensed trade
* Cryptocurrency transactions
* DIY and mutual aid networks
* Counter-economics is both a **moral and strategic act**: it undermines state power by reducing dependency on its systems.
#### **3. The Role of the State**
* The state is inherently coercive, relying on **force, fraud, and monopoly**.
* Political action (e.g., voting, lobbying, reform) is seen as **ineffective or counterproductive**.
* The state thrives on economic control—Agorists undermine it by **withdrawing consent and participation**.
#### **4. Strategy for Change**
* Social transformation must come through **nonviolent, grassroots market activity**.
* Agorists encourage people to “opt out” of the state economy as much as possible.
* As counter-economic networks grow, the state becomes less relevant and more costly to maintain.
#### **5. Ethics and Non-Aggression**
* Agorism adheres to the **Non-Aggression Principle (NAP)**: no one has the right to initiate force against others.
* Market exchanges should be **consensual, peaceful, and free of coercion**.
---
### **Practical Implications**
* Live your values: engage in **alternative economies** to reduce your reliance on state-regulated systems.
* Build and support **peer-to-peer markets**, community networks, and direct trade.
* Education and self-reliance are emphasized as tools for liberation.
---
### **Tone and Style**
* **Concise, direct, and ideological**—the book reads like a manifesto and a manual.
* Written for libertarians, anarchists, and anyone disillusioned with political systems and seeking **practical alternatives**.
---
### **Core Takeaways**
* Freedom is not something to be won through elections or revolution, but through **daily, voluntary defiance** of coercive systems.
* **Counter-economics is both a strategy and a lifestyle**—one that builds parallel structures to replace the state's role.
* *An Agorist Primer* is not just a theoretical work, but a call to **action through peaceful rebellion in the marketplace**.
---
### **Core Premise**
A truly free society cannot be created through the state; instead, it must **evolve organically** through individual action outside the state’s control. Agorism proposes **counter-economics**—the use of untaxed, unregulated, and non-violent market activity—as the **primary strategy for undermining and ultimately rendering the state obsolete**.
---
### **Key Concepts**
#### **1. What is Agorism?**
* Derived from the Greek word *agora* (marketplace), Agorism is **market anarchism**.
* It rejects both state socialism and crony capitalism, advocating instead for **voluntary, decentralized economic interaction**.
#### **2. Counter-Economics**
* Defined as all **voluntary human action** forbidden by the state.
* Includes activities such as:
* Working under-the-table
* Unlicensed trade
* Cryptocurrency transactions
* DIY and mutual aid networks
* Counter-economics is both a **moral and strategic act**: it undermines state power by reducing dependency on its systems.
#### **3. The Role of the State**
* The state is inherently coercive, relying on **force, fraud, and monopoly**.
* Political action (e.g., voting, lobbying, reform) is seen as **ineffective or counterproductive**.
* The state thrives on economic control—Agorists undermine it by **withdrawing consent and participation**.
#### **4. Strategy for Change**
* Social transformation must come through **nonviolent, grassroots market activity**.
* Agorists encourage people to “opt out” of the state economy as much as possible.
* As counter-economic networks grow, the state becomes less relevant and more costly to maintain.
#### **5. Ethics and Non-Aggression**
* Agorism adheres to the **Non-Aggression Principle (NAP)**: no one has the right to initiate force against others.
* Market exchanges should be **consensual, peaceful, and free of coercion**.
---
### **Practical Implications**
* Live your values: engage in **alternative economies** to reduce your reliance on state-regulated systems.
* Build and support **peer-to-peer markets**, community networks, and direct trade.
* Education and self-reliance are emphasized as tools for liberation.
---
### **Tone and Style**
* **Concise, direct, and ideological**—the book reads like a manifesto and a manual.
* Written for libertarians, anarchists, and anyone disillusioned with political systems and seeking **practical alternatives**.
---
### **Core Takeaways**
* Freedom is not something to be won through elections or revolution, but through **daily, voluntary defiance** of coercive systems.
* **Counter-economics is both a strategy and a lifestyle**—one that builds parallel structures to replace the state's role.
* *An Agorist Primer* is not just a theoretical work, but a call to **action through peaceful rebellion in the marketplace**.
December 2, 2023
It's a pretty good primer with some really good ideas and beliefs. It is a bit dated with its references, and some of its examples have proven to be wrong with time, but the underlying theory is solid. Highly recommend reading for freedom minded people or people who don't know where to start pushing back against overwhelming state control.
November 27, 2023
This is what i've expected from New Libertarian Manifesto. Although it was too capitalist for my liking, i found it valuable and consistent.
January 15, 2024
I must’ve read this years ago, but what I remember from it was the whole meme of Agorism being AnCapism in action. SEKIII even includes an equation to calculate if you should take a risk.
July 22, 2021
Mi problema con este libro es la traducción del título, esto no es un "Manual Agorista" es una recopilación de ideas agoristas, en cuanto a ideas prácticas, el contenido es pobre, pero se entiende que el autor no se quisiera ver implicado en apologías a delitos que lo puedan meter en problemas.
Como "Manual Agorista" le doy 1 estrella, pésimo, malo, malísimo!
Como una "Libreta Agorista" (Que su traducción más exacta) pues... tampoco dice nada novedoso, ni profundizado, pero le daría 4 estrellas por la recopilación de ideas, que están bien escritas y es ameno de leer.
Como "Manual Agorista" le doy 1 estrella, pésimo, malo, malísimo!
Como una "Libreta Agorista" (Que su traducción más exacta) pues... tampoco dice nada novedoso, ni profundizado, pero le daría 4 estrellas por la recopilación de ideas, que están bien escritas y es ameno de leer.
March 28, 2025
SEK3 my 🐐 🫡
January 17, 2021
Good intro into what agorism is. Can't wait to read Konkin's 'New Libertarian Manifesto' next.
June 12, 2024
It's a shame that Hans-Herman Hoppe became the face of Austrian thought rather than SEK3 or Roderick Long. SEK3 spends most of this book explaining his 'counter-economics' and 'agorism.' His whole gist is that a stateless society should be brought about through black and grey markets (counter-economics) against the state rather than its dissolution through the state apparatus: it isn't much better if anarchists judges are sentencing anarchist criminals to anarchist electric chairs for anarchist justice. Hoppe, in contrast, believes society will form natural aristocracies with (informal) kings and even covenant communities through private organization. Feudalism was a voluntary contract between lord and vassal too at one point. Hoppe's history (A Short History of Man) and political philosophy isn't nearly as bad as his online cult of personality makes it seem, but it isn't great either. I mention Hoppe specifically because he, alongside Konkin and Rothbard, contributed to the modern criticisms of democracy from an Austrian perspective. But it is really only Konkin and Rothbard's critiques of democracy which stay grounded in their anarchist perspective, rather than some strange quasi-aristocratic perspective.
December 7, 2018
Excellent. An essential to understanding Anarchism.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews