Two Visions of Tyranny, Two Visions of Anarchy: On Spafford’s Case for the Social Anarchist Ideal

I first challenge Spafford’s case for the social anarchist ideal by raising worries for his “you own yourself and nothing else” thesis along with the Moral Tyranny Constraint that grounds that thesis. I then argue that the intuitions behind the Moral Tyranny Constraint should instead point us to a position I describe as “anarchic egalitarianism,” which speaks in favor of more familiar libertarian conclusions about self-ownership and external property. This anarchic egalitarianism, also, suggests a more confident rejection of the state than Spafford’s.