Directory of Terms
A Comprehensive Glossary
Clear communication requires shared definitions. This page provides precise definitions for key terms used throughout the Network and the broader voluntaryist movement. Whether you're new to these concepts or just need a quick reference, this glossary ensures we're all speaking the same language.
Terms are organized alphabetically within categories for easy reference. For deeper exploration of any concept, follow the links to relevant pages in The Library or Workshop.
Core Philosophy
Anarchy / Anarchism
An- (without) + -archy (rulers). A social order and economic structure based on voluntary cooperation without institutionalized authority or coercive government. Not chaos or disorder, but rather self-organization without imposed hierarchy. See Intro to Voluntaryism for detailed explanation.
Voluntaryism
The moral philosophy that all human interaction should be voluntary and consensual. Voluntaryism rejects the initiation of force in all forms including violence, theft, fraud, and coercion. It permits defensive force only. Voluntaryism holds that no person or group has legitimate authority over another. See Intro to Voluntaryism.
Counter-Economics
The act of engagment in peaceful human action that the state has forbidden, regulated, or taxed. This includes black markets (illegal), grey markets (unregulated), and any economic activity conducted outside state supervision.
Agorism
The strategy of using counter-economics to build a free society and starve the state. Coined by Samuel Edward Konkin III, the term comes from "agora," the ancient Greek marketplace. See Why Agorism Works.
The State
A compulsory institution claiming a territorial monopoly on the legitimate use of force. The state extracts resources through taxation (coercive funding) and enforces compliance through threat of imprisonment and violence. Voluntaryists reject the state's claimed legitimacy while acknowledging its factual power.
Authority
The supposed “right to rule.” Authority can exist over property, such as a home-owner has over their home, or an individual has over themselves, but authority cannot exist over others.
Ethical Principles
Non-Aggression Principle (NAP)
The principle that no person or group may initiate force or fraud against another person or their property. The NAP permits defensive force but prohibits aggressive/initiated force. This is the foundational ethical principle of voluntaryism. Note: The NAP doesn't prohibit all force—only the initiation of force.
Self-Defense Principle (SDP)
The principle that individuals have the right to defend themselves, their property, and others against aggression using defensive force. Self-defense is not aggression—it's a response to aggression. The SDP recognizes your right to use force in resistance to state coercion.
Principle of Restitution (PoR)
The principle that justice requires making victims whole rather than punishing aggressors. When someone is harmed, the aggressor should provide restitution (compensation) to the victim. This contrasts with state "justice" which punishes but rarely compensates victims.
Self-Ownership
The principle that each individual owns themselves—their body, mind, and labor. Self-ownership is the foundation of all other rights. You possess the highest claim of authority over yourself; no one else can legitimately claim ownership of you or the fruits of your labor. See Intro to Voluntaryism.
Property Rights
The concept that individuals can rightfully claim exclusive use and control of scarce resources through homesteading (first use), voluntary exchange, or creation. The word proper-ty (the prefix ‘proper’ meaning rightful, paired with the suffix ‘ty’ denoting the quality or state of) alludes to this. Property rights exist to reduce conflict over scarce resources. Property is acquired without violating the NAP. See Intro to Voluntaryism.
Criteria for Consent
For consent to exist, it must be revocable at any time, voluntary (given of free will, not under duress), and informed. Explicit dissent always overrides implicit consent, and any fraudulent basis for an agreement negates consent entirely.
Social Organization
Voluntary Pluralism
A condition where multiple different social systems, rules, and communities coexist peacefully through voluntary association. In a pluralist society, you're free to join communities with different norms—religious, secular, communal, individualist—as long as all participation is voluntary. See Intro to Voluntaryism.
Polycentric Law
A legal system with multiple competing sources of law and arbitration rather than a single monopoly court system. Under polycentric law, individuals choose which arbitration services to use, creating market competition in justice provision. Historical examples include medieval Iceland and Ireland.
Customary Law
Law that emerges organically from community practice and custom rather than being imposed by legislators. Customary law evolves through precedent, arbitration, and voluntary acceptance. Examples include Xeer (Somalia), Brehon Law (Ireland), and merchant law. See Anarchy Examples.
Free Association
The right to choose with whom you associate, trade, and interact. Free association means you can join or leave communities, accept or reject offers, and choose your relationships without coercion. This also includes the right not to associate—to exclude others from your property.
Consensus
Decision-making requiring agreement from all affected parties. Consensus doesn't mean unanimity on every detail—it means no one is forced to participate in arrangements they reject. In voluntary societies, you join communities that reach decisions in ways you accept, or you leave.
Economic Concepts
Free Market
Economic exchange free from coercion, regulation, taxation, or other forms of state interference. In a free market, all exchanges are voluntary, prices are determined by supply and demand, and entries/exits are unrestricted. What we have today is not a free market—it's a heavily regulated, state-controlled economy.
Parallel Economy
The network of economic activity operating outside state systems—counter-economic markets, voluntary insurance, private arbitration, community security, etc. The parallel economy provides alternatives to state services through voluntary exchange. Building the parallel economy is the core strategy of agorism.
Taxation
Coercive extraction of resources by the state under threat of imprisonment or violence. Taxation differs from voluntary payment—you cannot opt out without penalty. Voluntaryists consider taxation a form of theft regardless of how the funds are used or whether a majority voted for it. Voting attempts to manufacture consent where it doesn't exist.
Mutual Aid
Voluntary cooperation for mutual benefit, typically in communities or associations. Mutual aid includes voluntary insurance pools, community defense, cooperative childcare, food sharing, and other forms of reciprocal support. Mutual aid is not charity—it's exchange of support over time.
Network-Specific Terms
The Network
The decentralized ecosystem of voluntaryists, agorists, and freedom-seekers building alternatives to state systems. The Network includes market participants, hosts, guilds, caravans, and individuals working to create a voluntary society. This is not a centralized organization with leaders, but rather a distributed web of voluntary relationships.
Agora
Originally the ancient Greek marketplace. In our context, The Agora is the Network's marketplace—where members trade goods, services, and opportunities outside state systems. See The Agora.
Guild
A voluntary association of individuals sharing a trade, skill, or area of knowledge. Network guilds provide education, mentorship, and market connections without state licensing or regulation. See Guilds.
Network Host
An individual who offers temporary housing or land access to Network members. Hosts are crucial nodes in the physical Network, providing places to stay, local connections, and support for those transitioning to free living. See Network Hosts.
Caravan
A group of nomadic individuals traveling together, operating mobile businesses and creating temporary marketplaces. CaravAnarchy is our primary caravan. Caravans spread counter-economics while demonstrating voluntary mobile living. See CaravAnarchy.
Inner Realm / Inter Realm / Outer Realm
Inner Realm: Protected spaces
requiring understanding of NAP and Network
principles. Access managed through vetting.
Inter Realm: Public-facing
spaces where the caravan operates and outreach
occurs.
Outer Realm: The broader world
where state control dominates. See
Network Structure.
Bounty Board
A marketplace for posting needs and offerings—where members request services, offer goods, or post opportunities. The Bounty Board facilitates counter-economic exchange. See Bounty Board.
Strategy & Tactics
Voluntaryism Plus
The Network's enhanced approach to voluntaryism—not just believing in voluntary interaction but actively building infrastructure for others to live freely. Voluntaryism Plus emphasizes intention: does your plan create freedom only for yourself, or does it enable freedom for others? See Voluntaryism Plus.
Directionality
A philosophy of action-oriented decision-making. Rather than seeking only absolute truth or perfect knowledge, directionality asks: "Does the answer to this question change how I'll act?" Focus on conclusions that lead to meaningful action toward your goals. See Directionality.
Abundance Loops
Economic and social patterns where prosperity generates more prosperity through voluntary exchange. Creating abundance loops means designing your activities so success benefits both you and others in the Network, creating positive feedback that grows wealth collectively. See Why Agorism Works.
Keeping It in the Family
The strategy of directing resources to Network members rather than allowing wealth to bleed back into state systems. When you trade with fellow agorists, wealth stays in the parallel economy and funds freedom rather than tyranny. Prioritize doing business with those actively building voluntary alternatives.
Security Mesh
Decentralized, community-based security achieved through multiple overlapping protection methods rather than a single police force. The security mesh includes private protection services, neighborhood watch, armed self-defense, and social pressure. No single point of failure. See Security Mesh.
Economic Secession
Withdrawing participation from state-controlled markets and systems. Economic secession means earning, spending, and saving outside state surveillance and taxation—using cash, gold, silver, cryptocurrency, barter, and grey market services. The core practice of counter-economics.
Common Misunderstandings
"Anarchy is chaos"
False. Anarchy is order without imposed authority. Chaos is disorder—breakdown of social organization. Anarchist societies throughout history have been highly ordered through customary law, voluntary cooperation, and mutual aid. What we call "chaos" is often the violent transition between state systems. See Anarchy Examples.
"Voluntaryism means no rules"
False. Voluntaryism means no rulers, not no rules. Voluntary communities can have extensive rules—but all members consent to those rules by choosing to join. The difference is choice: you can leave and join a community with different rules. No one forces you to participate in arrangements you reject. The reason the statist trope "if you don't like it, you can leave" is invalid and differs from what we're discussing here, is because the State doesn't actually own or have any valid claim of authority over the spaces it imposes its rules over. Rather, the State rules through compulsion.
"The NAP prohibits all force"
False. The NAP prohibits the initiation of force, not defensive force. Self-defense, defense of others, and enforcement of contracts through agreed arbitration are all consistent with the NAP. What's prohibited is aggressive force—attacking people or property that haven't aggressed against you.
"Agorism requires hiding from authorities"
Partially false. While some counter-economic activity must be discreet (black markets), much of it can operate openly in grey markets. Agorism isn't primarily about hiding—it's about building visible alternatives that make the state irrelevant. Many agorist businesses operate publicly while minimizing state involvement.
"This only works for individuals, not communities"
False. Historical examples prove voluntary organization scales to large communities. Medieval Iceland's Commonwealth lasted over 300 years with 50,000+ people. The challenge isn't scale—it's maintaining voluntary principles as communities grow. See Anarchy Examples and Downfall of the Greats.
Related Resources
For deeper understanding of these concepts, explore:
- Intro to Voluntaryism - Core philosophy explained
- Why Agorism Works - Strategic framework
- Anarchy Examples - Historical proof of concept
- Our Core Principles - Network-specific applications
- FAQ - Common questions answered
Continue Your Journey
Terms defined, philosophy understood. Ready to take action? Visit The Workshop for practical guides on living these principles.
Want to connect with others who speak this language? Head to The Adventurer's Hall for community.
Ready to participate in the counter-economy? Browse opportunities in The Agora.