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minarchism
Feb. 9th, 2026 06:57 amminarchism (min-ar-KIZ-uhm) - n., a belief in the desirability and practicality of minimum government.
Coined in 1971 by libertarian writer Samuel Konkin, to describe what philosopher Robert Nozick proposed -- Konkin perferred what he called agorism, involving just a pure free market without any state. A minarchy is sometimes called a night-watchman state, typically described as having a military, a police, and courts, but few other functions. The coinage is from min(imal) + -archy in the sense of type of government.
---L.
Coined in 1971 by libertarian writer Samuel Konkin, to describe what philosopher Robert Nozick proposed -- Konkin perferred what he called agorism, involving just a pure free market without any state. A minarchy is sometimes called a night-watchman state, typically described as having a military, a police, and courts, but few other functions. The coinage is from min(imal) + -archy in the sense of type of government.
---L.
