Sadly, a single chapter doesn't make the whole argument - you do kind of need to read the whole book. But your immediate objection is covered in the immediately

Sadly, a single chapter doesn't make the whole argument - you do kind of need to read the whole book. But your immediate objection is covered in the immediately following chapter, called "The Stability Problem". That one doesn't seem to have been webbed as a single page, but you can go to the book pdf, search for "the stability problem" in the index and click the link to jump right there. http://www.daviddfriedman.com/The_Machinery_of_Freedom_.pdf http://www.daviddfriedman.com/The_Machinery_of_Freedom_.pdf From the intro: > Anyone with a little imagination can dream up a radical new structure for society, anarcho-capitalist or otherwise. The question is, will it work? Most people, when they hear my description of anarcho-capitalism for the first time, immediately explain to me two or three reasons why it won't. Most of their arguments can be reduced to two: The system will be at the mercy of the mafia, which can establish its own 'protection agency' or take over existing ones and convert them into protection rackets. Or else the protection agencies will realize that theft is more profitable than business, get together, and become a government. The text that follows explores and answers that objection, always keeping in mind that utopia is not an option - our existing system already is a cartel that screws its customers in many ways and is very hard to hold accountable for its actions. "perfect" isn't an option, but "better" might be achievable.