Small business owners across the West have been living under oppressive lockdown regulations for months. Hairdressers, massage therapists, health and fitness providers and restaurants have all been impacted. For many the only choice is not re-opening or doing so illegally..Samuel Edward Konkin III – or SEK3 as he was known – was born and raised in northern Alberta and his work pioneered a branch of libertarian philosophy called agorism which clearly distinguishes the role black markets – or the agora – play in society..The effects of arbitrary regulations are hard to measure, and in times of heavy political pressure – as COVID-19 has become – legislators tend to forget that any laws or restrictions are only adhered to with the consent of those people affected. People prefer the peaceful and mutually beneficial nature of unobstructed commerce. The instances where authorities have aggressively enforced the lockdown measures in Alberta have been a public relations nightmare for local police forces, and for municipal and provincial governments..Small business owners and entrepreneurs have put their livelihoods on the line in good faith, and not because of some edict brought down on them by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney. Some of the most ardent supporters of the lockdown are also Kenney’s biggest critics, so we can drop the partisan arguments..Alberta is made up of 4.4 million people who calculate risks and make choices that represent their values and interests. When it comes to the agora (black markets), SEK3 explains it really is as simple as calculating risk. No matter what kind of illegal activity you’re involved in, whether you’re selling heroine or sex work or – in Kenney’s Alberta – cooking some bacon and eggs for a local tradesman before a long day at work, the calculation is simple; is the risk worth the reward? Fines and penalties become the cost of doing business, akin to occupational licensing or taxes..Chris Scott, owner of the Whistle Stop diner in Mirror, did the math, and after more than six weeks of being closed, he opened his restaurant for dine-in service..“The law is garbage,” he told me as he delivered the Whistle Stop Scramble to my table, a signature breakfast dish of his diner which I highly recommend. Chris has been ordered to make a court appearance on April 22, 2021. He faces fines, and even imprisonment. But right now, he’s making a living. A Mexican place up the highway in Bashaw decided to follow his lead; then a pub in Mossleigh, and a fourth place in Sylvan Lake..Because the mainstream media and the political class have failed to convince enough Albertans that a province-wide lockdown is an appropriate response to COVID-19, restaurant owners now only need to weigh the financial risk involved in operating their businesses. They are choosing the road to the agora, the open market. They are being escorted there by patrons and supporters from all over the province and the country. It is the natural cause and effect relationship between prohibition and human action. Doesn’t Kenney understand this principle? Does he not refer to himself as a proponent of the free market? .Samuel Edward Konkin III died February 23, 2004 and is buried in Edmonton. Most people have never heard of him or agorism – a social philosophy that explains how all exchanges between people are voluntary, regardless of legality. In 2021 – 150 km south of his grave – we are witnessing his ideas in action..Darcy Gerow is a columnist for the Western Standard
