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August 6 | 1601–1900 | 1601–1900
1661 – The Treaty of The Hague is signed by Portugal and the Dutch Republic.
1777 – American Revolutionary War: The bloody Battle of Oriskany prevents American relief of the Siege of Fort Stanwix.
1787 – Sixty proof sheets of the Constitution of the United States are delivered to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1806 – Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, declares the moribund empire to be dissolved, although he retains power in the Austrian Empire.
1819 – Norwich University is founded in Vermont as the first private military school in the United States.
1824 – Peruvian War of Independence: Patriot forces led by Simón Bolívar defeat the Spanish Royalist army in the Battle of Junín.
1825 – The Bolivian Declaration of Independence is proclaimed.
1861 – Britain imposes the Lagos Treaty of Cession to suppress slavery in what is now Nigeria.
1862 – American Civil War: The Confederate ironclad is scuttled on the Mississippi River after suffering catastrophic engine failure near Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
1870 – Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Spicheren is fought, resulting in a German victory.
1870 – Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Wörth results in a decisive German victory.
1890 – At Auburn Prison in New York, murderer William Kemmler becomes the first person to be executed by electric chair. |
August 6 | 1901–present | 1901–present
1901 – Kiowa land in Oklahoma is opened for white settlement, effectively dissolving the contiguous reservation.
1914 – World War I: U-boat campaign: Two days after the United Kingdom had declared war on Germany over the German invasion of Belgium, ten German U-boats leave their base in Heligoland to attack Royal Navy warships in the North Sea.
1914 – World War I: Serbia declares war on Germany; Austria declares war on Russia.
1915 – World War I: Battle of Sari Bair: The Allies mount a diversionary attack timed to coincide with a major Allied landing of reinforcements at Suvla Bay.
1917 – World War I: Battle of Mărășești between the Romanian and German armies begins.
1926 – Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to swim across the English Channel.
1926 – First public screening using the Vitaphone process
1940 – Estonia is annexed by the Soviet Union.
1942 – Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands becomes the first reigning queen to address a joint session of the United States Congress.
1944 – The Warsaw Uprising occurs on August 1. It is brutally suppressed and all able-bodied men in Kraków are detained afterwards to prevent a similar uprising, the Kraków Uprising, that was planned but never carried out.
1945 – World War II: Hiroshima, Japan is devastated when the atomic bomb "Little Boy" is dropped by the United States B-29 Enola Gay. Around 70,000 people are killed instantly, and some tens of thousands die in subsequent years from burns and radiation poisoning.
1956 – After going bankrupt in 1955, the American broadcaster DuMont Television Network makes its final broadcast, a boxing match from St. Nicholas Arena in New York in the Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena series.
1958 – Law of Permanent Defense of Democracy, outlawing the Communist Party of Chile and banning 26,650 persons from the electoral lists,Adam Feinstein, Pablo Neruda: A Passion for Life url is repealed in Chile.
1960 – Cuban Revolution: Cuba nationalizes American and foreign-owned property in the nation.
1962 – Jamaica becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
1965 – US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law.
1986 – A low-pressure system that redeveloped off the New South Wales coast dumps a record 328 millimeters (13 inches) of rain in a day on Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
1990 – Gulf War: The United Nations Security Council orders a global trade embargo against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.
1991 – Tim Berners-Lee releases files describing his idea for the World Wide Web. WWW makes its first appearance as a publicly available service on the Internet.
1991 – Takako Doi, chair of the Social Democratic Party, becomes Japan's first female speaker of the House of Representatives.
1996 – NASA announces that the ALH 84001 meteorite, thought to originate from Mars, contains evidence of primitive life-forms.
1997 – Korean Air Flight 801 crashed at Nimitz Hill, Guam, killing 229 of the 254 people on board.
2001 – Erwadi fire incident: Twenty-eight mentally ill persons tied to a chain are burnt to death at a faith based institution at Erwadi, Tamil Nadu.
2008 – A military junta led by Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz stages a coup d'état in Mauritania, overthrowing president Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi.
2010 – Flash floods across a large part of Jammu and Kashmir, India, damages 71 towns and kills at least 255 people.
2011 – War in Afghanistan: A United States military helicopter is shot down, killing 30 American special forces members and a working dog, seven Afghan soldiers, and one Afghan civilian. It was the deadliest single event for the United States in the War in Afghanistan.
2012 – NASA's Curiosity rover lands on the surface of Mars.
2015 – A suicide bomb attack kills at least 15 people at a mosque in the Saudi city of Abha. |
August 6 | Births | Births |
August 6 | Pre-1600 | Pre-1600
1180 – Emperor Go-Toba of Japan (d. 1239)
1504 – Matthew Parker, English archbishop (d. 1575)
1572 – Fakhr-al-Din II, Druze emir (d. 1635) |
August 6 | 1601–1900 | 1601–1900
1605 – Bulstrode Whitelocke, English lawyer (d. 1675)
1609 – Richard Bennett, English-American politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (d. 1675)
1619 – Barbara Strozzi, Italian composer and singer-songwriter (d. 1677)
1622 – Tjerk Hiddes de Vries, Dutch admiral (d. 1666)
1638 – Nicolas Malebranche, French priest and philosopher (d. 1715)
1644 – Louise de La Vallière, French mistress of Louis XIV of France (d. 1710)
1651 – François Fénelon, French archbishop and poet (d. 1715)
1656 – Claude de Forbin, French general (d. 1733)
1666 – Maria Sophia of Neuburg (d. 1699)
1667 – Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (d. 1748)
1697 – Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1745)
1715 – Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues, French author (d. 1747)
1765 – Petros Mavromichalis, Greek general and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1848)
1766 – William Hyde Wollaston, English chemist and physicist (d. 1828)
1768 – Jean-Baptiste Bessières, French general and politician (d. 1813)
1775 – Daniel O'Connell, Irish lawyer and politician, Lord Mayor of Dublin (d. 1847)
1809 – Alfred, Lord Tennyson, English poet (d. 1892)
1826 – Thomas Alexander Browne, English-Australian author (d. 1915)
1835 – Hjalmar Kiærskou, Danish botanist (d. 1900)
1844 – Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d. 1900)
1844 – James Henry Greathead, South African-English engineer (d. 1896)
1848 – Susie Taylor, American writer and first black Army nurse (d. 1912)
1846 – Anna Haining Bates, Canadian-American giant (d. 1888)
1868 – Paul Claudel, French poet and playwright (d. 1955)
1874 – Charles Fort, American author (d. 1932)
1877 – Wallace H. White Jr., American lawyer and politician (d. 1952)
1880 – Hans Moser, Austrian actor and singer (d. 1964)
1881 – Leo Carrillo, American actor (d. 1961)
1881 – Alexander Fleming, Scottish biologist, pharmacologist, and botanist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1955)
1881 – Louella Parsons, American journalist (d. 1972)
1883 – Constance Georgina Adams, South African botanist (d. 1968)
1883 – Scott Nearing, American economist and educator (d. 1983)
1886 – Edward Ballantine, American composer and academic (d. 1971)
1887 – Dudley Benjafield, English racing driver (d. 1957)
1889 – George Kenney, Canadian-American general (d. 1977)
1889 – John Middleton Murry, English poet and author (d. 1957)
1891 – William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim, English field marshal and politician, 13th Governor-General of Australia (d. 1970)
1895 – Frank Nicklin, Australian politician, 28th Premier of Queensland (d. 1978)
1900 – Cecil Howard Green, English-American geophysicist and businessman, co-founded Texas Instruments (d. 2003) |
August 6 | 1901–present | 1901–present
1901 – Dutch Schultz, American gangster (d. 1935)
1903 – Virginia Foster Durr, American civil rights activist (d. 1999)
1904 – Jean Dessès, Greek-Egyptian fashion designer (d. 1970)
1904 – Henry Iba, American basketball player and coach (d. 1993)
1906 – Vic Dickenson, American trombonist (d. 1984)
1908 – Maria Ludwika Bernhard, Polish classical archaeologist and a member of WWII Polish resistance (d. 1998)
1908 – Helen Jacobs, American tennis player and commander (d. 1997)
1908 – Lajos Vajda, Hungarian painter and illustrator (d. 1941)
1909 – Diana Keppel, Countess of Albemarle (d. 2013)
1910 – Adoniran Barbosa, Brazilian musician, singer, composer, humorist, and actor (d. 1982)
1910 – Charles Crichton, English director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1999)
1911 – Lucille Ball, American actress, television producer and businesswoman (d. 1989)
1911 – Norman Gordon, South African cricketer (d. 2014)
1911 – Constance Heaven, English author and actress (d. 1995)
1912 – Richard C. Miller, American photographer (d. 2010)
1914 – Gordon Freeth, Australian lawyer and politician, 24th Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs (d. 2001)
1916 – Richard Hofstadter, American historian and academic (d. 1970)
1916 – Dom Mintoff, Maltese journalist and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Malta (d. 2012)
1917 – Barbara Cooney, American author and illustrator (d. 2000)
1917 – Robert Mitchum, American actor (d. 1997)
1918 – Norman Granz, American-Swiss record producer and manager (d. 2001)
1919 – Pauline Betz, American tennis player (d. 2011)
1920 – John Graves, American author (d. 2013)
1920 – Ella Raines, American actress (d. 1988)
1922 – Freddie Laker, English businessman, founded Laker Airways (d. 2006)
1922 – Dan Walker, American lawyer and politician, 36th Governor of Illinois (d. 2015)
1923 – Jess Collins, American painter (d. 2004)
1923 – Paul Hellyer, Canadian engineer and politician, 16th Canadian Minister of Defence (d. 2021)
1924 – Samuel Bowers, American white supremacist, co-founded the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (d. 2006)
1924 – Ella Jenkins, American folk singer (d. 2024)
1926 – Elisabeth Beresford, English journalist and author (d. 2010)
1926 – Frank Finlay, English actor (d. 2016)
1926 – Clem Labine, American baseball player and manager (d. 2007)
1926 – János Rózsás, Hungarian author (d. 2012)
1926 – Norman Wexler, American screenwriter (d. 1999)
1928 – Herb Moford, American baseball player (d. 2005)
1928 – Andy Warhol, American painter, photographer and film director (d. 1987)
1929 – Mike Elliott, Jamaican saxophonist
1929 – Roch La Salle, Canadian politician, 42nd Canadian Minister of Public Works (d. 2007)
1930 – Abbey Lincoln, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2010)
1931 – Chalmers Johnson, American scholar and author (d. 2010)
1932 – Michael Deeley, English screenwriter and producer
1932 – Howard Hodgkin, English painter (d. 2017)
1932 – Charles Wood, English playwright and screenwriter (d. 2020)
1933 – A. G. Kripal Singh, Indian cricketer (d. 1987)
1934 – Piers Anthony, English-American soldier and author
1934 – Chris Bonington, English mountaineer and author
1934 – Billy Boston, Welsh rugby player and soldier
1935 – Fortunato Baldelli, Italian cardinal (d. 2012)
1935 – Octavio Getino, Spanish-Argentinian director and screenwriter (d. 2012)
1937 – Baden Powell de Aquino, Brazilian guitarist and composer (d. 2000)
1937 – Charlie Haden, American bassist and composer (d. 2014)
1937 – Barbara Windsor, English actress (d. 2020)
1938 – Paul Bartel, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2000)
1938 – Peter Bonerz, American actor and director
1938 – Bert Yancey, American golfer (d. 1994)
1940 – Mukhu Aliyev, Russian philologist and politician, 2nd President of Dagestan
1940 – Egil Kapstad, Norwegian pianist and composer (d. 2017)
1940 – Louise Sorel, American actress
1941 – Ray Culp, American baseball player
1942 – Byard Lancaster, American saxophonist and flute player (d. 2012)
1943 – Jon Postel, American computer scientist and academic (d. 1998)
1944 – Inday Badiday, Filipino journalist and actress (d. 2003)
1944 – Michael Mingos, English chemist and academic
1944 – Martin Wharton, English bishop
1945 – Ron Jones, English director and production manager (d. 1993)
1946 – Allan Holdsworth, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (d. 2017)
1947 – Radhia Cousot, French computer scientist and academic (d. 2014)
1949 – Dino Bravo, Italian-Canadian wrestler (d. 1993)
1950 – Dorian Harewood, American actor
1951 – Catherine Hicks, American actress
1951 – Daryl Somers, Australian television host and singer
1952 – Pat MacDonald, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1952 – David McLetchie, Scottish lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
1952 – Ton Scherpenzeel, Dutch keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
1954 – Mark Hughes, English-Australian rugby league player
1956 – Bill Emmott, English journalist and author
1957 – Bob Horner, American baseball player
1957 – Jim McGreevey, American lawyer and politician, 52nd Governor of New Jersey
1958 – Randy DeBarge, American singer-songwriter and bass player
1959 – Rajendra Singh, Indian environmentalist
1959 – Joyce Sims, American singer (d. 2022)
1960 – Dale Ellis, American basketball player
1961 – Mary Ann Sieghart, English journalist and radio host
1962 – Michelle Yeoh, Malaysian-Hong Kong actress and producerEncyclopædia Britannica Almanac 2010, p. 75
1963 – Charles Ingram, English soldier, author, and game show contestant
1963 – Kevin Mitnick, American computer security consultant, author, and convicted hacker (d. 2023)
1964 – Kemi Omololu-Olunloyo, Nigerian journalist, activist, social media expert, and pharmacist
1965 – Stéphane Peterhansel, French racing driver
1965 – Yuki Kajiura, Japanese pianist and composer
1965 – David Robinson, American basketball player and lieutenant
1968 – Jack de Gier, Dutch footballer
1969 – Simon Doull, New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster
1969 – Elliott Smith, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2003)
1970 – M. Night Shyamalan, Indian-American director, producer, and screenwriter
1972 – Geri Halliwell, English singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
1972 – Jason O'Mara, Irish actor
1973 – Vera Farmiga, American actress
1973 – Stuart O'Grady, Australian cyclist
1975 – Jason Crump, English-Australian motorcycle racer
1975 – Renate Götschl, Austrian skier
1975 – Víctor Zambrano, Venezuelan baseball player
1976 – Soleil Moon Frye, American actress
1976 – Melissa George, Australian-American actress
1977 – Leandro Amaral, Brazilian footballer
1977 – Jimmy Nielsen, Danish footballer and manager
1977 – Luciano Zavagno, Argentinian footballer
1979 – Francesco Bellotti, Italian cyclist
1979 – Jaime Correa, Mexican footballer
1979 – Travis Reed, American basketball player
1981 – Leslie Odom Jr., American actor and singer
1981 – Diána Póth, Hungarian figure skater
1983 – Robin van Persie, Dutch footballer
1984 – Vedad Ibišević, Bosnian footballer
1984 – Maja Ognjenović, Serbian volleyball player
1984 – Jesse Ryder, New Zealand cricketer
1985 – Mickaël Delage, French cyclist
1985 – Bafétimbi Gomis, French footballer
1985 – Garrett Weber-Gale, American swimmer
1986 – Raphael Pyrasch, German rugby player
1987 – Leanne Crichton, Scottish footballer
1991 – Wilmer Flores, Venezuelan baseball player
1991 – Jiao Liuyang, Chinese swimmer
1995 – Rebecca Peterson, Swedish tennis player
1999 – Hunter Greene, American baseball player
1999 – Rebeka Masarova, Spanish-Swiss tennis player
2002 – Nessa Barrett, American singer-songwriter.
2004 – Takhmina Ikromova, Uzbekistani rhythmic gymnast |
August 6 | Deaths | Deaths |
August 6 | Pre-1600 | Pre-1600
258 – Pope Sixtus II
523 – Pope Hormisdas (b. 450)
750 – Marwan II, Umayyad general and caliph (b. 688)
1027 – Richard III, Duke of Normandy
1162 – Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona (b. 1113)
1195 – Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria (b. 1129)
1221 – Saint Dominic, Spanish priest, founded the Dominican Order (b. 1170)
1272 – Stephen V of Hungary (b. 1239)
1384 – Francesco I of Lesbos
1412 – Margherita of Durazzo, Queen consort of Charles III of Naples (b. 1347)
1414 – Ladislaus of Naples (b. 1377)
1458 – Pope Callixtus III (b. 1378)
1530 – Jacopo Sannazaro, Italian poet (b. 1458)
1553 – Girolamo Fracastoro, Italian physician (b. 1478)
1588 – Josias I, Count of Waldeck-Eisenberg, Count of Waldeck-Eisenberg (1578–1588) (b. 1554) |
August 6 | 1601–1900 | 1601–1900
1628 – Johannes Junius, German lawyer and politician (b. 1573)
1637 – Ben Jonson, English poet and playwright (b. 1572)
1645 – Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex, English merchant and politician (b. 1575)
1657 – Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Ukrainian soldier and politician, 1st Hetman of Zaporizhian Host (b. 1595)
1660 – Diego Velázquez, Spanish painter and educator (b. 1599)
1666 – Tjerk Hiddes de Vries, Frisian naval hero and commander (b. 1622)
1679 – John Snell, Scottish-English soldier and philanthropist, founded the Snell Exhibition (b. 1629)
1694 – Antoine Arnauld, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1612)
1695 – François de Harlay de Champvallon, French archbishop (b. 1625)
1753 – Georg Wilhelm Richmann, Estonian-Russian physicist and academic (b. 1711)
1757 – Ádám Mányoki, Hungarian painter (b. 1673)
1794 – Henry Bathurst, 2nd Earl Bathurst, English lawyer and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1714)
1815 – James A. Bayard, American lawyer and politician (b. 1767)
1828 – Konstantin von Benckendorff, Russian general and diplomat (b. 1785)
1850 – Edward Walsh, Irish poet (b. 1805)
1866 – John Mason Neale, English priest, scholar, and hymnwriter (b. 1818)
1881 – James Springer White, American religious leader, co-founded the Seventh-day Adventist Church (b. 1821)
1893 – Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel, Swiss lawyer and politician (b. 1811) |
August 6 | 1901–present | 1901–present
1904 – Eduard Hanslick, Austrian author and critic (b. 1825)
1906 – George Waterhouse, English-New Zealand politician, 7th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1824)
1915 – Jennie de la Montagnie Lozier, American physician (b. 1841)
1920 – Stefan Bastyr, Polish pilot and author (b. 1890)
1925 – Surendranath Banerjee, Indian academic and politician (b. 1848)
1925 – Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro, Italian mathematician (b. 1853)
1931 – Bix Beiderbecke, American cornet player, pianist, and composer (b. 1903)
1945 – Richard Bong, American soldier and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1920)The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times, among other periodicals, all carried prominent front page stories about Bong's death on August 7, 1945, despite the prevalence of the news on the first atomic bombing. "Jet plane explosion kills Major Bong, Top U.S. Ace," The New York Times (August 7, 1945), p. 1; "Major Bong, top air ace, killed in crash of Army P-80 jet-fighter," The Washington Post (August 6, 1945), p.1; "Jet plane explosion kills Maj. Bong; Ace's 'Shooting Star' blows up in test flight over north Hollywood", Los Angeles Times (August 6, 1945), p.1.
1945 – Hiram Johnson, American lawyer and politician, 23rd Governor of California (b. 1866)
1946 – Tony Lazzeri, American baseball player and coach (b. 1903)
1952 – Betty Allan, Australian statistician and biometrician (b. 1905)
1959 – Preston Sturges, American director, screenwriter, and playwright (b. 1898)
1964 – Cedric Hardwicke, English actor and director (b. 1893)
1968 – Ye Gongchuo, Chinese politician, poet, and calligrapher (b. 1881)
1969 – Theodor W. Adorno, German sociologist and philosopher (b. 1903)
1970 – Nikos Tsiforos, Greek director and screenwriter (b. 1912)
1973 – Fulgencio Batista, Cuban colonel and politician, 9th President of Cuba (b. 1901)
1976 – Gregor Piatigorsky, Russian-American cellist and educator (b. 1903)
1978 – Pope Paul VI (b. 1897)
1978 – Edward Durell Stone, American architect, designed Radio City Music Hall and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (b. 1902)
1979 – Feodor Felix Konrad Lynen, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
1983 – Klaus Nomi, German singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1944)
1985 – Forbes Burnham, Guyanese politician, 2nd President of Guyana (b. 1923)
1986 – Emilio Fernández, Mexican actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1904)
1987 – Ira C. Eaker, American general (b. 1896)
1990 – Jacques Soustelle, French anthropologist and politician (b. 1912)
1991 – Shapour Bakhtiar, Iranian soldier and politician, 74th Prime Minister of Iran (b. 1915)
1991 – Roland Michener, Canadian lawyer and politician, 20th Governor General of Canada (b. 1900)
1991 – Harry Reasoner, American journalist, co-created 60 Minutes (b. 1923)
1992 – Leszek Błażyński, Polish boxer (b. 1949)
1993 – Tex Hughson, American baseball player (b. 1916)
1994 – Domenico Modugno, Italian singer-songwriter and politician (b. 1928)
1997 – Shin Ki-ha, South Korean lawyer and politician (b. 1941)
1998 – André Weil, French-American mathematician and academic (b. 1906)
2001 – Jorge Amado, Brazilian novelist and poet (b. 1912)
2001 – Adhar Kumar Chatterji, Indian Naval officer (b. 1914)
2001 – Wilhelm Mohnke, German general (b. 1911)
2001 – Shan Ratnam, Sri Lankan physician and academic (b. 1928)
2001 – Dorothy Tutin, English actress (b. 1930)
2002 – Edsger W. Dijkstra, Dutch physicist, computer scientist, and academic (b. 1930)
2003 – Julius Baker, American flute player and educator (b. 1915)
2004 – Rick James, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1948)
2004 – Donald Justice, American poet and academic (b. 1925)
2005 – Robin Cook, Scottish educator and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (b. 1946)
2005 – Creme Puff, tabby domestic cat, oldest recorded cat (b. 1967)
2007 – Zsolt Daczi, Hungarian guitarist (b. 1969)
2008 – Angelos Kitsos, Greek lawyer and author (b. 1934)
2009 – Riccardo Cassin, Italian mountaineer and author (b. 1909)
2009 – Willy DeVille, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1950)
2009 – John Hughes, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1950)
2011 – Fe del Mundo, Filipino pediatrician and educator (b. 1911)
2012 – Richard Cragun, American-Brazilian ballet dancer and choreographer (b. 1944)
2012 – Marvin Hamlisch, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1944)
2012 – Robert Hughes, Australian-American author and critic (b. 1938)
2012 – Bernard Lovell, English physicist and astronomer (b. 1913)
2012 – Mark O'Donnell, American playwright (b. 1954)
2012 – Ruggiero Ricci, American violinist and educator (b. 1918)
2012 – Dan Roundfield, American basketball player (b. 1953)
2013 – Stan Lynde, American author and illustrator (b. 1931)
2013 – Mava Lee Thomas, American baseball player (b. 1929)
2013 – Jerry Wolman, American businessman (b. 1927)
2014 – Ralph Bryans, Northern Irish motorcycle racer (b. 1941)
2014 – Ananda W.P. Guruge, Sri Lankan scholar and diplomat (b. 1928)
2014 – John Woodland Hastings, American biochemist and academic (b. 1927)
2015 – Ray Hill, American football player (b. 1975)
2015 – Orna Porat, German-Israeli actress (b. 1924)
2017 – Betty Cuthbert, Australian sprinter (b. 1938)
2017 – Darren Daulton, American baseball player (b. 1962)
2018 – Joël Robuchon, French Chef (b. 1945)
2018 – Margaret Heckler, American politician (b. 1931)
2018 – Anya Krugovoy Silver, American poet (b. 1968)
2024 – Billy Bean, American baseball player (b. 1964)
2024 – Connie Chiume, South African actress and filmmaker (b. 1952) |
August 6 | Holidays and observances | Holidays and observances
Christian holidays and observances
Transfiguration of Jesus
Anna Maria Rubatto
Hormisdas
Justus and Pastor
August 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan's Accession Day. (United Arab Emirates)
Independence Day (Bolivia), celebrates the independence of Bolivia from Spain in 1825.
Independence Day (Jamaica), celebrates the independence of Jamaica from the United Kingdom in 1962.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony (Hiroshima, Japan)
Russian Railway Troops Day (Russia) |
August 6 | References | References |
August 6 | External links | External links
Category:Days of August |
August 6 | Table of Content | pp-move, Events, Pre-1600, 1601–1900, 1901–present, Births, Pre-1600, 1601–1900, 1901–present, Deaths, Pre-1600, 1601–1900, 1901–present, Holidays and observances, References, External links |
Anatoly Karpov | Short description | Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov (, ; born May 23, 1951) is a Russian and former Soviet chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, and politician. He was the 12th World Chess Champion from 1975 to 1985, a three-time FIDE World Champion (1993, 1996, 1998), twice World Chess champion as a member of the USSR team (1985, 1989), and a six-time winner of Chess Olympiads as a member of the USSR team (1972, 1974, 1980, 1982, 1986, 1988). The International Association of Chess Press awarded him nine Chess Oscars (1973–77, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984).
Karpov's chess tournament successes include over 160 first-place finishes. In his 1994 book My Best Games, Karpov says he played some 200 tournaments and matches, and won more than 100. He had a peak Elo rating of 2780, and his 102 total months world number one is the third-longest of all time, behind Magnus Carlsen and Garry Kasparov. Karpov is also an elected Member of the State Duma in Russia. Since 2006, he has chaired the Commission for Ecological Safety and Environmental Protection of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, and since 2007 he has been a member of the Public Council under the Ministry of Defence. |
Anatoly Karpov | Early life | Early life
Karpov was born into a Russian family on May 23, 1951,How Karpov Wins, p. xiiiDeep Blue: An Artificial Intelligence Milestonebats, p. 44 in Zlatoust, in the Urals region of the former Soviet Union, and learned to play chess at the age of four. His early rise in chess was swift, as he became a candidate master by age 11. At 12, he was accepted into Mikhail Botvinnik's prestigious chess school, though Botvinnik made the following remark about the young Karpov: "The boy does not have a clue about chess, and there's no future at all for him in this profession."
Karpov acknowledged that his understanding of chess theory was very confused at that time, and later wrote that the homework Botvinnik assigned greatly helped him, since it required that he consult chess books and work diligently. Karpov improved so quickly under Botvinnik's tutelage that he became the youngest Soviet master in history at the age of fifteen in 1966; this tied the record established by Boris Spassky in 1952. |
Anatoly Karpov | Career | Career |
Anatoly Karpov | Young master | Young master
thumb|262px|Karpov in 1967
Karpov finished first in his first international tournament, in Třinec, several months later, ahead of Viktor Kupreichik. In 1967, he won the annual Niemeyer Tournament in Groningen. Karpov won a gold medal for academic excellence in high school, and entered Moscow State University in 1968 to study mathematics. He later transferred to Leningrad State University, eventually graduating from there in economics. One reason for the transfer was to be closer to his coach, grandmaster Semyon Furman, who lived in Leningrad. In his writings, Karpov credits Furman as a major influence on his development as a world-class player.
In 1969, Karpov became the first Soviet player since Spassky (1955) to win the World Junior Championship, scoring an undefeated 10/11 in the final A group at Stockholm. This victory earned him the International Master title. In 1970, Karpov tied for fourth and fifth places with Pal Benko at an international tournament in Caracas, Venezuela, and earned the international grandmaster title. FIDE awarded him the title during its 41st congress, held during the Chess Olympiad in Siegen, West Germany in September 1970. |
Anatoly Karpov | Grandmaster | Grandmaster
Karpov won the 1971 Alekhine Memorial tournament in Moscow (jointly with Leonid Stein), ahead of a star-studded field, for his first significant adult victory. His Elo rating shot from 2540 in 1971 to 2660 in 1973, during which he shared second place in the 1973 Soviet championship, one point behind Spassky, and qualified for the Leningrad Interzonal. |
Anatoly Karpov | Candidate | Candidate
Karpov's world junior championship qualified him for one of the two Interzonals,Zonal Qualifiers 1972-1975, Mark Weeks' Chess Pages a stage in the 1975 World Championship cycle to choose the challenger to play world champion Bobby Fischer. He finished equal first in the Leningrad Interzonal, qualifying for the 1974 Candidates Matches.
Karpov defeated Lev Polugaevsky by the score of +3=5 in the first Candidates' match, earning the right to face former champion Boris Spassky in the semifinal round. Karpov was on record saying that he believed Spassky would easily beat him and win the Candidates' cycle to face Fischer, and that he (Karpov) would win the following Candidates' cycle in 1977. Spassky won the first game as Black in good style, but tenacious, aggressive play from Karpov secured him overall victory by +4−1=6.
The Candidates' final was played in Moscow with Victor Korchnoi. Karpov took an early lead, winning the second game against the Sicilian Dragon, then scoring another victory in the sixth game. Following ten consecutive draws, Korchnoi threw away a winning position in the seventeenth game to give Karpov a 3–0 lead. In game 19, Korchnoi succeeded in winning a long endgame, then notched a speedy victory after a blunder by Karpov two games later. Three more draws, the last agreed by Karpov when he was in a clearly better position, closed the match, with Karpov prevailing +3−2=19, entitling him to move on to challenge Fischer for the world title.chessgames.com, Karpov - Korchnoi Candidates Final (1974) |
Anatoly Karpov | Match with Fischer in 1975 | Match with Fischer in 1975
Though a world championship match between Karpov and Fischer was highly anticipated, those hopes were never realised. Fischer not only insisted that the match be the first to ten wins (draws not counting), but also that the champion retain the crown if the score was tied 9–9. FIDE, the International Chess Federation, refused to allow this proviso, and gave both players a deadline of April 1, 1975, to agree to play the match under the FIDE-approved rules. When Fischer did not agree, FIDE President Max Euwe declared on April 3, 1975, that Fischer had forfeited his title and Karpov was the new World Champion. Karpov later attempted to set up another match with Fischer, but the negotiations fell through. This thrust the young Karpov into the role of World Champion without having faced the reigning champion.
Garry Kasparov argued that Karpov would have had good chances because he had beaten Spassky convincingly and was a new breed of tough professional, and indeed had higher quality games, while Fischer had been inactive for three years.Kasparov, My Great Predecessors, part IV: Fischer, p. 474 This view is echoed by Karpov himself. Spassky thought that Fischer would have won in 1975, but Karpov would have qualified again and beaten Fischer in 1978.In an article (PDF) published in 2004 on the Chesscafe website Susan Polgar wrote: "I spoke to Boris Spassky about this same issue and he believes that Bobby would have won in 1975, but that Anatoly would have won the rematch." Karpov has said that if he had had the opportunity to play Fischer for the championship in his twenties, he could have been a much better player as a result. |
Anatoly Karpov | World champion | World champion
thumb|300px|Karpov with FIDE president Max Euwe and wife in 1976
Determined to prove himself a legitimate champion, Karpov participated in nearly every major tournament for the next ten years. He convincingly won the Milan tournament in 1975, and captured his first of three Soviet titles in 1976. He created a phenomenal streak of tournament wins against the strongest players in the world. Karpov held the record for most consecutive tournament victories (9) until it was shattered by Garry Kasparov (15). As a result, most chess professionals soon agreed that Karpov was a legitimate world champion.
In 1978, Karpov's first title defence was against Viktor Korchnoi, the opponent he had defeated in the 1973–75 Candidates' cycle; the match was played at Baguio, Philippines, with the winner needing six victories.
As in 1974, Karpov took an early lead, winning the eighth game after seven draws to open the match. When the score was +5−2=20 in Karpov's favour, Korchnoi staged a comeback, and won three of the next four games to draw level with Karpov. Karpov then won the very next game to retain the title (+6−5=21).chessgames.com, Karpov vs Korchnoi, 1978 Three years later, Korchnoi reemerged as the Candidates' winner against German finalist Robert Hübner to challenge Karpov in Merano, Italy. Karpov handily won this match, 11–7 (+6−2=10), in what is remembered as the "Massacre in Merano".
Karpov's tournament career reached a peak at the Montreal "Tournament of Stars" tournament in 1979, where he finished joint first (+7−1=10) with Mikhail Tal ahead of a field of strong grandmasters completed by Jan Timman, Ljubomir Ljubojević, Boris Spassky, Vlastimil Hort, Lajos Portisch, Robert Hübner, Bent Larsen and Lubomir Kavalek. He dominated Las Palmas in 1977 with 13½/15. He also won the prestigious Bugojno tournament in 1978 (shared), 1980 and 1986, the Linares tournament in 1981 (shared with Larry Christiansen) and 1994, the Tilburg tournament in 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, and 1983, and the Soviet Championship in 1976, 1983, and 1988.chessgames.com, Anatoly Karpov
Karpov represented the Soviet Union at six Chess Olympiads, in all of which the USSR won the team gold medal. He played as the first reserve at Skopje 1972, winning the board prize with 13/15. At Nice 1974, he advanced to board one and again won the board prize with 12/14. At La Valletta 1980, he was again board one and scored 9/12. At Lucerne 1982, he scored 6½/8 on board one. At Dubai 1986, he scored 6/9 on board two. His last was Thessaloniki 1988, where on board two he scored 8/10. In Olympiad play, Karpov lost only two games out of 68 played. To illustrate Karpov's dominance over his peers as champion, his score was +13−1=22 versus Spassky, +8=19 versus Robert Hübner, +12−1=29 versus Ulf Andersson, +3−1=10 versus Vasily Smyslov, +1=19 versus Mikhail Tal, +19-7=23 versus Ljubomir Ljubojević. |
Anatoly Karpov | Rivalry with Kasparov | Rivalry with Kasparov |
Anatoly Karpov | FIDE champion again (1993–1999) | FIDE champion again (1993–1999)
thumb|Karpov in 1993
In 1992, Karpov lost a Candidates Match against Nigel Short. But in the World Chess Championship 1993, Karpov reacquired the FIDE World Champion title when Kasparov and Short split from FIDE. Karpov defeated Timman – the loser of the Candidates' final against Short.
The next major meeting of Kasparov and Karpov was the 1994 Linares chess tournament. The field, in eventual finishing order, was Karpov, Kasparov, Shirov, Bareev, Kramnik, Lautier, Anand, Kamsky, Topalov, Ivanchuk, Gelfand, Illescas, Judit Polgár, and Beliavsky; with an average Elo rating of 2685, the highest ever at that time. Impressed by the strength of the tournament, Kasparov had said several days before the tournament that the winner could rightly be called the world champion of tournaments. Perhaps spurred on by this comment, Karpov played the best tournament of his life. He was undefeated and earned 11 points out of 13 (the best world-class tournament winning percentage since Alekhine won San Remo in 1930), finishing 2½ points ahead of second-place Kasparov and Shirov. Many of his wins were spectacular (in particular, his win over Topalov is considered possibly the finest of his career). This performance against the best players in the world put his Elo rating tournament performance at 2985, the highest performance rating of any player in history up until 2009, when Magnus Carlsen won the category XXI Pearl Spring chess tournament with a performance of 3002. Chess statistician Jeff Sonas considers Karpov's Linares performance the best tournament result in history."Facts and figures: Magnus Carlsen's performance in Nanjing". ChessBase. Retrieved October 26, 2009.
Karpov defended his FIDE title against the rising star Gata Kamsky (+6−3=9) in 1996. In 1998, FIDE largely scrapped the old system of Candidates' Matches, instead having a large knockout event in which a large number of players contested short matches against each other over just a few weeks. In the first of these events, the FIDE World Chess Championship 1998, champion Karpov was seeded straight into the final, defeating Viswanathan Anand (+2−2=2, rapid tiebreak 2–0). In the subsequent cycle, the format was changed, with the champion having to qualify. Karpov refused to defend his title, and ceased to be FIDE World Champion after the FIDE World Chess Championship 1999. |
Anatoly Karpov | Towards retirement | Towards retirement
Karpov's classical tournament play has been seriously limited since 1997, since he prefers to be more involved in Russian politics. He had been a member of the Supreme Soviet Commission for Foreign Affairs and the president of the Soviet Peace Fund before the Soviet Union dissolved. In addition, he has been involved in several disputes with FIDE. In the September 2009 FIDE rating list, he dropped out of the world's Top 100 for the first time. Karpov usually limits his play to exhibition events, and has revamped his style to specialize in rapid chess. In 2002, he won a match against Kasparov, defeating him in a rapid time control match 2½–1½. In 2006, he tied for first with Kasparov in a blitz tournament, ahead of Korchnoi and Judit Polgár.
Karpov and Kasparov played a mixed 12-game match from September 21–24, 2009, in Valencia, Spain. It consisted of four rapid (or semi-rapid) and eight blitz games and took place exactly 25 years after the two players' legendary encounter at the World Chess Championship 1984. Kasparov won the match 9–3. Karpov played a match against Yasser Seirawan in 2012 in St. Louis, Missouri, an important center of the North American chess scene, winning 8–6 (+5−3=6). In November 2012, he won the Cap d'Agde rapid tournament that bears his name (Anatoly Karpov Trophy), beating Vasyl Ivanchuk (ranked 9th in the October 2012 FIDE world rankings) in the final. |
Anatoly Karpov | Professional and political career after retirement from chess | Professional and political career after retirement from chess
thumb|Karpov founded his chess school in the tan building. The sign bearing his name has been removed, and the school is in the process of changing its name.
In 2003, Karpov opened his first American chess school in Lindsborg, Kansas as the Anatoly Karpov International School of Chess On March 2, 2022, the school announced a name change to International Chess Institute of the Midwest due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Karpov has been a member of the sixth, seventh and eighth Russian State Dumas. Since 2005, he has been a member of the Public Chamber of Russia. He has involved himself in several humanitarian causes, such as advocating the use of iodised salt. On December 17, 2012, Karpov supported the Dima Yakovlev Law banning adoption of Russian orphans by U.S. citizens.
Karpov expressed support of the unilateral annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, and accused Europe of trying to demonize Putin. In August 2019, Maxim Dlugy said that Karpov had been waiting since March for the approval of a non-immigrant visa to the United States, despite frequently visiting the country since 1972. Karpov had been scheduled to teach a summer camp at the Chess Max Academy. Dlugy said that Karpov had been questioned at the US embassy in Moscow about whether he planned to communicate with American politicians. Karpov was among the Russian State Duma members placed under sanctions by the EU and UK during the Russo-Ukrainian War. In March 2022, after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the FIDE Council suspended Karpov's title of FIDE Ambassador for Life.
In November 2022, Karpov was placed in an induced coma after receiving a head injury. Karpov's daughter Sofia and the Russian Chess Federation said that he had accidentally fallen. Karpov made a full recovery from the injury. |
Anatoly Karpov | Candidate for FIDE presidency | Candidate for FIDE presidency
In March 2010, Karpov announced that he would be a candidate for the presidency of FIDE. The election took place in September 2010 at the 39th Chess Olympiad. In May, a fundraising event took place in New York with the participation of Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen, who both supported his bid and campaigned for him. Nigel Short also supported Karpov's candidacy. On September 29, 2010, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was reelected as president of FIDE, 95 votes to 55. |
Anatoly Karpov | Style | Style
Karpov's playing style, described as a "boa constrictor", is solidly positional, taking minimal risks but reacting mercilessly to the slightest error by his opponent. As a result, he is often compared to José Raúl Capablanca, the third world champion. Karpov himself describes his style as follows:Let us say the game may be continued in two ways: one of them is a beautiful tactical blow that gives rise to variations that don't yield to precise calculations; the other is clear positional pressure that leads to an endgame with microscopic chances of victory.... I would choose [the latter] without thinking twice. If the opponent offers keen play I don't object; but in such cases I get less satisfaction, even if I win, than from a game conducted according to all the rules of strategy with its ruthless logic. |
Anatoly Karpov | Notable games | Notable games
Viktor Korchnoi vs. Anatoly Karpov, Moscow 1973 Karpov sacrifices a pawn for a strong center and attack.
Anatoly Karpov vs. Gyula Sax, Linares 1983 Karpov sacrifices for an attack that wins the game 20 moves later, after another spectacular sacrifice from Karpov and counter-sacrifice from Sax. It won the tournament's first . This was not the first time Karpov used the sharp Keres Attack (6.g4) – see his win in Anatoly Karpov vs. Vlastimil Hort, Alekhine Memorial Tournament, Moscow 1971.
Anatoly Karpov vs. Veselin Topalov, Dos Hermanas 1994 This game features a sham sacrifice of two pieces, which Karpov regains with a variation, culminating in the win of an exchange with a technically won endgame. |
Anatoly Karpov | Hobbies | Hobbies
Karpov's extensive stamp collection of Belgian philately and Belgian Congo stamps and postal history covering mail from 1742 through 1980 was sold by David Feldman's auction company between December 2011 and 2012. He is also known to have large chess stamp and chess book collections. His private chess library consists of 9,000 books.
Karpov is also an enthusiastic Backgammon player. |
Anatoly Karpov | Honours and awards | Honours and awards
Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 3rd class (2001) – for outstanding contribution to the implementation of charitable programmes, the strengthening of peace and friendship between the peoples
Order of Friendship (2011) – for his great contribution to strengthening peace and friendship between peoples and productive social activities
Order of Lenin (1981)
Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1978)
Order of Merit, 2nd class (Ukraine) (November 13, 2006) – for his contribution to the victims of the Chernobyl disaster
Order of Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow, 2nd class (1996)
Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh, 2nd class (2001)
Medal "For outstanding contribution to the Collector business in Russia"
Honorary member of the Soviet Philately Society (1979)
Diploma of the State Duma of the Russian Federation No. 1
Order "For outstanding achievements in sport" (Republic of Cuba)
Medal of Tsiolkovsky Cosmonautics Federation of Russia
Medal "For Strengthening the penal system", 1st and 2nd class
Breastplate of the 1st degree of the Interior Ministry
International Association of Chess Press, 9 times voted the best chess player of the year and awarded the "Chess Oscar"
Order of Saint Nestor the Chronicler, 1st class
Asteroid 90414 Karpov is named after Karpov
Anatoly Karpov International Chess Tournament, an annual round-robin tournament held in his honour in Poikovsky, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia since 2000 |
Anatoly Karpov | Books | Books
Karpov has authored or co-authored several books, most of which have been translated into English.
Karpov, A.E. Ninth vertical. 1978. Moscow: Molodaya Gvardia.
(also a 1992 Simon & Schuster edition) |
Anatoly Karpov | References | References |
Anatoly Karpov | Further reading | Further reading
Fine, Rueben (1983). The World's Great Chess Games. Dover. .
Hurst, Sarah (2002). Curse of Kirsan: Adventures in the Chess Underworld. Russell Enterprises. .
Karpov, Anatoly (2003). Anatoly Karpov's Best Games. Batsford. .
Winter, Edward G., editor (1981).World Chess Champions. Pergamon Press. . |
Anatoly Karpov | External links | External links
Karpov's official homepage
Edward Winter, "Books about Korchnoi and Karpov", Chess Notes
25 minute video interview with Karpov, OnlineChessLessons.NET, June 19, 2012
"Anatoly Karpov tells all" (2015 interview by Sport Express, translated by ChessBase): part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4
Category:1951 births
Category:Living people
Category:People from Zlatoust
Category:United Russia politicians
Category:Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Category:Members of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union
Category:Sixth convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation)
Category:Seventh convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation)
Category:Eighth convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation)
Category:Members of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation
Category:Soviet chess players
Category:Soviet chess writers
Category:Soviet journalists
Category:Soviet male writers
Category:Russian chess players
Category:Russian chess writers
Category:Russian male journalists
Category:Russian philatelists
Category:20th-century Russian male writers
Category:21st-century Russian male writers
Category:Russian sportsperson-politicians
Category:Russian book and manuscript collectors
Category:Chess Olympiad competitors
Category:Chess Grandmasters
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Category:Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Category:Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Category:Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class
Category:Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class
Category:Recipients of the Order of Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow
Category:Recipients of the Olympic Order
Category:Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 2nd class
Category:Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 3rd class
Category:Recipients of the Order of May |
Anatoly Karpov | Table of Content | Short description, Early life, Career, Young master, Grandmaster, Candidate, Match with Fischer in 1975, World champion, Rivalry with Kasparov, FIDE champion again (1993–1999), Towards retirement, Professional and political career after retirement from chess, Candidate for FIDE presidency, Style, Notable games, Hobbies, Honours and awards, Books, References, Further reading, External links |
Aspect ratio | Short description | The aspect ratio of a geometric shape is the ratio of its sizes in different dimensions. For example, the aspect ratio of a rectangle is the ratio of its longer side to its shorter side—the ratio of width to height, when the rectangle is oriented as a "landscape".
The aspect ratio is most often expressed as two integer numbers separated by a colon (x:y), less commonly as a simple or decimal fraction. The values x and y do not represent actual widths and heights but, rather, the proportion between width and height. As an example, 8:5, 16:10, 1.6:1, and 1.6 are all ways of representing the same aspect ratio.
In objects of more than two dimensions, such as hyperrectangles, the aspect ratio can still be defined as the ratio of the longest side to the shortest side. |
Aspect ratio | Applications and uses | Applications and uses
The term is most commonly used with reference to:
Graphic / image
Image aspect ratio
Display aspect ratio
Paper size
Standard photographic print sizes
Motion picture film formats
Standard ad size
Pixel aspect ratio
Photolithography: the aspect ratio of an etched, or deposited structure is the ratio of the height of its vertical side wall to its width.
HARMST High Aspect Ratios allow the construction of tall microstructures without slant
Tire code
Tire sizing
Turbocharger impeller sizing
Wing aspect ratio of an aircraft or bird
Astigmatism of an optical lens
Nanorod dimensions
Shape factor (image analysis and microscopy)
Finite Element Analysis
Flag design; see List of aspect ratios of national flags |
Aspect ratio | Aspect ratios of simple shapes | Aspect ratios of simple shapes |
Aspect ratio | Rectangles | Rectangles
For a rectangle, the aspect ratio denotes the ratio of the width to the height of the rectangle. A square has the smallest possible aspect ratio of 1:1.
Examples:
4:3 = 1.: Some (not all) 20th century computer monitors (VGA, XGA, etc.), standard-definition television
: international paper sizes (ISO 216)
3:2 = 1.5: 35mm still camera film, iPhone (until iPhone 5) displays
16:10 = 1.6: commonly used widescreen computer displays (WXGA)
Φ:1 = 1.618...: golden ratio, close to 16:10
5:3 = 1.: super 16 mm, a standard film gauge in many European countries
16:9 = 1.: widescreen TV and most laptops
2:1 = 2: dominoes
64:27 = 2.: ultra-widescreen, 21:9
32:9 = 3.: super ultra-widescreen |
Aspect ratio | Ellipses | Ellipses
For an ellipse, the aspect ratio denotes the ratio of the major axis to the minor axis. An ellipse with an aspect ratio of 1:1 is a circle.
center|500px |
Aspect ratio | Aspect ratios of general shapes | Aspect ratios of general shapes
In geometry, there are several alternative definitions to aspect ratios of general compact sets in a d-dimensional space:
The diameter-width aspect ratio (DWAR) of a compact set is the ratio of its diameter to its width. A circle has the minimal DWAR which is 1. A square has a DWAR of .
The cube-volume aspect ratio (CVAR) of a compact set is the d-th root of the ratio of the d-volume of the smallest enclosing axes-parallel d-cube, to the set's own d-volume. A square has the minimal CVAR which is 1. A circle has a CVAR of . An axis-parallel rectangle of width W and height H, where W>H, has a CVAR of .
If the dimension d is fixed, then all reasonable definitions of aspect ratio are equivalent to within constant factors. |
Aspect ratio | Notations | Notations
Aspect ratios are mathematically expressed as x:y (pronounced "x-to-y").
Cinematographic aspect ratios are usually denoted as a (rounded) decimal multiple of width vs unit height, while photographic and videographic aspect ratios are usually defined and denoted by whole number ratios of width to height. In digital images there is a subtle distinction between the display aspect ratio (the image as displayed) and the storage aspect ratio (the ratio of pixel dimensions); see Distinctions. |
Aspect ratio | See also | See also
Axial ratio
Ratio
Equidimensional ratios in 3D
List of film formats
Squeeze mapping
Scale (ratio)
Vertical orientation |
Aspect ratio | References | References
Category:Ratios |
Aspect ratio | Table of Content | Short description, Applications and uses, Aspect ratios of simple shapes, Rectangles, Ellipses, Aspect ratios of general shapes, Notations, See also, References |
Auto racing | short description | Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non-racing disciplines.
Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various types were organized, with the first recorded as early as 1867. Many of the earliest events were effectively reliability trials, aimed at proving these new machines were a practical mode of transport, but soon became an important way for automobile makers to demonstrate their machines. By the 1930s, specialist racing cars had developed.
There are now numerous different categories, each with different rules and regulations. |
Auto racing | History | History
thumb|Albert Lemaître classified first in his Peugeot Type 5 3hp in the Paris–Rouen.
thumb|Fernand Gabriel driving a Mors in Paris-Madrid 1903
thumb|A remaining section of the Brooklands track in 2007
The first prearranged match race of two self-powered road vehicles over a prescribed route occurred at 4:30 A.M. on August 30, 1867, between Ashton-under-Lyne and Old Trafford, England, a distance of . It was won by the carriage of Isaac Watt Boulton.
Internal combustion auto racing events began soon after the construction of the first successful gasoline-fueled automobiles. The first organized contest was on April 28, 1887, by the chief editor of Paris publication , Monsieur Fossier. It ran from Neuilly Bridge to the Bois de Boulogne.
On July 22, 1894, the Parisian magazine organized what is considered to be the world's first motoring competition, from Paris to Rouen. One hundred and two competitors paid a 10-franc entrance fee.
The first American automobile race is generally considered to be the Thanksgiving Day Chicago Times-Herald race of November 28, 1895. Press coverage of the event first aroused significant American interest in the automobile.
The Targa Florio was an open road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily, Italy near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 and 1973, and it was discontinued in 1977.
The oldest surviving sports car racing event is the 24 Hours of Le Mans, begun in 1923. It is run by the Automobile Club of the West (ACO). Team Ferrari won the race in 2023.
With auto construction and racing dominated by France, the French automobile club ACF staged a number of major international races, usually from or to Paris, connecting with another major city, in France or elsewhere in Europe.
Aspendale Racecourse, in Australia, was the world's first purpose-built motor racing circuit, opening in January 1906. The pear-shaped track was close to a mile in length, with slightly banked curves and a gravel surface of crushed cement.
Brooklands, in Surrey, England, was the first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing venue, opening in June 1907. It featured a concrete track with high-speed banked corners.
One of the oldest existing purpose-built and still in use automobile race course in the United States is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It is the largest capacity sports venue of any variety worldwide, with a top capacity of some 257,000+ seated spectators.
NASCAR was founded by Bill France Sr. on February 21, 1948, with the help of several other drivers. The first NASCAR "Strictly Stock" race ever was held on June 19, 1949, at Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S..
From 1962, sports cars temporarily took a back seat to GT cars, with the (FIA) replacing the World Championship for Sports Cars with the International Championship for GT Manufacturers.
From 1962 through 2003, NASCAR's premier series was called the Winston Cup Series, sponsored by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company cigarette brand Winston. The changes that resulted from RJR's involvement, as well as the reduction of the schedule from 56 to 34 races a year, established 1972 as the beginning of NASCAR's "modern era".
The IMSA GT Series evolved into the American Le Mans Series, which ran its first season in 1998. The European races eventually became the closely related European Le Mans Series, both of which mix prototypes and GTs.
(TC) is a popular touring car racing series in Argentina, and one of the oldest car racing series still active in the world. The first TC competition took place in 1931 with 12 races, each in a different province. Future Formula One star Juan Manuel Fangio (Chevrolet) won the 1940 and 1941 editions of the TC. It was during this time that the series' Chevrolet-Ford rivalry began, with Ford acquiring most of its historical victories.
Over the last few years, auto racing has seen a transformative shift, echoing past pivots. The industry, much like the cars it champions, has had to navigate through a global pandemic and a persistent chip shortage, each threatening to derail production schedules. At the same time, a new course is being charted towards an electric future, a dramatic change in direction that is challenging the old guard of gasoline engines. There is also a growing number of events for electric racing cars, such as the Formula E, the Eco Grand Prix or the Electric GT Championship. |
Auto racing | Categories | Categories |
Auto racing | Open-wheel racing | Open-wheel racing
thumb|Fernando Alonso driving the Ferrari 150º Italia at Sepang International Circuit
thumb|The Dallara DW12 IndyCar driven by Pippa Mann during practice for the 2019 Indianapolis 500
thumb|Formula Three car racing at the Hockenheimring, 2008
thumb|The 2017 Formula Student electric race-car of the Delft University of Technology
thumb|Racing driver's view
In single-seater (open-wheel) racing, the wheels are not covered, and the cars often have aerofoil wings front and rear to produce downforce and enhance adhesion to the track. The most popular varieties of open-wheel road racing are Formula One, IndyCar Series and Super Formula. In Europe and Asia, open-wheeled racing is commonly referred to as 'Formula', with appropriate hierarchical suffixes. In North America, the 'Formula' terminology is not followed (with the exception of Formula One). The sport is usually arranged to follow an international format (such as Formula One), a regional format (such as the Formula 3 Euro Series), and/or a domestic, or country-specific, format (such as the German Formula 3 championship, or the British Formula Ford).
Formula One is a worldwide series that runs only street circuit and race tracks. These cars are heavily based on technology and their aerodynamics. The speed record was set in 2005 by Juan Pablo Montoya hitting 373 km/h (232 mph). Some of the most prominent races are the Monaco Grand Prix, the Italian Grand Prix, and the British Grand Prix. The season ends with the crowning of the World Championship for drivers and constructors.
In the United States, the most popular series is the IndyCar Series. The cars have traditionally been similar to, though less technologically sophisticated than, F1 cars, with more restrictions on technology aimed at controlling costs. While these cars are not as technologically advanced, they are faster, in part due to their lower downforce compared to Formula One cars, and also because they compete on oval race tracks, being able to average a lap at 388 km/h (241 mph). The series' biggest race is the Indianapolis 500, which is commonly referred to as "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" due to being the longest continuously run race in the series and having the largest crowd for a single-day sporting event (350,000+).
The other major international single-seater racing series is Formula 2 (formerly known as Formula 3000 and GP2 Series). Regional series include Super Formula and Formula V6 Asia (specifically in Asia), Formula Renault 3.5 (also known as the World Series by Renault, succession series of World Series by Nissan), Formula Three, Formula Palmer Audi and Formula Atlantic. In 2009, the FIA Formula Two Championship brought about the revival of the F2 series. Domestic, or country-specific, series include Formula Three and Formula Renault, with the leading introductory series being Formula Ford.
Single-seater racing is not limited merely to professional teams and drivers. There exist many amateur racing clubs. In the UK, the major club series are the Monoposto Racing Club, BRSCC F3 (formerly ClubF3, formerly ARP F3), Formula Vee and Club Formula Ford. Each series caters to a section of the market, with some primarily providing low-cost racing, while others aim for an authentic experience using the same regulations as the professional series (BRSCC F3). The SCCA is also responsible for sanctioning single-seater racing in much of North America.
There are other categories of single-seater racing, including kart racing, which employs a small, low-cost machine on small tracks. Many of the current top drivers began their careers in karts. Formula Ford represents the most popular first open-wheel category for up-and-coming drivers stepping up from karts. The series is still the preferred option, as it has introduced an aero package and slicks, allowing the junior drivers to gain experience in a race car with dynamics closer to Formula One. The Star Mazda Series is another entry-level series. Indy Lights represent the last step on the Road to Indy, being less powerful and lighter than an IndyCar racer.
Students at colleges and universities can also take part in single-seater racing through the Formula SAE competition, which involves designing and building a single-seater car in a multidisciplinary team and racing it at the competition. This also develops other soft skills, such as teamwork, while promoting motorsport and engineering.
The world's first all-female Formula racing team was created in 2006. The group was an assemblage of drivers from different racing disciplines and formed for an MTV reality pilot, which was shot at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
In December 2005, the FIA gave approval to Superleague Formula racing, which debuted in 2008, whereby the racing teams are owned and run by prominent sports clubs such as A.C. Milan and Liverpool F.C.
After 25 years away from the sport, former Formula 2 champion Jonathan Palmer reopened the F2 category again; most drivers have graduated from the Formula Palmer Audi series. The category is officially registered as the FIA Formula Two championship. Most rounds have two races and are support races to the FIA World Touring Car Championship. |
Auto racing | Touring car racing | Touring car racing
thumb|Opening lap of 2012 WTCC Race of Japan
Touring car racing is a style of road racing that is run with production-derived four-seat race cars. The lesser use of aerodynamics means following cars have a much easier time following and passing than in open-wheel racing. It often features full-contact racing with subtle bumping and nudging due to the small speed differentials and large grids.
The major touring car championships conducted worldwide are the Supercars Championship (Australia), British Touring Car Championship, Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM), World Touring Car Championship and the World Touring Car Cup. The European Touring Car Cup is a one-day event open to Super 2000 specification touring cars from Europe's many national championships. While Super GT traces its lineage to the now-defunct JGTC, the cars are much more similar to GT3 race cars than proper touring cars, and also have much more aggressive aerodynamics.
The Sports Car Club of America's SPEED World Challenge Touring Car and GT championships are dominant in North America. America's historic Trans-Am Series is undergoing a period of transition, but is still the longest-running road racing series in the U.S. The National Auto Sport Association also provides a venue for amateurs to compete in home-built factory-derived vehicles on various local circuits. |
Auto racing | Sports car racing | Sports car racing
thumb|FIA GT1 at Silverstone in 2011
thumb|The Audi R18, a Le Mans Prototype car, during an endurance race
In sports car racing, production-derived versions of two-seat sports cars, also known as grand tourers (GTs), and purpose-built sports prototype cars compete within their respective classes on closed circuits. The premier championship series of sports car racing is the FIA World Endurance Championship. The main series for GT car racing is the GT World Challenge Europe, divided into two separate championships: the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup and the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup. This series has formed after the folding of the various FIA GT championships.
The prevailing classes of GT cars are GT3, GT4 and GT2 class cars. GT2 cars have powerful engines, often exceeding 600 horsepower. However, they have less downforce than GT3 cars and also have less driver aids. GT3 cars are far and away the most popular class of GT cars, with premier racing series such as the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA both using GT3 as their top class of GT car. GT3 cars have more significant aero than a GT2 car, but also have less horsepower, typically falling in between 500 and 550 horsepower. GT4 class cars have very little aerodynamics and less horsepower than GT3 machinery, typically around 450 horsepower. GT4 typically serves as the last step up to premier GT-class racing.
Other major GT championships include the GT World Challenge America, GT World Challenge Asia, Super GT, and the International GT Open. There are minor regional and national GT series using mainly GT4 and GT3 cars featuring both amateur and professional drivers.
Sports prototypes, unlike GT cars, do not rely on road-legal cars as a base. They are closed-wheel and often closed-cockpit purpose-built race cars intended mainly for endurance racing. They have much lower weight, more horsepower and more downforce compared to GT cars, making them much faster. They are raced in the 24 hours of Le Mans (held annually since 1923) and in the (European) Le Mans series, Asian Le Mans Series and the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. These cars are referred to as LMP (Le Mans prototype) cars with LMH and LMDh cars being run mainly by manufacturers and the slightly less powerful LMP2 cars run by privateer teams. All three Le Mans Series run GT cars in addition to Le Mans Prototypes; these cars have different restrictions than the FIA GT cars.
Another prototype and GT racing championship exists in the United States; the Grand-Am, which began in 2000, sanctions its own endurance series, the Rolex Sports Car Series, which consists of slower and lower-cost Daytona Prototype race cars compared to LMP and FIA GT cars. The Rolex Sports Car Series and American Le Mans Series announced a merger between the two series forming the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship starting in 2014.
These races are often conducted over long distances, at least , and cars are driven by teams of two or more drivers, switching every few hours. Due to the performance difference between production-based sports cars and purpose-built sports prototypes, one race usually involves several racing classes, each fighting for its own championship.
Famous sports car races include the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Rolex 24 at Daytona, 24 Hours of Spa-Franchorchamps, the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen, and the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. There is also the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring on the famed Nordschleife track and the Dubai 24 Hour, which is aimed at GT3 and below cars with a mixture of professional and pro-am drivers. |
Auto racing | Production-car racing | Production-car racing
Production-car racing, otherwise known as "showroom stock" in the US, is an economical and rules-restricted version of touring-car racing, mainly used to restrict costs. Numerous production racing categories are based on particular makes of cars.
Most series, with a few exceptions, follow the Group N regulation. There are several different series that are run all over the world, most notably, Japan's Super Taikyu and IMSA's Firehawk Series, which ran in the 1980s and 1990s all over the United States. |
Auto racing | Stock car racing | Stock car racing
thumb|NASCAR green flag start at Daytona International Speedway for the 2015 Daytona 500
thumb|Jimmie Johnson leads the field racing three-wide multiple rows back at Daytona International Speedway in the 2015 Daytona 500.
thumb|An ASA Late Model Series stock car on an asphalt track
In North America, stock car racing is the most popular form of auto racing. Primarily raced on oval tracks, stock cars vaguely resemble production cars, but are in fact purpose-built racing machines that are built to tight specifications and, together with touring cars, also called Silhouette racing cars.
The largest stock car racing governing body is NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing). NASCAR's premier series is the NASCAR Cup Series, its most famous races being the Daytona 500, the Southern 500, the Coca-Cola 600, and the Brickyard 400. NASCAR also runs several feeder series, including the Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series (a pickup truck racing series). The series conduct races across the entire continental United States. NASCAR also sanctions series outside of the United States, including the NASCAR Canada Series, NASCAR Mexico Series, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, and NASCAR Brasil Sprint Race.
NASCAR also governs several smaller regional series, such as the Whelen Modified Tour. Modified cars are best described as open-wheel cars. Modified cars have no parts related to the stock vehicle for which they are named after. A number of modified cars display a "manufacturer's" logo and "vehicle name", yet use components produced by another automobile manufacturer.
There are also other stock car governing bodies, most notably the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA).
In the UK, British Stock car racing is also referred to as "Short Circuit Racing". UK Stock car racing started in the 1950s and grew rapidly through the 1960s and 1970s. Events take place on shale or tarmac tracks – usually around 1/4 mile long. There are around 35 tracks in the UK and upwards of 7000 active drivers. The sport is split into three basic divisions – distinguished by the rules regarding car contact during racing. The most famous championship are the BriSCA F1 Stock Cars.
Full-contact formulas include Bangers, Bombers, and Rookie Bangers – and racing features Demolition Derbies, Figure of Eight, and Oval Racing.
Semi Contact Formulas include BriSCA F1, F2, and Superstox – where bumpers are used tactically.
Non-contact formulas include National Hot Rods, Stock Rods, and Lightning Rods. |
Auto racing | One-make racing | One-make racing
One-make, or single marque, championships often employ production-based cars from a single manufacturer or even a single model from a manufacturer's range. There are numerous notable one-make formulae from various countries and regions, some of which – such as the Porsche Supercup and, previously, IROC – have fostered many distinct national championships. Single marque series are often found at the club level, to which the production-based cars, limited modifications, and close parity in performance are very well suited. Some of the better-known single-make series are the Mini 7 Championship (Europe's longest-running one-make championship), the Radical European Masters, John Cooper Mini Challenge, Clio Cup, Ginettas, Caterhams, BMWs, and MX5s. There are also single-chassis single seater formulae, such as Formula Renault and Formula BMW, usually as "feeder" series for "senior" race formula (in the fashion of farm teams). |
Auto racing | Drag racing | Drag racing
thumb|Jet-propelled dragster in Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa
thumb|Two modified AMCs launching at a dragstrip
In drag racing, the objective is to complete a given straight-line distance, from a standing start, ahead of a vehicle in a parallel lane. This distance is traditionally , though and are also common. The vehicles may or may not be given the signal to start at the same time, depending on the class of racing. Vehicles range from the everyday car to the purpose-built dragster. Speeds and elapsed time differ from class to class. Average street cars cover the mile in 12 to 16 seconds, whereas a top fuel dragster takes 4.5 seconds or less, reaching speeds of up to . Drag racing was organized as a sport by Wally Parks in the early 1950s through the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). The NHRA was formed to discourage street racing.
When launching, a top fuel dragster will accelerate at 3.4 g (33 m/s2), and when braking parachutes are deployed the deceleration is 4 g (39 m/s2), more than the Space Shuttle experiences. A top fuel car can be heard over away and can generate a reading from 1.5 to 3.9 on the Richter scale.
Drag racing is two cars head-to-head, the winner proceeding to the next round. Professional classes are all first to the finish line wins. Sportsman racing is handicapped (slower car getting a head start) using an index (a lowest e.t. allowed), and cars running under (quicker than) their index "break out" and lose. The slowest cars, bracket racers, are also handicapped, but rather than an index, they use a dial-in. |
Auto racing | Off-road racing | Off-road racing
thumb|Rod Hall in a Hummer H3 during a Best in the Desert race
In off-road racing, various classes of specially modified vehicles, including cars, compete in races through off-road environments. In North America these races often take place in the desert, such as the famous Baja 1000. Another format for off-road racing happens on closed-course short course tracks such as Crandon International Off-Road Raceway. In the 1980s and 1990s, the short course was extended to racing inside stadiums in the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group; this format was revived by Robby Gordon in 2013 with his Stadium Super Trucks series.
In Europe, "offroad" refers to events such as autocross or rallycross, while desert races and rally-raids such as the Paris-Dakar, Master Rallye or European "bajas" are called "cross-country rallies". |
Auto racing | Kart racing | Kart racing
thumb|A sprint kart race in Atwater California hosted by the International Karting Federation
The modern kart was invented by Art Ingels, a fabricator at the Indianapolis-car manufacturer Kurtis-Kraft, in Southern California in 1956. Ingels took a small chainsaw engine and mounted it to a simple tube-frame chassis weighing less than 100 lb. Ingels, and everyone else who drove the kart, were startled at its performance capabilities. The sport soon blossomed in Southern California, and quickly spread around the world. Although often seen as the entry point for serious racers into the sport, kart racing, or karting, can be an economical way for amateurs to try racing and is also a fully-fledged international sport in its own right. A large proportion of professional racing drivers began in karts, often from a very young age, such as Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso. Several former motorcycle champions have also taken up the sport, notably Wayne Rainey, who was paralysed in a racing accident and now races a hand-controlled kart. As one of the cheapest ways to race, karting is seeing its popularity grow worldwide.
Despite their diminutive size, karts of the most powerful class, superkart (assuming a weight of 205 kg (452 lb), and a power output of 100 hp (75 kW)), can have a power-to-weight ratio (including the driver) of 490 hp/tonne (0.22 hp/lb). Without the driver, this figure doubles, to almost 980 hp/tonne (0.44 hp/lb). |
Auto racing | Historical racing | Historical racing
thumb|Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, 2008
Historic motorsport or vintage motorsport uses vehicles limited to a particular era. Only safety precautions are modernized in these hobbyist races. A historical event can be of various types of motorsport disciplines, from road racing to rallying. Because it is based on a particular era it is more hobbyist-oriented, reducing corporate sponsorship. The only modern equipment used is related to safety and timing. A historical event can be of a number of different motorsport disciplines.
Some of the most famous events include the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Goodwood Revival in Britain and Monterey Historic in the United States. Championships range from "grass root" Austin Seven racing to the FIA Thoroughbred Grand Prix Championship for classic Formula One chassis. While there are several professional teams and drivers in historical racing, this branch of auto sport tends to be contested by wealthy car owners and is thus more amateur and less competitive in its approach. |
Auto racing | Other categories | Other categories |
Auto racing | Scoring | Scoring
Each motor racing series has a points system, and a set of rules and regulations that define how points are accrued. Nearly all series award points according to the finishing position of the competitors in each race. Some series only award points for a certain number of finishing positions. In Formula One, for example, only the top ten finishers get points. Drivers may be forced to finish the race or complete a certain number of the laps in order to score points.
In some series, points are also awarded based on lap leading, lap times, overtaking and qualifying positions (in particular by achieving pole positions and fastest laps). In NASCAR, for example, besides receiving points depending on the final standings, one point is awarded for leading a lap and one point for leading the most laps in the race. In other series, such as for the National Hot Rod Association, points are awarded for attempting the race along with a podium finish in any of the four qualifying rounds, as an incentive to have drivers participate week after week to compete. |
Auto racing | Use of flags | Use of flags
In many types of auto races, particularly those held on closed courses, flags are displayed to indicate the general status of the track and to communicate instructions to competitors. While individual series have different rules, and the flags have changed from the first years (e.g., red used to start a race), these are generally accepted.
Flag Displayed from the start tower Displayed from the observation post25px|border|Green flagThe session has started or resumed after a full course caution or stop.End of the hazardous section of the track.25px|border|Yellow flagFull course caution condition for ovals. On road courses, it means a local area of caution. Depending on the type of racing, either two yellow flags will be used for a full course caution or a sign with 'SC' (Safety car) will be used as the field follows the pace/safety car on track and no cars may pass. However, if the safety car gives a green light, then the cars behind can pass the safety car (lapped cars only).Local caution condition —no cars may pass at the particular corner where being displayed. When Stationary indicates hazard off-course, when Waving indicates hazard on-course.25px|Yellow flag with red stripesDebris, fluid, or other hazard on the track surface.Debris, fluid, or other hazard on the track surface.25px|border|Black flagThe car with the indicated number must pit for consultation.The session is halted, all cars on the course must return to the pit lane. May also be seen combined with a green flag to indicate oil on the track, typically referred to as a 'pickle' flag combination.25px|border|Meatball flagThe car with the indicated number has mechanical trouble and must pit.25px|border|Black and white flagThe driver of the car with the indicated number has been penalized for misbehaviour.25px|border|White cross flagThe driver of the car with the indicated number is disqualified or will not be scored until they report to the pits.25px|border|Blue flag with yellow stripeThe car should give way to faster traffic. This may be an advisory or an order depending on the series.A car is being advised or ordered to give way to faster traffic approaching.25px|border|Red flagThe session is stopped. All cars must halt on the track or return to the pit lane.25px|border|White flagDepending on the series, either one lap remains or a slow vehicle is on the track.A slow vehicle is on the track.25px|border|Chequered flagThe session has concluded. |
Auto racing | Accidents | Accidents
The worst accident in racing history is the 1955 Le Mans disaster, where more than 80 people died, including the French driver Pierre Levegh. |
Auto racing | Racing-car setup | Racing-car setup
In auto racing, the racing setup or car setup is the set of adjustments made to the vehicle to optimize its behaviour (performance, handling, reliability, etc.). Adjustments can occur in suspensions, brakes, transmissions, engines, tires, and many others. |
Auto racing | Aerodynamics | Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics and airflow play big roles in the setup of a race car. Aerodynamic downforce improves the race car's handling by lowering the center of gravity and distributing the weight of the car equally on each tire. Once this is achieved, fuel consumption decreases and the forces against the car are significantly lowered. Many aerodynamic experiments are conducted in wind tunnels, to simulate real-life situations while measuring the various drag forces on the car. These "Rolling roads" produce many wind situations and direct air flow at certain speeds and angles. When a diffuser is installed under the car, the amount of drag force is significantly lowered, and the overall aerodynamics of the vehicle is positively adjusted. Wings and canards channel the airflow in the most efficient way to get the least amount of drag from the car. It is experimentally proven that downforce is gained and the vehicle's handling is considerably changed when aerodynamic wings on the front and rear of the vehicle are installed. |
Auto racing | Suspension | Suspension
Suspension plays a huge part in giving the race car the ability to be driven optimally. Shocks are mounted vertically or horizontally to prevent the body from rolling in the corners. The suspension is important because it makes the car stable and easier to control and keeps the tires on the road when driving on uneven terrain. It works in three different ways including vertically, longitudinally, and laterally to control movement when racing on various tracks. |
Auto racing | Tyres | Tyres
Tyres called R-Compounds are commonly used in motorsports for high amounts of traction. The soft rubber allows them to expand when they are heated up, making more surface area on the pavement, therefore producing the most traction. These types of tyres do not have grooves on them. Tyre pressure is dependent on the temperature of the tyre and track when racing. Each time a driver pulls into the pits, the tyre pressure and temperature should be tested for optimal performance. When the tyres get too hot they will swell or inflate and need to be deflated to the correct pressure. When the tyres are not warmed up they will not perform as well. |
Auto racing | Brakes | Brakes
Brakes on a race car are imperative in slowing and stopping the car at precise times and wear quickly depending on the road or track on which the car is being raced, how many laps are being run, track conditions due to weather, and how many caution runs require more braking. There are three variables to consider in racing: brake pedal displacement, brake pedal force, and vehicle deceleration.de Groot, S., et al. "Car Racing In A Simulator: Validation And Assessment Of Brake Pedal Stiffness." Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments 20.1 (2011): 47–61. Academic Search Complete. Web. 7 Dec. 2016. Various combinations of these variables work together to determine the stiffness, sensitivity, and pedal force of the brakes. When using the brakes effectively, the driver must go through a buildup phase and end with a modulating phase. These phases include attaining maximum deceleration and modulating the brake pressure. Brake performance is measured in bite and consistency. Bite happens when the driver first applies the brakes and they have not warmed up to the correct temperature to operate efficiently. Consistency is measured in how consistent the friction is during the entire time of braking. These two measurements determine the wear of the brakes. |
Auto racing | Engine | Engine
The race car's engine needs a considerable amount of air to produce maximum power. The air intake manifold sucks the air from scoops on the hood and front bumper and feeds it into the engine. Many engine modifications to increase horsepower and efficiency are commonly used in many racing-sanctioning bodies. Engines are tuned on a machine called a dynamometer, which is commonly known in the racing world as a DYNO. The car is driven onto the DYNO and many gauges and sensors are hooked up to the car that are controlled by an online program to test force, torque, or power. Through the testing, the car's engine maps can be changed to get the most horsepower and ultimately speed out of the vehicle. |
Auto racing | Racing drivers | Racing drivers
thumb|right|Formula One racing drivers Max Verstappen (left), Daniel Ricciardo (center), and Nico Rosberg (right) celebrate on the podium of the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix
Racing drivers, at the highest levels, can be paid by the team, or by sponsors, and can command substantial salaries. Drivers who pay for their positions, or seats, within racing teams are typically known as pay drivers, or gentleman drivers. Drivers may also enter events as privateers.
Contrary to popular assumption, racing drivers as a group do not have unusually strong reflexes or peripheral response time. During repeated physiological and psychological evaluations of professional racing drivers, the two characteristics that stand out are racers' near-obsessive need to control their surroundings—psychological—and an unusual ability to process fast-moving information —physiological. Researchers have noted a strong correlation between racing driver psychological profiles and those of fighter pilots. In tests comparing racing drivers to the general public, the greater the complexity of the information processing matrix, the greater the speed gap between the two groups.
Due partly to the performance capabilities of modern racing cars, racing drivers require a high level of fitness, focus, and the ability to concentrate at high levels for long periods in an inherently difficult environment. They often complain about injuries in the lumbar, shoulder, and neck regions. Racing drivers experience large g-forces due to formula cars and sports prototypes generating high levels of downforce, and being able to corner at high speeds. Formula One drivers routinely experience lateral loads in excess of , requiring drivers to commit to frequent neck training regimens. |
Auto racing | See also | See also
Outline of auto racing
List of auto racing tracks
Motorcycle racing
Race track
List of auto racing films
Racing video game |
Auto racing | References | References |
Auto racing | External links | External links
Sanctioning bodies
Motorsports UK Association
American Le Mans Series (ALMS)
Indy Racing League (IRL)
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA)
Grand American Road Racing Association
International Conference of Sports Car Clubs (ICSCC)
International Hot Rod Association (IHRA)
International Motor Sports Association (IMSA)
National Auto Sport Association
National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR)
National Hot Rod Association (NHRA)
No Prep Racing
SCORE International Off-Road Racing
Sports Car Club of America (SCCA)
United States Auto Club (USAC)
Formula One (F1)
Confederation of Australian Motorsport (CAMS)
Best In The Desert Off-Road Racing
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Auto racing | Table of Content | short description, History, Categories, Open-wheel racing, Touring car racing, Sports car racing, Production-car racing, Stock car racing, One-make racing, Drag racing, Off-road racing, Kart racing, Historical racing, Other categories, Scoring, Use of flags, Accidents, Racing-car setup, Aerodynamics, Suspension, Tyres, Brakes, Engine, Racing drivers, See also, References, External links |
Anarcho-capitalism | Short description | thumb|alt=A two-colored flag, split diagonally, with yellow at the top and black at the bottom|The black and gold flag, a symbol of anarchism (black) and capitalism (gold) which according to Murray Rothbard was first flown in 1963 in ColoradoRothbard, Murray N., The Betrayal of the American Right (2007): 188 and is also used by the Swedish AnarkoKapitalistisk Front|261x261px
Anarcho-capitalism (colloquially: ancap or an-cap) is a political philosophy and economic theory that advocates for the abolition of centralized states in favor of stateless societies, where systems of private property are enforced by private agencies. Anarcho-capitalists argue that society can self-regulate and civilize through the voluntary exchange of goods and services. This would ideally result in a voluntary society based on concepts such as the non-aggression principle, free markets and self-ownership. In the absence of statute, private defence agencies and/or insurance companies would operate competitively in a market and fulfill the roles of courts and the police, similar to a state apparatus. Some anarcho-capitalist philosophies understand control of private property as part of the self, and some permit voluntary slavery.Casey, G.(2011), “Can You Own Yourself?”, Analysis and Metaphysics, Vol. 10, pp. 60-66. https://researchrepository.ucd.ie/entities/publication/d53b4dab-f934-41a4-81c2-e73ad97b9865/details The vast majority of anarcho‑capitalists deny this, and critics of capitalism argue that this minority opinion is not unique to anarcho-capitalists, but is an essential consequence of the capitalist contract theory (wage slavery).
According to its proponents, various historical theorists have espoused philosophies similar to anarcho-capitalism.Hoppe, Hans-Hermann (31 December 2001). "Anarcho-Capitalism: An Annotated Bibliography" . Lew Rockwell.com. Retrieved 5 July 2020. While the earliest extant attestation of "anarchocapitalism" is in Karl Hess's essay "The Death of Politics" published by Playboy in March 1969, American economist Murray Rothbard was credited with coining the terms anarcho-capitalistRoberta Modugno Crocetta, "Murray Rothbard's anarcho-capitalism in the contemporary debate. A critical defense", Ludwig Von Mises Institute. Archived from the original. quote: "Murray Rothbard suggests the anarcho-capitalist mode, [...]" and anarcho-capitalism in 1971.Flood, Anthony (2010). Untitled preface to Rothbard's "Know Your Rights" , originally published in WIN: Peace and Freedom through Nonviolent Action, Volume 7, No. 4, 1 March 1971, 6–10. Flood's quote: "Rothbard's neologism, 'anarchocapitalism,' probably makes its first appearance in print here." A leading figure in the 20th-century American libertarian movement, Rothbard synthesized elements from the Austrian School, classical liberalism and 19th-century American individualist anarchists and mutualists Lysander Spooner and Benjamin Tucker, while rejecting the labor theory of value. Rothbard's anarcho-capitalist society would operate under a mutually agreed-upon "legal code which would be generally accepted, and which the courts would pledge themselves to follow". This legal code would recognize contracts between individuals, private property, self-ownership and tort law in keeping with the non-aggression principle. Unlike a state, enforcement measures would only apply to those who initiated force or fraud. Rothbard views the power of the state as unjustified, arguing that it violates individual rights and reduces prosperity, and creates social and economic problems.
Anarcho-capitalists and right-libertarians cite several historical precedents of what they believe to be examples of quasi-anarcho-capitalism, including the Republic of Cospaia, Acadia, Anglo-Saxon England, Medieval Iceland, the American Old West, Gaelic Ireland, and merchant law, admiralty law, and early common law.
Anarcho-capitalism is distinguished from minarchism, which advocates a minimal governing body (typically a night-watchman state limited to protecting individuals from aggression and enforcing private property) and from objectivism (which is a broader philosophy advocating a limited role, yet unlimited size, of said government). Anarcho-capitalists consider themselves to be anarchists despite supporting private property and private institutions. |
Anarcho-capitalism | Classification | Classification
Anarcho-capitalism developed from Austrian School-neoliberalism and individualist anarchism.. Retrieved 20 June 2020. Almost all anarchist movements do not consider anarcho-capitalism to be anarchist because it lacks the historically central anti-capitalist emphasis of anarchism. They also argue that anarchism is incompatible with capitalist structures.' According to several scholars, Anarcho-capitalism lies outside the tradition of the vast majority of anarchist schools of thought and is more closely affiliated with capitalism, right-libertarianism and neoliberalism. Traditionally, anarchists oppose and reject capitalism, and consider "anarcho-capitalism" to be a contradiction in terms, although anarcho-capitalists and some right-libertarians consider anarcho-capitalism to be a form of anarchism.
According to the Encyclopædia Britannica:Anarcho-capitalism is occasionally seen as part of the New Right. |
Anarcho-capitalism | Philosophy | Philosophy
thumb|Murray Rothbard (1926–1995), who is credited with coining the words anarcho-capitalist and anarcho-capitalism.|alt=Murray Rothbard in the 1970s
Author J Michael Oliver says that during the 1960s, a philosophical movement arose in the US that championed "reason, ethical egoism, and free-market capitalism". According to Oliver, anarcho-capitalism is a political theory which follows Objectivism, a philosophical system developed by Ayn Rand, but he acknowledges that his advocacy of anarcho-capitalism is "quite at odds with Rand's ardent defense of 'limited government. Professor Lisa Duggan also says that Rand's anti-statist, pro–"free market" stances went on to shape the politics of anarcho-capitalism.
According to Patrik Schumacher, the political ideology and programme of anarcho-capitalism envisages the radicalization of the neoliberal "rollback of the state", and calls for the extension of "entrepreneurial freedom" and "competitive market rationality" to the point where the scope for private enterprise is all-encompassing and "leaves no space for state action whatsoever". |
Anarcho-capitalism | On the state | On the state
Anarcho-capitalists oppose the state and seek to privatize any useful service the government presently provides, such as education, infrastructure, or the enforcement of law. They see capitalism and the "free market" as the basis for a free and prosperous society. Murray Rothbard stated that the difference between free-market capitalism and state capitalism is the difference between "peaceful, voluntary exchange" and a "collusive partnership" between business and government that "uses coercion to subvert the free market".Rothbard, Murray N., A Future of Peace and Capitalism ; Murray N. Rothbard, Left and Right: The Prospects for Liberty . Rothbard argued that all government services, including defense, are inefficient because they lack a market-based pricing mechanism regulated by "the voluntary decisions of consumers purchasing services that fulfill their highest-priority needs" and by investors seeking the most profitable enterprises to invest in. published in
Rothbard used the term anarcho-capitalism to distinguish his philosophy from anarchism that opposes private property"Libertarianism" (2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 30 July 2007. as well as to distinguish it from individualist anarchism.Murray Rothbard (2000). "Egalitarianism as A Revolt Against Nature And Other Essays: and other essays". Ludwig von Mises Institute, 2000. p. 207. Other terms sometimes used by proponents of the philosophy include:
Individualist anarchismAvrich, Paul (1996). Anarchist Voices: An Oral History of Anarchism in America (abridged paperback ed.). Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 282. . "Although there are many honorable exceptions who still embrace the 'socialist' label, most people who call themselves individualist anarchists today are followers of Murray Rothbard's Austrian economics and have abandoned the labor theory of value."Carson, Kevin (2006). Studies in Mutualist Political Economy. "Preface". Charleston: BookSurge Publishing. . "Murray N. Rothbard (1926–1995), American economist, historian, and individualist anarchist."
Natural order
Ordered anarchy
Private-law society
Private-property anarchy
Radical capitalism
Maverick Edwards of the Liberty University describes anarcho-capitalism as a political, social, and economic theory that places markets as the central "governing body" and where government no longer "grants" rights to its citizenry. |
Anarcho-capitalism | Non-aggression principle | Non-aggression principle
Writer Stanisław Wójtowicz says that although anarcho-capitalists are against centralized states, they believe that all people would naturally share and agree to a specific moral theory based on the non-aggression principle. While the Friedmanian formulation of anarcho-capitalism is robust to the presence of violence and in fact, assumes some degree of violence will occur,Friedman, David D. (1989) "Chapter 41: Problems" . The Machinery of Freedom: Guide to a Radical Capitalism (2nd ed.). La Salle: Open Court Press. . anarcho-capitalism as formulated by Rothbard and others holds strongly to the central libertarian nonaggression axiom, sometimes non-aggression principle. Rothbard wrote:
Rothbard's defense of the self-ownership principle stems from what he believed to be his falsification of all other alternatives, namely that either a group of people can own another group of people, or that no single person has full ownership over one's self. Rothbard dismisses these two cases on the basis that they cannot result in a universal ethic, i.e. a just natural law that can govern all people, independent of place and time. The only alternative that remains to Rothbard is self-ownership which he believes is both axiomatic and universal.Rothbard, Murray (1982). The Ethics of Liberty . Atlantic Highlands: Humanities Press. p. 162. .
In general, the non-aggression axiom is described by Rothbard as a prohibition against the initiation of force, or the threat of force, against persons (in which he includes direct violence, assault and murder) or property (in which he includes fraud, burglary, theft and taxation). The initiation of force is usually referred to as aggression or coercion. The difference between anarcho-capitalists and other libertarians is largely one of the degree to which they take this axiom. Minarchist libertarians such as libertarian political parties would retain the state in some smaller and less invasive form, retaining at the very least public police, courts, and military. However, others might give further allowance for other government programs. In contrast, Rothbard rejects any level of "state intervention", defining the state as a coercive monopoly and as the only entity in human society, excluding acknowledged criminals, that derives its income entirely from coercion, in the form of taxation, which Rothbard describes as "compulsory seizure of the property of the State's inhabitants, or subjects."
Some anarcho-capitalists such as Rothbard accept the non-aggression axiom on an intrinsic moral or natural law basis. It is in terms of the non-aggression principle that Rothbard defined his interpretation of anarchism, "a system which provides no legal sanction for such aggression ['against person and property']"; and wrote that "what anarchism proposes to do, then, is to abolish the State, i.e. to abolish the regularized institution of aggressive coercion".Rothbard, Murray N. (1975) "Society Without A State" Libertarian Forum newsletter (January 1975). In an interview published in the American libertarian journal The New Banner, Rothbard stated that "capitalism is the fullest expression of anarchism, and anarchism is the fullest expression of capitalism".Rothbard, Murray (25 February 1972). "Exclusive Interview With Murray Rothbard" . The New Banner: A Fortnightly Libertarian Journal. Retrieved 10 September 2020. |
Anarcho-capitalism | Property | Property |
Anarcho-capitalism | Private property | Private property
Anarcho-capitalists postulate the privatization of everything, including cities with all their infrastructures, public spaces, streets and urban management systems.
Central to Rothbardian anarcho-capitalism are the concepts of self-ownership and original appropriation that combines personal and private property. Hans-Hermann Hoppe wrote:
Rothbard however rejected the Lockean proviso, and followed the rule of "first come, first served", without any consideration of how much resources are left for other individuals.John Locke, Second Treatise of Government, Chapter V, paragraph 27.
Anarcho-capitalists advocate private ownership of the means of production and the allocation of the product of labor created by workers within the context of wage labour and the free market – that is through decisions made by property and capital owners, regardless of what an individual needs or does not need. Original appropriation allows an individual to claim any never-before-used resources, including land and by improving or otherwise using it, own it with the same "absolute right" as their own body, and retaining those rights forever, regardless of whether the resource is still being used by them. According to Rothbard, property can only come about through labor, therefore original appropriation of land is not legitimate by merely claiming it or building a fence around itit is only by using land and by mixing one's labor with it that original appropriation is legitimized: "Any attempt to claim a new resource that someone does not use would have to be considered invasive of the property right of whoever the first user will turn out to be". Rothbard argued that the resource need not continue to be used in order for it to be the person's property as "for once his labor is mixed with the natural resource, it remains his owned land. His labor has been irretrievably mixed with the land, and the land is therefore his or his assigns' in perpetuity". published in
Rothbard also spoke about a theory of justice in property rights:
In Justice and Property Rights, Rothbard wrote that "any identifiable owner (the original victim of theft or his heir) must be accorded his property".Rothbard, Murray (2000). "Justice and Property Rights: The Failure of Utilitarianism" . In Egalitarianism as a Revolt Against Nature and Other Essays (2nd ed.). Auburn: Mises Institute. p. 113. .Cobin, John M. (2009). A Primer on Modern Themes in Free Market Economics and Policy. Irvine: Universal-Publishers. p. 557. . In the case of slavery, Rothbard claimed that in many cases "the old plantations and the heirs and descendants of the former slaves can be identified, and the reparations can become highly specific indeed". Rothbard believed slaves rightfully own any land they were forced to work on under the homestead principle. If property is held by the state, Rothbard advocated its confiscation and "return to the private sector",Deist, Jeff (7 December 2019). "Rothbard on Slavery Reparations" . Mises Institute. Retrieved 6 September 2020. writing that "any property in the hands of the State is in the hands of thieves, and should be liberated as quickly as possible".Gordon, David, ed.; Rothbard, Murray; Fuller, Edward W. (2019). Rothbard A to Z. Auburn: Mises Institute. . Rothbard proposed that state universities be seized by the students and faculty under the homestead principle. Rothbard also supported the expropriation of nominally "private property" if it is the result of state-initiated force such as businesses that receive grants and subsidies.Carson, Kevin (28 September 2012). "The Left-Rothbardians, Part I: Rothbard" . Center for a Stateless Society. "What most people ordinarily identify as the stereotypical 'libertarian' privatization proposal, unfortunately, goes something like this: sell it to a giant corporation on terms that are most advantageous to the corporation. Rothbard proposed, instead, was to treat state property as unowned, and allow it to be homesteaded by those actually occupying it and mixing their labor with it. This would mean transforming government utilities, schools, and other services into consumer cooperatives and placing them under the direct control of their present clientele. It would mean handing over state industry to workers' syndicates and transforming it into worker-owned cooperatives". Retrieved 10 January 2020. Rothbard further proposed that businesses who receive at least 50% of their funding from the state be confiscated by the workers,Rothbard, Murray (Spring 1965). "Left and Right: The Prospects for Liberty". Left and Right: A Journal of Libertarian Thought. 1 (1): 4–22.Long, Roderick T. (8 April 2006). "Rothbard's 'Left and Right': Forty Years Later" . Mises Institute. Rothbard Memorial Lecture, Austrian Scholars Conference 2006. Retrieved 17 March 2020. writing: "What we libertarians object to, then, is not government per se but crime, what we object to is unjust or criminal property titles; what we are for is not 'private' property per se but just, innocent, non-criminal private property".
Similarly, Karl Hess wrote that "libertarianism wants to advance principles of property but that it in no way wishes to defend, willy nilly, all property which now is called private ... Much of that property is stolen. Much is of dubious title. All of it is deeply intertwined with an immoral, coercive state system". published in
Anarchists view capitalism as an inherently authoritarian and hierarchical system and seek the abolishment of private property.Proudhon, Pierre-Joseph (1840). What is Property? There is disagreement between anarchists and anarcho-capitalists as the former generally rejects anarcho-capitalism as a form of anarchism and considers anarcho-capitalism a contradiction in terms,Weick, David. Anarchist Justice. pp. 223–24Sabatini, Peter. Libertarianism: Bogus Anarchy. while the latter holds that the abolishment of private property would require expropriation which is "counterproductive to order" and would require a state.Stacy, Don (2011). "Review of Kosanke's Instead of Politics – Don Stacy" . Libertarian Papers. 3 (3). |
Anarcho-capitalism | Common property | Common property
As opposed to anarchists, most anarcho-capitalists reject the commons. However, some of them propose that non-state public or community property can also exist in an anarcho-capitalist society. For anarcho-capitalists, what is important is that it is "acquired" and transferred without help or hindrance from what they call the "compulsory state". Deontological anarcho-capitalists believe that the only just and most economically beneficial way to acquire property is through voluntary trade, gift, or labor-based original appropriation, rather than through aggression or fraud.Avrich, Paul. Anarchist Voices: An Oral History of Anarchism in America, Abridged Paperback Edition (1996), p. 282.
Anarcho-capitalists state that there could be cases where common property may develop in a Lockean natural rights framework. Anarcho-capitalists make the example of a number of private businesses which may arise in an area, each owning the land and buildings that they use, but they argue that the paths between them become clear through customer and commercial movement. These paths may become valuable to the community, but according to them ownership cannot be attributed to any single person and original appropriation does not apply because many contributed the labor necessary to create them. In order to prevent it from falling to the "tragedy of the commons", anarcho-capitalists suggest transitioning from common to private property, wherein an individual would make a homesteading claim based on disuse, acquire title by the assent of the community consensus, form a corporation with other involved parties, or other means.
American economist Randall G. Holcombe sees challenges stemming from the idea of common property under anarcho-capitalism, such as whether an individual might claim fishing rights in the area of a major shipping lane and thereby forbid passage through it. In contrast, Hoppe's work on anarcho-capitalist theory is based on the assumption that all property is privately held, "including all streets, rivers, airports, and harbors" which forms the foundation of his views on immigration. |
Anarcho-capitalism | Intellectual property | Intellectual property
Most anarcho-capitalists strongly oppose intellectual property (i.e., trademarks, patents, copyrights). Intellectual property is typically opposed because ideas are seen as lacking scarcity; A implementing an idea does not prevent B from implementing the same idea. Further the arbitrarity of intellectual property is commonly criticized. Stephan N. Kinsella argues that ownership only relates to tangible assets. |
Anarcho-capitalism | Contractual society | Contractual society
The society envisioned by anarcho-capitalists has been labelled by them as a "contractual society" which Rothbard described as "a society based purely on voluntary action, entirely unhampered by violence or threats of violence" The system relies on contracts between individuals as the legal framework which would be enforced by private police and security forces as well as private arbitrations.
Rothbard argues that limited liability for corporations could also exist through contract, arguing that "[c]orporations are not at all monopolistic privileges; they are free associations of individuals pooling their capital. On the purely free market, those men would simply announce to their creditors that their liability is limited to the capital specifically invested in the corporation".
There are limits to the right to contract under some interpretations of anarcho-capitalism. Rothbard believes that the right to contract is based in inalienable rights and because of this any contract that implicitly violates those rights can be voided at will, preventing a person from permanently selling himself or herself into unindentured slavery. That restriction aside, the right to contract under anarcho-capitalist order would be pretty broad. For example, Rothbard went as far as to justify stork markets, arguing that a market in guardianship rights would facilitate the transfer of guardianship from abusive or neglectful parents to those more interested or suited to raising children. Other anarcho-capitalists have also suggested the legalization of organ markets, as in Iran's renal market. Other interpretations conclude that banning such contracts would in itself be an unacceptably invasive interference in the right to contract.
Included in the right of contract is "the right to contract oneself out for employment by others". While anarchists criticize wage labour describing it as wage slavery, anarcho-capitalists view it as a consensual contract. Some anarcho-capitalists prefer to see self-employment prevail over wage labor. David D. Friedman has expressed a preference for a society where "almost everyone is self-employed" and "instead of corporations there are large groups of entrepreneurs related by trade, not authority. Each sells not his time, but what his time produces". |
Anarcho-capitalism | Law and order and the use of violence | Law and order and the use of violence
Different anarcho-capitalists propose different forms of anarcho-capitalism and one area of disagreement is in the area of law. In The Market for Liberty, Morris and Linda Tannehill object to any statutory law whatsoever. They argue that all one has to do is ask if one is aggressing against another in order to decide if an act is right or wrong.Brown, Susan Love, The Free Market as Salvation from Government: The Anarcho-Capitalist View, Meanings of the Market: The Free Market in Western Culture, edited by James G. Carrier, Berg/Oxford, 1997, p. 113. However, while also supporting a natural prohibition on force and fraud, Rothbard supports the establishment of a mutually agreed-upon centralized libertarian legal code which private courts would pledge to follow, as he presumes a high degree of convergence amongst individuals about what constitutes natural justice.
Unlike both the Tannehills and Rothbard who see an ideological commonality of ethics and morality as a requirement, David D. Friedman proposes that "the systems of law will be produced for profit on the open market, just as books and bras are produced today. There could be competition among different brands of law, just as there is competition among different brands of cars".Friedman, David. The Machinery of Freedom. Second edition. La Salle, Ill, Open Court, pp. 116–17. Friedman says whether this would lead to a libertarian society "remains to be proven". He says it is a possibility that very un-libertarian laws may result, such as laws against drugs, but he thinks this would be rare. He reasons that "if the value of a law to its supporters is less than its cost to its victims, that law ... will not survive in an anarcho-capitalist society".
Anarcho-capitalists only accept the collective defense of individual liberty (i.e. courts, military, or police forces) insofar as such groups are formed and paid for on an explicitly voluntary basis. However, their complaint is not just that the state's defensive services are funded by taxation, but that the state assumes it is the only legitimate practitioner of physical forcethat is, they believe it forcibly prevents the private sector from providing comprehensive security, such as a police, judicial and prison systems to protect individuals from aggressors. Anarcho-capitalists believe that there is nothing morally superior about the state which would grant it, but not private individuals, a right to use physical force to restrain aggressors. If competition in security provision were allowed to exist, prices would also be lower and services would be better according to anarcho-capitalists. According to Molinari: "Under a regime of liberty, the natural organization of the security industry would not be different from that of other industries". Proponents believe that private systems of justice and defense already exist, naturally forming where the market is allowed to "compensate for the failure of the state", namely private arbitration, security guards, neighborhood watch groups and so on. These private courts and police are sometimes referred to generically as private defense agencies. The defense of those unable to pay for such protection might be financed by charitable organizations relying on voluntary donation rather than by state institutions relying on taxation, or by cooperative self-help by groups of individuals. Edward Stringham argues that private adjudication of disputes could enable the market to internalize externalities and provide services that customers desire.
thumb|The death of General Joseph Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolutionary War, a war which anarcho-capitalists such as Murray Rothbard admired and believed it was the only American war that could be justified
Rothbard stated that the American Revolutionary War and the American Civil War were the only two just wars in American military history. Some anarcho-capitalists such as Rothbard feel that violent revolution is counter-productive and prefer voluntary forms of economic secession to the extent possible. Retributive justice is often a component of the contracts imagined for an anarcho-capitalist society. According to Matthew O'Keefee, some anarcho-capitalists believe prisons or indentured servitude would be justifiable institutions to deal with those who violate anarcho-capitalist property relations while others believe exile or forced restitution are sufficient. Rothbard stressed the importance of restitution as the primary focus of a libertarian legal order and advocated for corporal punishment for petty vandals and the death penalty for murders.
American economist Bruce L. Benson argues that legal codes may impose punitive damages for intentional torts in the interest of deterring crime. Benson gives the example of a thief who breaks into a house by picking a lock. Even if caught before taking anything, Benson argues that the thief would still owe the victim for violating the sanctity of his property rights. Benson opines that despite the lack of objectively measurable losses in such cases, "standardized rules that are generally perceived to be fair by members of the community would, in all likelihood, be established through precedent, allowing judgments to specify payments that are reasonably appropriate for most criminal offenses".
Morris and Linda Tannehill raise a similar example, saying that a bank robber who had an attack of conscience and returned the money would still owe reparations for endangering the employees' and customers' lives and safety, in addition to the costs of the defense agency answering the teller's call for help. However, they believe that the robber's loss of reputation would be even more damaging. They suggest that specialized companies would list aggressors so that anyone wishing to do business with a man could first check his record, provided they trust the veracity of the companies' records. They further theorise that the bank robber would find insurance companies listing him as a very poor risk and other firms would be reluctant to enter into contracts with him. |
Anarcho-capitalism | Fraud and breach of contract | Fraud and breach of contract
There is a debate among anarcho-capitalists over whether to codify the concepts and standards of 'fraud' and 'breach of contract'.Child, J. 1994. Can libertarianism sustain a fraud standard? Ethics 104: 722–738. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/293652?journalCode=et Slutskiy, Pavel. "Fraudulent advertising: A mere speech act or a type of theft?" Libertarian Papers, vol. 8, no. 1, Jan. 2016, pp.109+.
https://libertarianpapers.org/fraudulent-advertising-mere-speech-act-type-theft/
For example, Mark D. Friedman has argued that most right-libertarian theories on this topic are unconvincing.Friedman, M. D. (2014). Libertarian Philosophy in the Real World: The Politics of Natural Rights. USA: Bloomsbury Publishing. p.26~27 So there were attempts to solve this problem in other ways.Benjamin Ferguson. "Can libertarians get away with fraud?" Economics and philosophy : p.170. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/economics-and-philosophy/article/can-libertarians-get-away-with-fraud/3324B0979DFF2E87514B8172240BA8B3 |
Anarcho-capitalism | Influences | Influences
Murray Rothbard has listed different ideologies of which his interpretations, he said, have influenced anarcho-capitalism. This includes his interpretation of anarchism, and more precisely individualist anarchism; classical liberalism and the Austrian School of economic thought. Scholars additionally associate anarcho-capitalism with neo-classical liberalism, radical neoliberalism and right-libertarianism. |
Anarcho-capitalism | Anarchism | Anarchism
In both its social and individualist forms, anarchism is usually considered an anti-capitalistWilliams, Dana M. (2018). "Contemporary Anarchist and Anarchistic Movements". Sociology Compass. Wiley. 12 (6): 4. . . and radical left-wing or far-left movement that promotes libertarian socialist economic theories such as collectivism, communism, individualism, mutualism and syndicalism.Guerin, Daniel (1970). Anarchism: From Theory to Practice. Monthly Review Press. pp. 12, 35. . Because anarchism is usually described alongside libertarian Marxism as the libertarian wing of the socialist movement and as having a historical association with anti-capitalism and socialism, anarchists believe that capitalism is incompatible with social and economic equality and therefore do not recognize anarcho-capitalism as an anarchist school of thought.Marshall, Peter (1992). Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism. London: HarperCollins. pp. 564–565. . "Anarcho-capitalists are against the State simply because they are capitalists first and foremost. [...] They are not concerned with the social consequences of capitalism for the weak, powerless and ignorant. [...] As such, anarcho-capitalism overlooks the egalitarian implications of traditional individualist anarchists like Spooner and Tucker. In fact, few anarchists would accept the 'anarcho-capitalists' into the anarchist camp since they do not share a concern for economic equality and social justice. Their self-interested, calculating market men would be incapable of practising voluntary cooperation and mutual aid. Anarcho-capitalists, even if they do reject the state, might therefore best be called right-wing libertarians rather than anarchists."Goodway, David (2006). Anarchist Seeds Beneath the Snow: Left-Libertarian Thought and British Writers from William Morris to Colin Ward. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. p. 4. Libertarian' and 'libertarianism' are frequently employed by anarchists as synonyms for 'anarchist' and 'anarchism', largely as an attempt to distance themselves from the negative connotations of 'anarchy' and its derivatives. The situation has been vastly complicated in recent decades with the rise of anarcho-capitalism, 'minimal statism' and an extreme right-wing laissez-faire philosophy advocated by such theorists as Rothbard and Nozick and their adoption of the words 'libertarian' and 'libertarianism'. It has therefore now become necessary to distinguish between their right libertarianism and the left libertarianism of the anarchist tradition."Newman, Saul (2010). The Politics of Postanarchism. Edinburgh University Press. p. 43. "It is important to distinguish between anarchism and certain strands of right-wing libertarianism which at times go by the same name (for example, Rothbard's anarcho-capitalism)." . In particular, anarchists argue that capitalist transactions are not voluntary and that maintaining the class structure of a capitalist society requires coercion which is incompatible with an anarchist society.Tame, Chris R. (October 1983). The Chicago School: Lessons from the Thirties for the Eighties. Economic Affairs. p. 56.McKay, Iain (2008). An Anarchist FAQ. 1. "What are the myths of capitalist economics?" "Is 'anarcho'-capitalism a type of anarchism?" Oakland/Edinburgh: AK Press. . The usage of libertarian is also in dispute.Marshall, Peter (1992). Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism. London: HarperCollins. p. 641. . "For a long time, libertarian was interchangeable in France with anarchist but in recent years, its meaning has become more ambivalent." While both anarchists and anarcho-capitalists have used it, libertarian was synonymous with anarchist until the mid-20th century, when anarcho-capitalist theory developed.
Anarcho-capitalists are distinguished from the dominant anarchist tradition by their relation to property and capital. While both anarchism and anarcho-capitalism share general antipathy towards government authority, anarcho-capitalism favors free-market capitalism. Anarchists, including egoists such as Max Stirner, have supported the protection of an individual's freedom from powers of both government and private property owners. In contrast, while condemning governmental encroachment on personal liberties, anarcho-capitalists support freedoms based on private property rights. Anarcho-capitalist theorist Murray Rothbard argued that protesters should rent a street for protest from its owners. The abolition of public amenities is a common theme in some anarcho-capitalist writings.
As anarcho-capitalism puts laissez-faire economics before economic equality, it is commonly viewed as incompatible with the anti-capitalist and egalitarian tradition of anarchism. Although anarcho-capitalist theory implies the abolition of the state in favour of a fully laissez-faire economy,Gay, Kathlyn; Gay, Martin (1999). Encyclopedia of Political Anarchy. ABC-CLIO. . it lies outside the tradition of anarchism. While using the language of anarchism, anarcho-capitalism only shares anarchism's antipathy towards the state and not anarchism's antipathy towards hierarchy as theorists expect from anarcho-capitalist economic power relations.Davis, Laurence (2019). "Individual and Community". In Levy, Carl; Adams, Matthew S. (eds.). The Palgrave Handbook of Anarchism. Cham: Springer. pp. 47–70. . . It follows a different paradigm from anarchism and has a fundamentally different approach and goals. In spite of the anarcho- in its title, anarcho-capitalism is more closely affiliated with capitalism, right-libertarianism, and liberalism than with anarchism. Some within this laissez-faire tradition reject the designation of anarcho-capitalism, believing that capitalism may either refer to the laissez-faire market they support or the government-regulated system that they oppose.
Rothbard argued that anarcho-capitalism is the only true form of anarchismthe only form of anarchism that could possibly exist in reality as he maintained that any other form presupposes authoritarian enforcement of a political ideology such as "redistribution of private property", which he attributed to anarchism. According to this argument, the capitalist free market is "the natural situation" that would result from people being free from state authority and entails the establishment of all voluntary associations in society such as cooperatives, non-profit organizations, businesses and so on. Moreover, anarcho-capitalists, as well as classical liberal minarchists, argue that the application of anarchist ideals as advocated by what they term "left-wing anarchists" would require an authoritarian body of some sort to impose it. Based on their understanding and interpretation of anarchism, in order to forcefully prevent people from accumulating capital, which they believe is a goal of anarchists, there would necessarily be a redistributive organization of some sort which would have the authority to in essence exact a tax and re-allocate the resulting resources to a larger group of people. They conclude that this theoretical body would inherently have political power and would be nothing short of a state. The difference between such an arrangement and an anarcho-capitalist system is what anarcho-capitalists see as the voluntary nature of organization within anarcho-capitalism contrasted with a "centralized ideology" and a "paired enforcement mechanism" which they believe would be necessary under what they describe as a "coercively" egalitarian-anarchist system.
Rothbard also argued that the capitalist system of today is not properly anarchistic because it often colludes with the state. According to Rothbard, "what Marx and later writers have done is to lump together two extremely different and even contradictory concepts and actions under the same portmanteau term. These two contradictory concepts are what I would call 'free-market capitalism' on the one hand, and 'state capitalism' on the other". "The difference between free-market capitalism and state capitalism", writes Rothbard, "is precisely the difference between, on the one hand, peaceful, voluntary exchange, and on the other, violent expropriation". He continues: "State capitalism inevitably creates all sorts of problems which become insoluble".
Traditional anarchists reject the notion of capitalism, hierarchies and private property.Funnell, Warwick (2007). "Accounting and the Virtues of Anarchy" . Australasian Accounting, Business and Finance Journal. 1 (1) 18–27. .Williams, Dana (2012). "From Top to Bottom, a Thoroughly Stratified World: An Anarchist View of Inequality and Domination". Race, Gender & Class. 19 (3/4): 9–34. .White, Richard; Williams, Colin (2014). "Anarchist Economic Practices in a 'Capitalist' Society: Some Implications for Organisation and the Future of Work" . Ephermera: Theory and Politics in Organization. 14 (4): 947–971. . Albert Meltzer argued that anarcho-capitalism simply cannot be anarchism because capitalism and the state are inextricably interlinked and because capitalism exhibits domineering hierarchical structures such as that between an employer and an employee. Anna Morgenstern approaches this topic from the opposite perspective, arguing that anarcho-capitalists are not really capitalists because "mass concentration of capital is impossible" without the state. According to Jeremy Jennings, "[i]t is hard not to conclude that these ideas," referring to anarcho-capitalism, have "roots deep in classical liberalism" and "are described as anarchist only on the basis of a misunderstanding of what anarchism is." For Jennings, "anarchism does not stand for the untrammelled freedom of the individual (as the 'anarcho-capitalists' appear to believe) but, as we have already seen, for the extension of individuality and community." Similarly, Barbara Goodwin, Emeritus Professor of Politics at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, argues that anarcho-capitalism's "true place is in the group of right-wing libertarians", not in anarchism.
Some right-libertarian scholars like Michael Huemer, who identify with the ideology, describe anarcho-capitalism as a "variety of anarchism". British author Andrew Heywood also believes that "individualist anarchism overlaps with libertarianism and is usually linked to a strong belief in the market as a self-regulating mechanism, most obviously manifest in the form of anarcho-capitalism". Frank H. Brooks, author of The Individualist Anarchists: An Anthology of Liberty (1881–1908), believes that "anarchism has always included a significant strain of radical individualism, from the hyperrationalism of Godwin, to the egoism of Stirner, to the libertarians and anarcho-capitalists of today"..
While both anarchism and anarcho-capitalism are in opposition to the state, they nevertheless interpret state-rejection differently.McLaughlin, Paul (2007). Anarchism and Authority: A Philosophical Introduction to Classical Anarchism. Ashgate. pp. 28 –166. . "Anarchists do reject the state, as we will see. But to claim that this central aspect of anarchism is definitive is to sell anarchism short. [...] [Opposition to the state] is (contrary to what many scholars believe) not definitive of anarchism."Jun, Nathan (September 2009). "Anarchist Philosophy and Working Class Struggle: A Brief History and Commentary". WorkingUSA. 12 (3): 505–519. . . "One common misconception, which has been rehearsed repeatedly by the few Anglo-American philosophers who have bothered to broach the topic [...] is that anarchism can be defined solely in terms of opposition to states and governments" (p. 507).Franks, Benjamin (August 2013). Freeden, Michael; Stears, Marc (eds.). "Anarchism". The Oxford Handbook of Political Ideologies. Oxford University Press: 385–404. . "[M]any, questionably, regard anti-statism as the irremovable, universal principle at the core of anarchism. [...] The fact that [anarchists and anarcho-capitalists] share a core concept of 'anti-statism', which is often advanced as [...] a commonality between them [...], is insufficient to produce a shared identity [...] because [they interpret] the concept of state-rejection [...] differently despite the initial similarity in nomenclature" (pp. 386–388). Austrian school economist David Prychitko, in the context of anarcho-capitalism says that "while society without a state is necessary for full-fledged anarchy, it is nevertheless insufficient". According to Ruth Kinna, anarcho-capitalists are anti-statists who draw more on right-wing liberal theory and the Austrian School than anarchist traditions. Kinna writes that "[i]n order to highlight the clear distinction between the two positions", anarchists describe anarcho-capitalists as "propertarians".Kinna, Ruth, ed. (2012). The Bloomsbury Companion to Anarchism. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 330–331. . Anarcho-capitalism is usually seen as part of the New Right.
Some anarcho-capitalists understand anarchism to mean something other than "opposition to hierarchy" and therefore consider the two traditions to be philosophically distinct. Therefore, the anarchist critique that anarcho-capitalist societies would necessarily contain hierarchies is not concerning to these anarcho-capitalists. Additionally, Rothbard discusses the difference between "government" and "governance" thus, proponents of anarcho-capitalism think the philosophy's common name is indeed consistent, as it promotes private governance, but is vehemently anti-government. |
Anarcho-capitalism | Classical liberalism | Classical liberalism
Historian and libertarian Ralph Raico argued that what liberal philosophers "had come up with was a form of individualist anarchism, or, as it would be called today, anarcho-capitalism or market anarchism".Raico, Ralph (2004). Authentic German Liberalism of the 19th century . École Polytechnique, Centre de Recherche en Épistémologie Appliquée. Unité associée au CNRS. He also said that Gustave de Molinari was proposing a doctrine of the private production of security, a position which was later taken up by Murray Rothbard. Some anarcho-capitalists consider Molinari to be the first proponent of anarcho-capitalism.Raico, Ralph (29 March 2011) "Neither the Wars Nor the Leaders Were Great" . Mises Institute. In the preface to the 1977 English translation by Murray Rothbard called The Production of Security the "first presentation anywhere in human history of what is now called anarcho-capitalism", although admitting that "Molinari did not use the terminology, and probably would have balked at the name".Molinari, Gustave; Ebeling, Richard M., ed. (1977). The Production of Security . "Preface". Translated by McCulloch, J. Huston. Occasional Papers Series (2). New York: The Center for Libertarian Studies. Hans-Hermann Hoppe said that "the 1849 article 'The Production of Security' is probably the single most important contribution to the modern theory of anarcho-capitalism". According to Hans-Hermann Hoppe, one of the 19th century precursors of anarcho-capitalism were philosopher Herbert Spencer, classical liberal Auberon Herbert and liberal socialist Franz Oppenheimer.
Ruth Kinna credits Murray Rothbard with coining the term anarcho-capitalism, which is – Kinna proposes – to describe "a commitment to unregulated private property and laissez-faire economics, prioritizing the liberty-rights of individuals, unfettered by government regulation, to accumulate, consume and determine the patterns of their lives as they see fit". According to Kinna, anarcho-capitalists "will sometimes label themselves market anarchists because they recognize the negative connotations of 'capitalism'. But the literature of anarcho-capitalism draws on classical liberal theory, particularly the Austrian School – Friedrich von Hayek and Ludwig von Mises – rather than recognizable anarchist traditions. Ayn Rand's laissez-faire, anti-government, corporate philosophy – Objectivism – is sometimes associated with anarcho-capitalism". Other scholars similarly associate anarcho-capitalism with anti-state classical liberalism, neo-classical liberalism, radical neoliberalism and right-libertarianism.Carlson, Jennifer D. (2012). "Libertarianism". In Miller, Wilburn R., ed. The Social History of Crime and Punishment in America. London: Sage Publications. pp. 1006–1007. .
Paul Dragos Aligica writes that there is a "foundational difference between the classical liberal and the anarcho-capitalist positions". Classical liberalism, while accepting critical arguments against collectivism, acknowledges a certain level of public ownership and collective governance as necessary to provide practical solutions to political problems. In contrast anarcho-capitalism, according to Aligica, denies any requirement for any form of public administration, and allows no meaningful role for the public sphere, which is seen as sub-optimal and illegitimate. |
Anarcho-capitalism | Individualist anarchism | Individualist anarchism
thumb|left|upright|Lysander Spooner, an American individualist anarchist and mutualist, who is claimed to have influenced anarcho-capitalism
Murray Rothbard, a student of Ludwig von Mises, stated that he was influenced by the work of the 19th-century American individualist anarchists.De Leon, David (1978). The American as Anarchist: Reflections on Indigenous Radicalism. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 127. "[...] Only a few individuals like Murray Rothbard, in Power and Market, and some article writers were influenced by these men. Most had not evolved consciously from this tradition; they had been a rather automatic product of the American environment." In the winter of 1949, Rothbard decided to reject minimal state laissez-faire and embrace his interpretation of individualist anarchism.Gordon, David (2007). The Essential Rothbard. Mises Institute. pp. 12–13. In 1965, Rothbard wrote that "Lysander Spooner and Benjamin R. Tucker were unsurpassed as political philosophers and nothing is more needed today than a revival and development of the largely forgotten legacy they left to political philosophy".Rothbard, Murray (2000) [1965]. "The Spooner-Tucker Doctrine: An Economist's View" . Journal of Libertarian Studies. 20 (1): 5–15. However, Rothbard thought that they had a faulty understanding of economics as the 19th-century individualist anarchists had a labor theory of value as influenced by the classical economists, while Rothbard was a student of Austrian School economics which does not agree with the labor theory of value. Rothbard sought to meld 19th-century American individualist anarchists' advocacy of economic individualism and free markets with the principles of Austrian School economics, arguing that "[t]here is, in the body of thought known as 'Austrian economics', a scientific explanation of the workings of the free market (and of the consequences of government intervention in that market) which individualist anarchists could easily incorporate into their political and social Weltanschauung".Rothbard, Murray (2000) [1965]. "The Spooner-Tucker Doctrine: An Economist's View" . Journal of Libertarian Studies. 20 (1): 7. Rothbard held that the economic consequences of the political system they advocate would not result in an economy with people being paid in proportion to labor amounts, nor would profit and interest disappear as they expected. Tucker thought that unregulated banking and money issuance would cause increases in the money supply so that interest rates would drop to zero or near to it. Peter Marshall states that "anarcho-capitalism overlooks the egalitarian implications of traditional individualist anarchists like Spooner and Tucker". Stephanie Silberstein states that "While Spooner was no free-market capitalist, nor an anarcho-capitalist, he was not as opposed to capitalism as most socialists were."
In "The Spooner-Tucker Doctrine: An Economist's View", Rothbard explained his disagreements. Rothbard disagreed with Tucker that it would cause the money supply to increase because he believed that the money supply in a free market would be self-regulating. If it were not, then Rothbard argued inflation would occur so it is not necessarily desirable to increase the money supply in the first place. Rothbard claimed that Tucker was wrong to think that interest would disappear regardless because he believed people, in general, do not wish to lend their money to others without compensation, so there is no reason why this would change just because banking was unregulated. Tucker held a labor theory of value and thought that in a free market people would be paid in proportion to how much labor they exerted and that exploitation or usury was taking place if they were not. As Tucker explained in State Socialism and Anarchism, his theory was that unregulated banking would cause more money to be available and that this would allow the proliferation of new businesses which would, in turn, raise demand for labor. This led Tucker to believe that the labor theory of value would be vindicated and equal amounts of labor would receive equal pay. As an Austrian School economist, Rothbard did not agree with the labor theory and believed that prices of goods and services are proportional to marginal utility rather than to labor amounts in the free market. As opposed to Tucker he did not think that there was anything exploitative about people receiving an income according to how much "buyers of their services value their labor" or what that labor produces.
thumb|upright|Benjamin Tucker, another individualist anarchist, who identified as a socialist and his individualist anarchism as anarchistic socialism versus state socialism, said to have influenced anarcho-capitalism
Without the labor theory of value, some argue that 19th-century individualist anarchists approximate the modern movement of anarcho-capitalism, although this has been contested or rejected.Wieck, David (1978). "Anarchist Justice" . In Chapman, John W.; Pennock, J. Roland Pennock, eds. Anarchism: Nomos XIX. New York: New York University Press. pp. 227–228. "Out of the history of anarchist thought and action Rothbard has pulled forth a single thread, the thread of individualism, and defines that individualism in a way alien even to the spirit of a Max Stirner or a Benjamin Tucker, whose heritage I presume he would claim – to say nothing of how alien is his way to the spirit of Godwin, Proudhon, Bakunin, Kropotkin, Malatesta, and the historically anonymous persons who through their thoughts and action have tried to give anarchism a living meaning. Out of this thread, Rothbard manufactures one more bourgeois ideology." Retrieved 7 April 2020.Peacott, Joe (18 April 1985). "Reply to Wendy Mc Elroy". New Libertarian (14, June 1985. . Retrieved 4 September 2020. "In her article on individualist anarchism in October 1984, New Libertarian, Wendy McElroy mistakenly claims that modern-day individualist anarchism is identical with anarchist capitalism. She ignores the fact that there are still individualist anarchists who reject capitalism as well as communism, in the tradition of Warren, Spooner, Tucker, and others. [...] Benjamin Tucker, when he spoke of his ideal 'society of contract,' was certainly not speaking of anything remotely resembling contemporary capitalist society. [...] I do not quarrel with McElroy's definition of herself as an individualist anarchist. However, I dislike the fact that she tries to equate the term with anarchist capitalism. This is simply not true. I am an individualist anarchist and I am opposed to capitalist economic relations, voluntary or otherwise."Baker, J. W. "Native American Anarchism". The Raven. 10 (1): 43‒62. Retrieved 4 September 2020. "It is time that anarchists recognise the valuable contributions of individualist anarchist theory and take advantage of its ideas. It would be both futile and criminal to leave it to the capitalist libertarians, whose claims on Tucker and the others can be made only by ignoring the violent opposition they had to capitalist exploitation and monopolistic 'free enterprise' supported by the state." As economic theory changed, the popularity of the labor theory of classical economics was superseded by the subjective theory of value of neoclassical economics and Rothbard combined Mises' Austrian School of economics with the absolutist views of human rights and rejection of the state he had absorbed from studying the individualist American anarchists of the 19th century such as Tucker and Spooner.Miller, David, ed. (1987). The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Thought. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 290. . In the mid-1950s, Rothbard wrote an unpublished article named "Are Libertarians 'Anarchists'?" under the pseudonym "Aubrey Herbert", concerned with differentiating himself from communist and socialistic economic views of anarchists, including the individualist anarchists of the 19th century, concluding that "we are not anarchists and that those who call us anarchists are not on firm etymological ground and are being completely unhistorical. On the other hand, it is clear that we are not archists either: we do not believe in establishing a tyrannical central authority that will coerce the noninvasive as well as the invasive. Perhaps, then, we could call ourselves by a new name: nonarchist."Rothbard, Murray (1950s). "Are Libertarians 'Anarchists'?" Lew Rockwell.com. Retrieved 4 September 2020. Joe Peacott, an American individualist anarchist in the mutualist tradition, criticizes anarcho-capitalists for trying to hegemonize the individualist anarchism label and make appear as if all individualist anarchists are in favor of capitalism. Peacott states that "individualists, both past and present, agree with the communist anarchists that present-day capitalism is based on economic coercion, not on voluntary contract. Rent and interest are the mainstays of modern capitalism and are protected and enforced by the state. Without these two unjust institutions, capitalism could not exist".Peacott, Joe (18 April 1985). "Reply to Wendy Mc Elroy". New Libertarian (14, June 1985). . Retrieved 4 September 2020. "In her overview of anarchist history, McElroy criticizes the individualists of the past for their belief in the labor theory of value, because it fails to distinguish between profit and plunder. Some anarchist individualists still believe that profit is theft and that living off the labor of others is immoral. And some individualists, both past and present, agree with the communist anarchists that present-day capitalism is based on economic coercion, not on voluntary contract. Rent and interest are the mainstays of modern capitalism and are protected and enforced by the state. Without these two unjust institutions, capitalism could not exist. These two institutions, and the money monopoly of the state, effectively prevent most people from being economically independent and force them into wage labor. Saying that coercion does not exist i[n] capitalist economic relations because workers aren't forced to work by armed capitalists ignores the very real economic coercion caused by this alliance of capitalism and the state. People don't voluntarily work for wages or pay rent, except in the sense that most people 'voluntarily' pay taxes[.] Because one recognizes when she or he is up against superior force and chooses to compromise in order to survive, does not make these activities voluntary; at least, not in the way I envision voluntary relations in an anarchist society."
Anarchist activists and scholars do not consider anarcho-capitalism as a part of the anarchist movement, arguing that anarchism has historically been an anti-capitalist movement and see it as incompatible with capitalist forms. Although some regard anarcho-capitalism as a form of individualist anarchism, many others disagree or contest the existence of an individualist–socialist divide. In coming to terms that anarchists mostly identified with socialism, Rothbard wrote that individualist anarchism is different from anarcho-capitalism and other capitalist theories due to the individualist anarchists retaining the labor theory of value and socialist doctrines. Similarly, many writers deny that anarcho-capitalism is a form of anarchism or that capitalism is compatible with anarchism.
The Palgrave Handbook of Anarchism writes that "[a]s Benjamin Franks rightly points out, individualisms that defend or reinforce hierarchical forms such as the economic-power relations of anarcho-capitalism are incompatible with practices of social anarchism based on developing immanent goods which contest such as inequalities". Laurence Davis cautiously asks "[I]s anarcho-capitalism really a form of anarchism or instead a wholly different ideological paradigm whose adherents have attempted to expropriate the language of anarchism for their own anti-anarchist ends?" Davis cites Iain McKay, "whom Franks cites as an authority to support his contention that 'academic analysis has followed activist currents in rejecting the view that anarcho-capitalism has anything to do with social anarchism, as arguing "quite emphatically on the very pages cited by Franks that anarcho-capitalism is by no means a type of anarchism". McKay writes that "[i]t is important to stress that anarchist opposition to the so-called capitalist 'anarchists' does not reflect some kind of debate within anarchism, as many of these types like to pretend, but a debate between anarchism and its old enemy capitalism. ... Equally, given that anarchists and 'anarcho'-capitalists have fundamentally different analyses and goals it is hardly 'sectarian' to point this out".
Davis writes that "Franks asserts without supporting evidence that most major forms of individualist anarchism have been largely anarcho-capitalist in content, and concludes from this premise that most forms of individualism are incompatible with anarchism". Davis argues that "the conclusion is unsustainable because the premise is false, depending as it does for any validity it might have on the further assumption that anarcho-capitalism is indeed a form of anarchism. If we reject this view, then we must also reject the individual anarchist versus the communal anarchist 'chasm' style of argument that follows from it". Davis maintains that "the ideological core of anarchism is the belief that society can and should be organised without hierarchy and domination. Historically, anarchists have struggles against a wide range of regimes of domination, from capitalism, the state system, patriarchy, heterosexism, and the domination of nature to colonialism, the war system, slavery, fascism, white supremacy, and certain forms of organised religion". According to Davis, "[w]hile these visions range from the predominantly individualistic to the predominantly communitarian, features common to virtually all include an emphasis on self-management and self-regulatory methods of organisation, voluntary association, decentralised society, based on the principle of free association, in which people will manage and govern themselves". Finally, Davis includes a footnote stating that "[i]ndividualist anarchism may plausibly be re regarded as a form of both socialism and anarchism. Whether the individualist anarchists were consistent anarchists (and socialists) is another question entirely. ... McKay comments as follows: 'any individualist anarchism which supports wage labour is inconsistent anarchism. It can easily be made consistent anarchism by applying its own principles consistently. In contrast 'anarcho'-capitalism rejects so many of the basic, underlying, principles of anarchism ... that it cannot be made consistent with the ideals of anarchism. |
Anarcho-capitalism | Historical precedents | Historical precedents
Several anarcho-capitalists and right-libertarians have discussed historical precedents of what they believe were examples of anarcho-capitalism. |
Anarcho-capitalism | Free cities of medieval Europe | Free cities of medieval Europe
Economist and libertarian scholar Bryan Caplan considers the free cities of medieval Europe as examples of "anarchist" or "nearly anarchistic" societies, further arguing: |
Anarcho-capitalism | Medieval Iceland | Medieval Iceland
thumb| 19th-century interpretation of the Althing in the Icelandic Commonwealth which authors such as David D. Friedman believe to have some features of anarcho-capitalist society
According to the libertarian theorist David D. Friedman, "[m]edieval Icelandic institutions have several peculiar and interesting characteristics; they might almost have been invented by a mad economist to test the lengths to which market systems could supplant government in its most fundamental functions".Friedman, David D. (1979). "Private Creation and Enforcement of Law: A Historical Case ". Retrieved 12 August 2005. While not directly labeling it anarcho-capitalist, Friedman argues that the legal system of the Icelandic Commonwealth comes close to being a real-world anarcho-capitalist legal system. Although noting that there was a single legal system, Friedman argues that enforcement of the law was entirely private and highly capitalist, providing some evidence of how such a society would function. Friedman further wrote that "[e]ven where the Icelandic legal system recognized an essentially 'public' offense, it dealt with it by giving some individual (in some cases chosen by lot from those affected) the right to pursue the case and collect the resulting fine, thus fitting it into an essentially private system".
Friedman and Bruce L. Benson argued that the Icelandic Commonwealth saw significant economic and social progress in the absence of systems of criminal law, an executive, or bureaucracy. This commonwealth was led by chieftains, whose position could be bought and sold like that of private property. Being a member of the chieftainship was also completely voluntary. |
Anarcho-capitalism | American Old West | American Old West
According to Terry L. Anderson and P. J. Hill, the Old West in the United States in the period of 1830 to 1900 was similar to anarcho-capitalism in that "private agencies provided the necessary basis for an orderly society in which property was protected and conflicts were resolved" and that the common popular perception that the Old West was chaotic with little respect for property rights is incorrect.Anderson, Terry L. and Hill, P. J. "An American Experiment in Anarcho-Capitalism: The Not So Wild, Wild West ", The Journal of Libertarian Studies Since squatters had no claim to western lands under federal law, extra-legal organizations formed to fill the void. Benson explains:
According to Anderson, "[d]efining anarcho-capitalist to mean minimal government with property rights developed from the bottom up, the western frontier was anarcho-capitalistic. People on the frontier invented institutions that fit the resource constraints they faced". |
Anarcho-capitalism | Gaelic Ireland | Gaelic Ireland
thumb|Provinces of Ireland in 900
In his work For a New Liberty, Murray Rothbard has claimed ancient Gaelic Ireland as an example of nearly anarcho-capitalist society. In his depiction, citing the work of Professor Joseph Peden,Peden Stateless Societies: Ancient Ireland the basic political unit of ancient Ireland was the tuath, which is portrayed as "a body of persons voluntarily united for socially beneficial purposes" with its territorial claim being limited to "the sum total of the landed properties of its members". Civil disputes were settled by private arbiters called "brehons" and the compensation to be paid to the wronged party was insured through voluntary surety relationships. Commenting on the "kings" of tuaths, Rothbard stated: |
Anarcho-capitalism | Law merchant, admiralty law, and early common law | Law merchant, admiralty law, and early common law
Some libertarians have cited law merchant, admiralty law and early common law as examples of anarcho-capitalism.Rothbard. "Defense Services on the Free Market ".Benson. "The Enterprise of Customary Law ".Hasnas. "The Obviousness of Anarchy ".
In his work Power and Market, Rothbard stated: |
Anarcho-capitalism | Somalia from 1991 to 2012 | Somalia from 1991 to 2012
Economist Alex Tabarrok argued that Somalia in its stateless period provided a "unique test of the theory of anarchy", in some aspects near of that espoused by anarcho-capitalists David D. Friedman and Murray Rothbard. Nonetheless, both anarchists and some anarcho-capitalists argue that Somalia was not an anarchist society. |
Anarcho-capitalism | Analysis and criticism | Analysis and criticism |
Anarcho-capitalism | State, justice and defense | State, justice and defense
Anarchists such as Brian Morris argue that anarcho-capitalism does not in fact get rid of the state. He says that anarcho-capitalists "simply replaced the state with private security firms, and can hardly be described as anarchists as the term is normally understood".Brian Morris, "Global Anti-Capitalism", pp. 170–176, Anarchist Studies, vol. 14, no. 2, p. 175. In "Libertarianism: Bogus Anarchy", anarchist Peter Sabatini notes:
Similarly, Bob Black argues that an anarcho-capitalist wants to "abolish the state to his own satisfaction by calling it something else". He states that they do not denounce what the state does, they just "object to who's doing it".Bob Black (1992), "The Libertarian As Conservative", The Abolition of Work and Other Essays, p. 144
Paul Birch argues that legal disputes involving several jurisdictions and different legal systems will be too complex and costly. He therefore argues that anarcho-capitalism is inherently unstable, and would evolve, entirely through the operation of free market forces, into either a single dominant private court with a natural monopoly of justice over the territory (a de facto state), a society of multiple city states, each with a territorial monopoly, or a 'pure anarchy' that would rapidly descend into chaos.
Randall G. Holcombe argues that anarcho-capitalism turns justice into a commodity as private defense and court firms would favour those who pay more for their services. He argues that defense agencies could form cartels and oppress people without fear of competition. Philosopher Albert Meltzer argued that since anarcho-capitalism promotes the idea of private armies, it actually supports a "limited State". He contends that it "is only possible to conceive of Anarchism which is free, communistic and offering no economic necessity for repression of countering it".
Libertarian Robert Nozick argues that a competitive legal system would evolve toward a monopoly governmenteven without violating individuals' rights in the process.Jeffrey Paul, Fred Dycus Miller (1993). Liberalism and the Economic Order. Cambridge University Press. p. 115. In Anarchy, State, and Utopia, Nozick defends minarchism and argues that an anarcho-capitalist society would inevitably transform into a minarchist state through the eventual emergence of a monopolistic private defense and judicial agency that no longer faces competition. He argues that anarcho-capitalism results in an unstable system that would not endure in the real world. While anarcho-capitalists such as Roy Childs and Murray Rothbard have rejected Nozick's arguments,See Childs's incomplete essay, "Anarchist Illusions", Liberty against Power: Essays by Roy A. Childs, Jr., ed. Joan Kennedy Taylor (San Francisco: Fox 1994) 179–183. with Rothbard arguing that the process described by Nozick, with the dominant protection agency outlawing its competitors, in fact violates its own clients' rights, John Jefferson actually advocates Nozick's argument and states that such events would best operate in laissez-faire.Jeffrey Paul, Fred Dycus Miller (1993). Liberalism and the Economic Order. Cambridge University Press. p. 118. Robert Ellickson presented a Hayekian case against anarcho-capitalism, calling it a "pipe-dream" and stating that anarcho-capitalists "by imagining a stable system of competing private associations, ignore both the inevitability of territorial monopolists in governance, and the importance of institutions to constrain those monopolists' abuses".
Some libertarians argue that anarcho-capitalism would result in different standards of justice and law due to relying too much on the market. Friedman responded to this criticism by arguing that it assumes the state is controlled by a majority group that has similar legal ideals. If the populace is diverse, different legal standards would therefore be appropriate. |
Anarcho-capitalism | Rights and freedom | Rights and freedom
Negative and positive rights are rights that oblige either action (positive rights) or inaction (negative rights). Anarcho-capitalists believe that negative rights should be recognized as legitimate, but positive rights should be rejected as an intrusion. Some critics reject the distinction between positive and negative rights.Sterba, James P. (October 1994). "From Liberty to Welfare". Ethics. Cambridge: Blackwell). 105 (1): 237–241. Peter Marshall also states that the anarcho-capitalist definition of freedom is entirely negative and that it cannot guarantee the positive freedom of individual autonomy and independence.
About anarcho-capitalism, anarcho-syndicalist and anti-capitalist intellectual Noam Chomsky says: |
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