Panarchism is a political philosophy advocating the peaceful co-existence of all political systems, where each individual may voluntarily adhere to the system of their choice, free to join and leave the jurisdiction of the governments he sees fit. International law would be used to settle possible conflicts between individuals having chosen different systems of government.

The word panarchy was invented and the concept proposed by a Belgian political scientist, Paul Émile de Puydt in 1860. He argued for panarchy as a replacement for "wasteful revolutions".

Some argue that panarchism is an alternative way of presenting the same system as the one advocated by forms of anarchism (see, for example, voluntaryism).

The most common criticism of panarchism is that the concept is self-contradictory, because certain political systems reject peaceful co-existence. This criticism can be answered by placing a single restriction on the political systems who can participate in panarchy: that they must accept the basic principle of panarchy itself.

See also

• anarcho-capitalism

External links

• Panarchy.org -- original usage
• Panarchy.com -- modern usage, writings and discussion