"Gunslinger" typically refers to the men of the Old West who gained a reputation for being skilled and dangerous with a gun. Among the ranks of these popular legends are outlaws and lawmen alike, although we know today that the line was often blurred, hence the enduring reputation of the gunslinger as an unpredictable and wily opportunist.
For the purposes of this article, however, I use "gunslinger" to refer to an armed man who offers the service of his presence and skills to protect a client's material interests.
The Old West was no country for unarmed men, if Hollywood is to be believed. All manner of disputes, from accusations of cattle rustling and cardsharping to infidelity and the simple bar brawl, would be settled in the street with a guns-drawn duel. Reality, however, is far more banal and the "Wild" West was as orderly, if not more so, than contemporary society. The myth of anarchic chaos prevailing during this period of history most likely arises from popular legends surrounding the gunslingers of folklore rather than the way societies really functioned in places where state power was diluted or nonexistent.
But is there a place for gunslingers in modern society?
The Austrian School of economics explains that one of the fundamental reasons why socialized provision of goods and services cannot compare with market provision is that governments are simply not capable of efficiently coordinating and allocating capital, labor, and resources.
Governments lack the incentives of market providers to control costs, meet the needs of clients, and keep track of what the competition is doing in order to maintain profitability. Failure to manage these matters in the private sector leads to losses and, ultimately, insolvency.
As Ludwig von Mises relates, "The only source from which an entrepreneur's profits stem is his ability to anticipate better than other people the future demand of the consumers." It is simply amazing then that, even in the face of vastly superior resources and a collective presupposition that a primary role of government is protection, the private sector not only manages to outperform but constantly outwit and outcompete the most formidable of competitors.
In the classic Charles Portis western novel True Grit, a character observes, "The civilized arts of commerce do not flourish there." He was referring to territories outside the authority of the government. Contrary to this opinion, it is a miracle that commerce flourishes anywhere near where the government has influence, but it's thanks in part to the likes of the gunslinger that property rights are respected and the gears of commerce able to turn.
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Defending the Gunslinger | Ludwig von Mises Daily Email
It's up to us as individuals and a society to protect our interests, not our government.
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