Due to the nature of the internet being crucial in education of liberty-oriented ideas, many individuals have had to teach themselves the pronunciation of various names and words. When FSP activists started speaking to each other, many had to teach others the proper pronunciations of such names and words, such as Mises and Keynesian. One word, however, has had a split on proper pronunciation: agorism.
On one side, with Jack Shimek and the Shire Activists leading the way, is the pronunciation as similar to the word agora itself: uh-GOR-ism. On the more popular side, with Keeniacs leading the way, is the pronunciation as A-gor-ism.
I've attempted to research the pronunciation of the word online, but to no avail; I've tried to inquire as to which pronunciation SEKIII used from various contemporaries of his, but from what I learned even he used both pronunciations.
What is interesting are the divisions that have occurred, coincidentally for sure, along line of pronunciation preference. For example, the former advocate more secretive businesses while the latter advocated more public businesses, mixing agorism and civil disobedience. The former advocate their secrecy on reasonable grounds of protection from the state. The latter are influenced by Keeniac tendency to commit civil disobedience, but I'm also of the belief that openness is a protection in itself as well as a form of education to inspire others to join the agorist economy. If one is public enough, people will notice when the state acts against them and knowledge can spread, allowing a response to be better planned.
This pronunciation-divide, as a result, could easily turn into a way of differentiating forms of agorism amongst secretive vs open, a shibboleth amongst our own. So, are you an uh-GOR-ist or an A-gor-ist?
I certainly don't try to hide my agorism but I'm not an active CD participant, for my own reasons. I pronounce it A-gor-ism, not b/c of any affiliation but b/c that is how I said it in my head when I first read the word and that is what stuck... ;)
ReplyDeleteWell, its all a spectrum as well. And indeed, thats how the two separate pronunciations began, but its certainly interesting to note the coincidental splits that have been part of various pronunciation-adherent.
ReplyDeleteWould you be interested in collaborating to publicize your agorist business in order to help inspire other counter-economists and anarchists to be more public as well? I'm of the belief that there are many people who would love to get involved, but don't know where to make the connections or don't feel inspired to take the first step into the public light and am looking for people willing to provide that inspiration while I build the network for those connections. If you're concerned about your safety from the state, we can work together on what information is released and what is kept secure, so that a profile of agorist business is still released.
And by the way, you hold the distinction of being the first comment on the Alliance's blog. Congratulations and thanks for commenting on my article.
And then I just realized who you are via your location and deciphering the acronym. :P
ReplyDeleteDarn thing wouldn't post my comment due to a "browser cookie error." This be a test.
ReplyDeleteAssistant Director here of The Agorist Institute founded by SEK3 himself. It's a bit dormant but we'll be back someday, you'll see.
ReplyDelete"SEK3" was Sam's preference of a tetragrammaton, definitely not SEKIII, and he used others for regular writers in his New Libertarian stable, like WMcE for Wendy McElroy, but I digress.
When I was writing a radio spot in the name of the Institute for a privacy information 900 number (in partnership with a cousin of Randy Weaver) on an AM talk station covering ten rural counties near Chico, California (at about the time I was a private in the Butte County Militia), I asked SEK3 how "Agorist" should be pronounced. He said uh-GORE-ist. So that's how I pronounce it, in accordance with the Father of Agorism.
Now I realize that there are deviationist scumbags and fellow travelers out there with advanced degrees in philosophy and ancient Greek language that may have a different opinion.
I'll change my mind when they can prove me wrong with audio recordings from Before the Common Era (none dare call it Before Christ anymore).