No. From the standpoint of a proper understanding of capitalism, “anarcho-capitalism” is a contradiction in terms.
Capitalism understood as a social system applied to a full society depends on a properly structured government of objective laws--that is, a government that protects equally for all persons individual rights to intellectual, political, and economic freedom—but which is constitutionally limited in its lawmaking powers so as not to become a rights violator—that is, a constitution that forbids government officials to legally engage in the very criminal activity that is legally forbidden to private citizens. A society without a government is “anarchy”--which in practice means a free-for-all of gangs. Since capitalism is the system of voluntary consent, mutual respect, and peaceful coexistence, capitalism cannot exist under lawless gang rule and conflict. Capitalism requires a government empowered to remove from society those who employ overt or covert force as a means of dealing with others, don’t respect the rights of others to live by their own judgement, and refuse to leave others with whom one has differences in peace.
A highly essentialized description of the social conditions necessary to give rise to capitalism can be found in the most consequential passage in the Declaration of Independence--the first 55 words of the second paragraph:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. . .
One of my favorite overall outlines of the basic principles and features of capitalism is The Capitalism Site, which draws on philosopher Ayn Rand’s observations of individuals acting and interacting in the absence of aggressive (initiatory) physical coercion--i.e., when they are left free. For a more comprehensive understanding of capitalism, I like The Capitalist Manifesto: The Historic, Economic and Philosophic Case for Laissez-Faire by Andrew Bernstein.
Related Reading:
The Dollar and the Gun—Harry Binswanger
Why Capitalism Needs a Moral Sanction
Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal—Ayn Rand
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