The German sociologist Franz Oppenheimer explained the difference between these two terms in his classic work, The State.
Society uses the economic means, or cooperation.
An example of the political means is to acquire wealth through taxation. An example of the economic means is the acquisition of wealth through productive labor. The goal of libertarianism is to persuade people to look to the economic means, first and foremost, to achieve their goals. When this is achieved, society will be both peaceful and voluntary. Thus, it is necessary to demonstrate effective nonviolent strategies that can provide for social change and redress wrongs.