There is an old song by The Beatles that goes like this:
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too
In it John Lennon challenged all people to dare to imagine a better future. This isn’t bad for somebody who had no Libertarian nor Austrian Economics training of any sort. Of course, in the rest of the lyrics he got it all wrong, but this first part is right on target and it is by far the most important. We are here today to challenge you in the same manner, to imagine an Austro-Libertarian future.
THIS IS IMPORTANT
It is important to understand what the future will look like because whether we like it or not, we are going in that direction. It is also important to understand that this new future will not be perfect (by any stretch of the imagination) and will come with its own set of problems, challenges, successes and failures. It is important that we do not fear the future nor that we harbour unrealistic expectations. Nothing is perfect and this new future won’t be either. However, it will be brighter and better (for the most part).
POLITICAL DIVISIONS OF NOTHING
As we pointed out in our article When Countries Dissolve, there won’t be practical, operational political divisions. Only the formalities of governments will continue to exist. Populations will operate under their own economic and organizational rules. The smaller the group of people the higher the chances that some of the old authority will remain. For example, it is unlikely that anything at the federal level will survive while some provincial or state organizations may still exist. At the municipal and particularly city/town level however, it is likely that elements providing valuable services (such as police, hospitals or firefighting) may continue to serve the people, albeit under a different or modified financial arrangement; this is, pay for services or subscription.
MONEY MONEY MONEY
Fiat money will continue to exist, although most people will ignore it progressively. Seemingly stable money will be preferred over devaluated coloured paper. However as people have been trained for so many generations to accept coloured paper it is likely that they will accept other similar methods of payment as long as they are stable. For example, virtual cash or any type of monetary virtualization will likely achieve widespread acceptance. In this sense, it is likely that gold and silver will see resurgence but virtualized to a large degree although on a 100% convertibility into metal. These kinds of money will be privately issued and freely exchanged among people and through political borders which will become inoperative for any intent and purpose. Capitals will move freely throughout the world. No paperwork, no more "KYC - Know Your Customer" BS, no more arbitrary limits or stupid rules and regulations. The whole world will be a tax heaven.
TAX THIS!
Taxes simply won't exist. There will be user fees, but they will be strictly contractual. You want to use something, you pay for it. You don't than you don't!. It is difficult to remember when was the last time there were no taxes on earth. For that you probably have to drag yourself back in time at least 3000+ years. This tax experiment was given more than enough time to work. It did not. It is time to bury it.
PEOPLE
The path to this new political evolution will seem to be a continuous transition period. The process will be so slow that people won’t even notice. It will seem like a permanent state of increased chaos but with larger and larger degrees of freedom. This is to be expected as the mentality shifts from government-decreed laws and regulations to personal responsibility. As the enforcement abilities of governments begin to decay people will begin to feel “alone” and “without protection” and to a degree this will be true. However, eventually, people will realize that it is up to them to enforce their own properties. Until this happens, the situation won’t improve.
But there is good news. Nowadays people travel more and more. People work in different countries and continents. They have the chance to compare this government against that government. As this happens they realize that it does not really matter which government you are under, there is no real help for the little guy (or gal). Sure, some governments are better than others, but eventually they all disappoint. The notion that the situation is better in this or that country is disappearing progressively. This means that people are learning self-reliance the hard way. This means that they will be better prepared when the time comes to uphold their properties.
CIVILIZATION
And then we have the un-assailable concept of “civilization”. Nobody actually understands or can define accurately what “civilization” means, but we all associate the word with daily creature comforts. We want electricity, running water, supermarkets, good medicine, leisure time, some exotic or expensive items and in general treating ourselves to a reasonably good life. We were all trained to expect many of these goods and services to be provided by the state in reasonable quality conditions. If they don’t we complaint as if we would have rights… which in many cases we do have (at least formally speaking). These rights indicate that we all have the very same rights, in the very same conditions provided by the same provider. One size fits all…whether you like it or not.
In the new politico-economic reality, we need to re-define the term “civilization” and our expectations. There are no more universal and equalized rights. There are no more single, monopolistic providers. No more nanny bureaucrats watching over your shoulder and telling you what it is that you want, what it is that you can have, in which quantity, for how long and at what price (usually with a hidden bill through inflation or mystery taxes).
In the new situation what you get is what you pay for… and this goes both ways. For example, you may want to have a new monster-size fridge to store your wine (or beer). Problem is, the fridge is very expensive and you won’t be able to afford other things. So you decide that the road outside your house is a lower priority. And so you end up with a road with pot-holes but with a monster fridge. Conventional wisdom indicates that the “civilization” level has dropped yet, you happen to be happier! So the choice is between “standard” views of civilization and your happiness. We prefer happiness over “standard”. We prefer personal choice over standard civilization levels.
Another example. You don’t like conventional medicine and so you go see a witch doctor… who may not cure you but you will feel happier. Strange as it sounds, this is better than the current option. This is so because it is your money, your choice and in the end your life; not theirs. The other option is no option at all, which is what we have today.
IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY
In the new environment it is entirely up to you to decide what it is that you want and do not want. You are sovereign. There is nobody over you. You are the true king of yourself and this is very good indeed! If you feel like jumping up and down on your roof wearing a cat on your head while spreading mustard on your feet, it is most certainly your right. Nobody is going to be calling the government to drag you into a mental institution for “observation” and nobody is going to be injecting you with sedatives or forcing you to swallow Thorazine tablets “for your own good”. This is indeed the ultimate freedom.
But then we have the other side. All this is your responsibility and yours alone. If the cat scratches your one of your eyes, you are on your own. If you slip on the mustard and break your coccyx (aka the tail bone), that’s your problem and nobody will come to the rescue. You and you alone are responsible for what happens to you. If you want to behave as previously described, you better have a health insurance contract covering those eventualities. If you do not, tough luck! There is no nanny-government to the rescue.
VOTE WITH YOUR WALLET
In the future there will be no lying politicians you are forced to vote, yet, you can still vote and far more effectively and with immediate effects. You vote with your wallet. Companies better satisfy your need or else you won’t buy their products and they will be instantly punished. Alternatively, you can vote with your feet. If you don’t like the options you have in your current address, move! Nobody is going to stop you; nobody is going to ask for ridiculous passports, visas or residence permits. Just take your properties and move to a better place. If you don’t this means that you are better off where you are than where you may go.
The problem with this scenario is that we are currently trained to think in different terms. We are trained to demand from the government to improve our conditions while staying in the same place. And the cost of such improvement? Not our concern. The government must pay… this means some other sucker from some other place. This type of thinking not only creates government dependency but it removes moral hazard from company’s books. What incentive would a company have to improve your standards of living if you are trapped in a place by your nanny-government mentality? None. Hence, they won’t make any improvements. Who wins? Politicians. Who loses? You.
IT’S YOUR EDUCATION
You are the master of your education. You may choose not to have any or to pursue as many titles and degrees as you may see fit. You may choose to be a complete ignorant or a trice PhD with a Nobel Prize. It is entirely up to you. You choose. There is no nanny-government to tell you what to study and what not. There is no standardized education nor are there standardized courses. Teaching methods also vary as well as prices. In the same manner as you can get budget ice-creams up to de-luxe ones, education will be delivered for all tastes and wallet capacities. But there will be one crucial difference: competition will multiply offers enormously. If you decide to study, your main problem will be to determine what to study and not if. The number of offers will be mind-blowing. You are the complete master of your destiny. You’d better choose well.
CORPORATE HELL
Will we be living in corporate hell? Will we be subservient to new masters? No. As you vote with your wallet and if need be with your feet, you can always leave bad corporations behind and left them to fence for themselves. Market punishment is cruel and merciless indeed! The primary law, the only law is: serve or go broke. There are no more governments enabling artificial monopolies and special privileges. All corporations are the same and you, with your purchase capacity, are at the top of the pyramid.
THIS ISN’T EASY
Indeed! All this ultimate freedom comes with a price, and the price is responsibility. Personal responsibility. In a world where justice is not formalized and typified, justice has the tendency to be swift and costly (see Justice in the Austro Libertarian System ). You better be on your best behaviour with regards to other peoples’ properties and vice versa. Instant respect. Yet, it is most certainly worth it. The other option is this, this is, what we have today… or to be more precise, what has us today because we are not free. We are slaves to the system.
CONCLUSION
Imagining the upcoming Austro Libertarian system is not easy but we can do it. We must shed all our usual pre-conceptions that have been drilled in our mind through generations by despicable and self-serving politicians. We must step outside our normal thoughts and believe in ourselves and in our decisions. We must understand that nobody can make better decisions for us than ourselves, not when our happiness is at stake. We are the ultimate owners of our own destiny and this is what ultimate freedom looks like. Anything else it’s just an error of opinion.
Note: please see the Glossary if you are unfamiliar with certain words.
