This was obviously meant as a self-help piece and was referring to natural persons, but as I read through I began to think of it in terms of the non-natural “person” most everyone seems to believe in, the one built on a foundation of force, coercion and violence: the Nation-State. Everything seemed to fit there too.
Because it achieves everything through force, it never achieves what it sets out to. Or, if it does so in some small measure, the gain is offset by a larger loss.
Let me think of some of the biggest “successes” that come easily to mind:
Highways? Think about the thriving, competitive, affordable rail passenger system that was driven out of business, think about the carbon emissions created by millions of exhaust pipes. Think about suburbia gobbling up arable land. Think about walkable downtowns being replaced by shopping malls with huge parking lots.
Space program? The time was ripe for space exploration anyway, so think about what all those talented engineers and scientists might have achieved if they had come together through a voluntary organization whose missions had been constrained by tangible goals instead of national hubris. Ask your friendly neighborhood scientist if she believes the money that was and is shoveled into the International Space Station could produce more science and more benefits to humanity if it were available.
Health care? I’m old enough to remember when almost nobody had health insurance and few people worried about it because the cost of going to a doctor or even a hospital was well within what a prudent person would budget. And if a crisis truly struck, the limited amount of taxation left enough money in people’s pockets that they could afford to give generously to help their neighbors. What if the coercive state didn’t prohibit new hospitals from opening and competing with each other? Would that keep prices down, you think?
Welfare? Ditto the above. The poor we have always had with us and we always will. What if the nation-state was not acting out the Robin Hood tale, and we knew that people who looked needy truly were, and we still had money in our pockets because the State hadn’t stolen it? Think about people reaching out in love and generosity instead of turning their heads in scorn.
Education? Think about children being indoctrinated into acceptance of authoritarian systems: love Big Brother or else! Schools teach and test, but children learn whatever they’re attracted to. Think of what they might learn if they were free to chase their dreams using the plethora of voluntary resources that would surely be there to serve them in a non-coercive system.
Defense? Defense against what? History teaches the nation-states create the very enemies they tell their citizen-slaves they need defend against. War is good business for big corporations, and big corporations are the life blood of the nation-state.
Police? The police are accountable to the politicians that hired them, not to the people they claim to “serve.” Think about voluntarily-chosen security services who would be accountable to you, the customer, and if they didn’t keep you safe and come promptly when called, they would probably lose you to the competition.
This subject is far too big to do more than scratch the surface, so I’ll have to leave it at that. The principle works just as well for the nation-state as it does for individuals, that’s all I wanted to point out.
