Let us assume that most people would prefer to live a free and happy life. If you think this is true, then prepare yourself for a fact: The State operates to make you less free and more unhappy. What began as a fusion of religion and political power, the State currently functions exactly how it is meant to: It is the bludgeon that keeps us slaves in our place, begging for scraps from our master’s table. Those that participate in such a system are complicit in the evil it propagates, whether they be in government or a voter. The first thing people can do to free themselves from serfdom is by not participating in the system of violence and coercion that is the State. That means not voting, not accepting handouts, and avoiding government services like the plague. Once one has achieved relative freedom from this system of oppression, one can begin the task of countering that evil, and ending the unhappiness that pervades our minds.
The only way the State can be brought down is by countering it, by giving people an option that does not require the government to supply something. One of the main things that people should be concerned about is the enforcement of contracts. Contracts are the single greatest thing that people rely on the State for. Contracts are essential to modern life, and most associations with others are based on contracts. This statist monopoly of enforcement has left us dependent on their rules, and voiding any attempt by us to make agreements that would be enforced in a free society.
This is where the market comes to the rescue. Private organisations can perform almost all the functions a State can, except the initiating the use of violence and coercion. The very nature of the market would push such violent and coercive organisations out of business quicker than any statist democracy. With competing private organisations enforcing contracts, same-sex marriage, abortion, and euthanasia would be possible practically everywhere.
Other organisations can be created to counter the State. Some, like health care, welfare, private arbitration, and education, already exist and function better than their state-run equivalents. In the case of police it is a simple matter of using private detective agencies since that is the main function of the police anyway. The other function of police, security, is already available and the industry can be expanded as needed. The need for a military is unnecessary since a well armed and trained populous is a far greater defence against aggression than a smaller army trying to cover a large geographic area.
The problem with these solutions is simple: The government hates competition. This has been observed in history, with private organisations offering competing currency forced violently out of business by the State. The inherent nature of the State is violence and coercion, it cannot survive without hurting the individual. That is why it is important that if the State is to be countered, a lot of people need to support the counter-organisations, otherwise they will be doomed to a crushing death thanks to the power that is government. This is because those that work in government have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, and thus will not tolerate any attempt to counter their power.
One way that is not as advantageous, but can still be useful, is to use the Black Market to go behind the government’s back. The more people that engage in the Black Market, the less power the State has in imposing it’s will on the population. This is because the State cannot regulate the Black Market, and people are free to engage in trade for whatever good or service they want. The Black Market only exists because the State thinks certain things are inappropriate, and without a State, the costs involved in a Black Market would reduce drastically since the trade will become open and more visible, and hence more people will participate without fear of retribution from government.
If people are happy being slaves to their political masters, and are truly unafraid of the brutality being used against them, then so be it. If they are also happy to inflict that suffering on to others, then clearly their true colours have being revealed. No amount of reason will save them. You can still give it a try if you think it might help, but having compassion for monsters will usually end badly. To be truly free from evil, we must isolate the evil people and surround ourselves with good people. The same goes for the State: To be truly free from evil, we must isolate the evil organisations and surround ourselves with the good organisations. Then, and only then, will we be free to pursue a life of happiness.
Unit Sixteen
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