Friday, August 29, 2008

A Tale of Two Libertarian Zions

I love Micronations.

From the BjornSocialist Republic, which comprises of a rock, to the Crown Dependancy of Forvik, which recently split from the UK and EU...they are all great. All micronations have a libertarian bent, and are ripe for study.

Two micronations fascinate me the most, and they happen to be the most famous ones: Sealand and Christiania.

The
Principality of Sealand, located off the coast of Sussex, England, is a former military installation that has been siezed by former British Major Paddy Roy Bates. It survived a military coup in 1978 and a disasterous fire. However it has also succeeded in recieving several de facto recognitions of its sovereignty. For instance, the Netherlands and Germany sent diplomats to Sealand to negotiate the release of their citizens after the coup was quelled.



Christiania, a small neighbourhood of Copenhagen is a semi-autonomous, self-governing community with anarcho-communist leanings. The community transformed a disused military barracks into a flurishing community - despite several disputes with the State of Denmark.

Christiania is built on the principle that "every individual has a responsibility for his/her own life and his/her home". Despite its obvious leftist leanings, Christiania has retained many of the property rights intrinsic to the capitalist world.

Now...both micronations are aspiring not to demolish the state, but to create a new one. Sealand is locked in a struggle to be recognised as a sovereign entity. Christiania has repelled many State invasions by the Danish police, confirming the rule that the group who governs is the group that is better at using force and fraud.

The problem with micronations is that they are, quite frankly, too small to be anything other than a running gag for larger nations. Take Forvik for instance. No income tax. Great. No corporation tax. Wonderful. So where are all the eager industrialists and entrepreneurs?

Also, libertarian zions are self-defeating. They still have to rely on the State (and other States) and all its peripheries to survive. If these free societies bore the full brunt of their secession they would hardly last a day.

Free societies would also have to pay taxes on whatever goods and services they use. They are still strenghening the State.

So Libertarian Zionism isn't the way to go, at least, for now.


2 comments:

Unknown said...

For the Government of the BjornSocialist Republic, I hereby declare that the Republic in no way is libertarian (and not Zionist either). The Republic is based upon the Bjorn principles and Marxist Socialism.

20000miles said...

Duly noted, Sir.