My previous article received many positive responses, including from a libertarian who is searching for a new home in southern Europe as we speak. At this stage it is already possible to go on a trip with three others and buy a hamlet with a lot more houses/ruins than we need for ourselves alone. But with a larger group of participants, our chance of success increases. We are going to get started as soon as possible with a website for those interested and a telegram group for participants who want to sign up.
In the comment section on the Dutch website vrijspreker.nl many appealing countries were mentioned, but success depends on an easily accessible location, attractive in price and in climate. Hence the search is limited to Portugal, Spain, Italy and possibly some other countries in (Eastern) Europe (Hungary, Croatia) provided that whole villages can be bought for next to nothing.
If you are interested in something outside of Europe, I wish you the best of luck. I myself have lived in Panama for many years and it is very beautiful, with a favorable (tax) climate, affordable living & real estate. Unfortunately it has a very docile population that has been obediently muzzled both inside and outside the house, and now sends small children to school with a mask and a plastic screen on (!) for a few hours a week. I don’t see this mask obsession changing within the next few years, and with a one year old son it is reason enough for me to look for an alternative. I want him to grow up in a village where people have not gone crazy.
Reclaiming freedom comes at a price, and that is: taking responsibility. When we outsource all kinds of essential tasks to a (semi) government, we obviously lose decision-making power. If we want it back, we will have to take care of these matters ourselves: the maintenance of the road and the communal green areas where we live, who supplies energy or water, how we process garbage, how we set up a school or a clinic. This requires, however much we would like to see it otherwise, some collective decision-making.
Throughout human history up until, say, the 1950s, we knew our tribe, our neighbors, our street, village or neighborhood. Families were large and most family members lived close together. Problems were solved within this circle of family, neighbors, parish or tribal members. There was genuine solidarity and a real social safety net, but of course there were also negative sides to it: the same environment that can make demands and pressure its members in a positive way can also effect them negatively, and stifle individuals.
However, in response to the negative aspects, we have gone completely to the other extreme: a “xenociety” in which, with some exceptions, most neighbors do not know each other and anonymous services are hired or appointed by the government to solve our problems. It’s because of this impersonal living environment, this compartmentalized society full of suspicion and mistrust that fear of covid could grow out of proportion, feeding the demand for extreme measures. Seeking security from Father State, however, never leads to the desired result.
If we want to regain our freedom, the price we have to pay is to take responsibility for ourselves, our family, our elderly, but also: our friends and neighbors, and thus create a new society.
A commune is created when a group of like-minded people choose to live together. Unlike the typical hippie commune, property in a free capitalist commune is not shared unconditionally. Participants cannot demand anything from each other, but only grant each other favors on a voluntary basis. A free capitalist commune is founded on the non-aggression principle, and each participant is expected to sign it and live by this principle in full conviction.
When private property is clear, and communal property is kept to a minimum, the groundwork is laid for a peaceful, real, society, in which people help and support each other when necessary, take action together when desired, but are not forced to do anything beyond the obligations they themselves have entered into. No masks, no vaccinations, no lockdowns.
What it does mean: letting the neighbor use the washing machine when his is broken, cutting down a tree for the neighbor in exchange for firewood, setting up a (free) school together with other parents, sweeping your own streets, and so on.
Now I know that among libertarians an article like this evokes discussions that even Rabbis can’t match, but please keep the big vision in mind without losing yourself in the details. Freedom based on the non-aggression principle in a village in southern Europe. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
And how are we going to cope with a powerful government that sooner or later is going to cause problems? Think of the well-known example from Asian martial arts movies: a single chopstick is easily broken, but breaking a bunch of chopsticks is impossible. Regardless, no matter who you are or where you live, we will have to work together in order to prevent “the great reset” from happening.
A free commune is not only a method of resistance, but a very pleasant way to live and who knows, the beginning of a new renaissance.
3 thoughts on “Starting a Free Commune”