Recipe for creating a community
It’s good to see so many young people here My compliments for the organizations generous discount for young people. You want to make the world more free and perhaps you like to live and invest in some form of libertarian community. Show of hands how many would be willing to move to increase your freedom, say withing the next two years?
Now then, it is important to realize that a successful libertarian community should be attainable for young and old, rich and poor. Lucky accidents like Hong Kong or Dubai are hard to recreate. Of course freedom is an essential ingredient. But there are many other factors too that should be taken into account. I will go through an entire list of ingredients that in my opinion make up a successful free community.
The easier it is for ordinary people to go and settle in a free community, the faster it will achieve success. This is the main reason for past failures. An unclaimed reef in the pacific maybe unclaimed, yes, but it is hard to get there and there is no existing infrastructure. The New Hampshire Free State Project by contrast is the most successful libertarian project to date. Since we are in Europe, we choose a location here, in one of the least populated areas: North-Western Spain.
We have chosen an abandoned village to start our community. In a legal sense it doesn’t count as terra nullis or unclaimed land. But in reality, for the most part it does. All of the properties in our village are owned by deceased people. Some have been dead for over 50 years. Most heirs don’t know that they have technically inherited a few percent of an almost worthless piece of land. Those that do know have resigned to let nature take over. Therefore we are starting on a blank canvas.
Laws are written in capital cities, but enforcement usually happens on a local level. We do not have to concern ourselves with Madrid or Brussels. We only need to build good a relationship with our municipality, and take action when required.
The local government does not have the resources to monitor what everyone is doing. Moreover, authorities and society as a whole have become acutely aware of the problem of depopulation. We maintain friendly relationships with our parish and municipality, which is run by the Galician national party. They have been extremely accommodating thus far.
The North West of Spain is the most affordable region of Western Europe. Our members need to invest very little to be able to afford a house in our village. Price cannot reasonably be considered an obstacle when one can buy a basic accommodation for less than 15k
For young people especially, the idea of owning a beautiful house debt free should be a great draw. Especially now that working online has become so common.
Today’s dominant religion of woke marxism, when taken to its logical conclusion, is a death cult. It divides men and women, sows racial discord, discourages young adults from having a family, celebrates divorce and encourages infanticide. It erodes family and community through mandatory public education. It replaces help between neighbours with government run services. It results in depopulation, depression and hate.
We need to embrace opposite values to be successful. Build stronger bonds with family members, neighbours and friends. Have (large) families and keeping them tight knit through homeschooling. Live in multi-generational homes. Reject consumption culture so we have more time to build and enjoy thriving communities.
Do you still live in a place where all the doors are unlocked? How many of you receive fruit, vegetables and eggs from your neighbours? How many of you have neighbours, that not only take your laundry off when it starts raining, but also fold it?
These are some of the perks of living in a real community. Of course spending time with your neighbours means you sacrifice a little privacy. Yet who do you rather entrust with information about your life: people you know and care about, or big tech and big government?
The most important part of a community is raising the next generation.
There are good reasons not to have children. I’ve always wanted children, now that I have two I don’t want them anymore. Of course it is not for everyone. Nevertheless, any real society includes 2.2 children per woman or it dies out. A lot of problems will be solved if we have stable families with two or more children. Libertarians, we need to start breeding! The future of our movement depends on it!
The irony of creating a community for freedom lovers, is that it requires a level of collectivism. Yes it is a voluntary collaboration, but a collective effort nonetheless. A less frightening term for such action is Agorism: the creation of a counter economy based on voluntary action. Here are a couple of examples:
- We created our own property registry. The government registry is not adequate so we had to make our own.
- We have our own water system and have possibility for hydro-powered electricity
- We assist members with tax avoiding solutions. we have different nationalities in the group who can help on the basis of mutual trust. Sort of a tax avoidance incubator
- Encourage use of Crypto-currencies and other alternatives. We have informal exchanges between members.
- Create a foundation for dealing with foreign governments such as that of Spain. We can use our foundation for example to register vehicles and buy goods.
- Helping each other is a form of tax avoidance. Whether it’s childcare, home improvement, hunting or harvesting. Or borrowing equipment rather than renting it.
- Offer a home for perpetual travelers. You can live indefinitely in our village. No need to travel as far as we’re concerned!
- Fertile land for food production We inherited about 17 hectares of community land in addition to any private purchases. Luckily the deceased villagers made no objections for using their land.
In small scale communities the sentiments of both socialists and libertarians can meet. Efficient community efforts where it make sense, and a free market for when it doesn’t.
During covid we saw that having convictions means nothing without the courage to follow through. For some, not being able to go to a restaurant was enough to forget about principles. We saw how evil indeed happens when good people do nothing.
More than freedom, there is a lack of courage in our times. Both violent and non-violent resistance requires courage. Too few people resist with or without guns. With any form of resistance there is always more strength in numbers.
We might not like it as rational individuals, but the fact of the matter is that most humans are herd animals. And we better form our own freedom tribes to be able to resist collectivist hordes.
Two members have purchased properties, a third one is in the process of buying a house. Electricity is restored and we are working on the first house. The aim is to move in late spring of next year. Hopefully we can welcome guests and organize a festival by summer.
This weekend you learned about many promising communities. Deciding on living in a community is much like choosing a romantic partner. With libertarians, your assets are safe in case of divorce. But it still requires an effort of time and commitment.
It is impossible to choose a romantic partner on entirely rational grounds. You can do your research, but you cannot choose love. It’s a leap of faith. What will it be for you?