You Should Not Have to Move to Be Free
You are sovereign right where you are. (DN 2.7)
Cover page | Preface | Introduction 1 | Introduction 2 | Introduction 3 |
(Part I) Why: 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 1.10 | 1.11 | 1.12 | 1.13 | 1.14 | 1.15 | 1.16 | 1.17 | 1.18 | 1.19 | 1.20 | 1.21 |1.22
(Part II) What: 2.0 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.7
Chapter 2.7: WHAT
Your land is your land
My land is my land,
My home is my land,
My bed is my land,
My land is my land.
I am not moving; this land is my land.
I don’t need to move to be free.
—Sung to the tune of “This Land Is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie
Our efforts in this chapter thus far have focused on a general exploration of the framework: the broad landscape of different pathways leading to a world of consent and greater independence. A variety of brave visionaries are already blazing some of those trails. Some journeys are in their earliest stages. Some are still largely theoretical.
We are rooting for every effort that gets us closer to where we need to be. We are rooting for every effort that even tries. We want them all to succeed. If they win, we win.
Each of these pathways follows its own course, traversing its own part of the landscape. Each is seeking its own solution to our common problem.
Yet there are still other pathways, new directions, that have not yet been considered. I propose the distributed nation as one such pathway.
I propose that we take the best aspects of a variety of pathways and combine them with our own unique approach to create a new kind of solution. A solution that will fit the needs of many freedom-seeking people not just in America or the Anglosphere, but all over the globe.
We should not have to move
Needless to say, the most desirable option is immediate and complete independence. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done…
There are only a few places in the world that remain unclaimed by governments, and other than a smattering of tiny exceptions, these are places where no one would want to live. A strip of landlocked, waterless desert. Marie Byrd Land, which is rugged and daunting even by Antarctica’s standards. No thanks.
Besides, why should you have to move anywhere in order to be free?
Of course, there is always seasteading. This has tremendous promise for the future. Eventually, there will be great polities on the ocean, and we tip our caps to the brave pioneers who are charting a course to that future.
But in the meantime, the same question arises. Why should you have to move to the ocean in order to be free?
As decentralization trends continue and framework efforts expand, free cities and private-law jurisdictions will begin to form. This will be a welcome development. The first stones are already being laid by visionary pioneers.
Still, truly independent private jurisdictions are still a ways off. And when they do finally come, they will likely be situated in comparatively constrained areas, especially in the early going. City states. Micronations. Small islands. Tiny seasteads. This, coupled with demand, will result in high population density.
That is fine, if A) you like living in areas of high population density, and B) you are willing to relocate.
But here again…what if you do not want to relocate?
What if your family live nearby and you don’t want to leave them? Why should you have to?
And what if living in high population density isn’t your thing?
We welcome the day when these new free cities and micronations take their place in the world. The sooner, the better! But when that day comes, what happens to all the people who couldn’t move, or didn’t want to?
What about farmers? What if your family has farmed a piece of ground for five generations? (I buy produce at such farms in my area.) Why should anyone have to cut roots such as those?
What about rural people in general? Are they to be left behind—to end up as vassals to a government in a far-off seat of power, like Panem’s Districts were to The Capitol in The Hunger Games?
What about market anarchists who want to choose from among competing providers of services rather than being governed by a single monopoly entity (no matter how benevolent that entity may be)?
Why can’t people be free right where they are?
It would be great to live in a truly autonomous region (like Zomia in Southeast Asia). Freed from government meddling, we could surely chart a more independent course. But if our only play is to wait around until our respective governments lose control to the degree necessary for a given area to become autonomous, we might be waiting a long time.
What if we don’t want to wait?
Needless to say, we cannot just wave a magic wand and create instant freedom and independence anywhere. A long road lies between here and there, no matter what strategy one chooses to employ. But we’d at least like to get started. Better to get the ball rolling and proceed incrementally towards a goal, rather than just sitting and waiting for the perfect moment.
Network states and DAOs do deploy such an incremental approach: they can be implemented right away, and then members can work together towards larger goals.
But they are also VERY online.
The internet and its related technologies are going to play an important role in the growth of the framework and the expansion of freedom, but an internet-first approach isn’t for everyone. What about those of us who want to be more free in the real world, right where we are? Technology will serve its purposes, of course, but some of us want to begin with our feet planted on the ground. With our roots in the soil.
There is a lot of ground yet to cover, as we develop our definition of a distributed nation. But the first thing to know is this:
A distributed nation is first and foremost an expression of the fact that we are, and of right ought to be, sovereign right where we are.
You should not have to move in order to be free.
Many of you have expressed eagerness to see what comes next. Please know that I am going as fast as I can. I have notes for “The Distributed Nation,” but I am writing the actual installments on the fly. Usually I am only a day or so ahead.
It takes a lot of work to write daily book-quality (or near enough) installments of these complicated ideas. For right now, the best way you can help is by helping me to feed my family. That way, I can continue doing this and I won’t be forced to get a “real” job.
To that end, for anyone who is willing to contribute to this effort, here is a special link with a discount.
Thank you, CC
Right now in Texas there is a fight for a government forced sale of 66,000 acres. They'll force people out. Never forget who government are. Pirates. This is why they used immigrants in the past to settle the land after they stole it from the first Americans. This is what they'll do again, Imo.
I agree with you, we shouldn't have to move. But we have to know our enemy's potential moves to anticipate the obstacles.
"This, coupled with demand, will result in high population density."
Anarchy + High population density -- Any statist would surely tell you that's going to be a recipe for disaster, so if and when these micronations succeed, it should give people an awful lot to consider.