There are communities where each household pays $250 yearly to hire a company to monitor the area and respond to any calls. It's voluntary so some pay and some do not however, everyone in the community is covered. This makes for less intrusive circumstances when the person who shows up to help is paid by you and acts like it. Unlike the other guys who are paid by you yet they have become more intrusive then ever before.
For me, when I add it all up, I can plainly see there is more that connects us then divides us and there is enough on Earth for all of us. Technology stagnation and planned obsolescence are two driving factors that help keep centralized control. Once liberated from restrictions there will be more innovation, Iceland is a great example, they cancelled debt and funded the scientists and now they are a technology powerhouse. Freedom brings innovation. The path to freedom is self-ownership.
Thanks for you reply. I see that key point for you is that contributions are voluntary and never enforced. An interesting perspective and something for me to think about.
I've got some more questions though. How is the innate need for justice handled in an anarchist society. Is there anything like judges and juries? Or is their some other form of arbitration that needs to come into play?
There are various scenarios that can play out. You can have private court systems that intermediate between members from the same or different court systems that can either use judges or juries or both. Yes private arbitration will become more widely accepted and is already gaining popularity today compared to inefficient and ineffective courts. Most private law will probably be based on common law precedents that exist today so there won't be drastic changes.
I think one major problem with our current system is that it revolves around punishment instead of restitution to victims. I'd rather have a criminal be outside and productive and pay back a victim money rather than be unproductive, punished and wasting tax dollars. The victim typically gets nothing tangible.
I'll write more about how blockchain technology can help in all facets of society soon. Think of smart contracts as the law and that should open your mind up to the vast possibilities. Blockchain tech can help replace many functions of government: property title management, voting, governance, law etc. Back to one example regarding tort law people can more easily be bonded and insured with blockchain technology against various general liabilities just like people are insured today against lawsuits. When you have a claim, you can quickly and efficiently execute a digital legal contract and transfer digital value escrowed in the cloud.
Also regarding Steemit, reputations become incredibly valuable. Self-defense should be the focus against criminal activities, but ostracism is still a powerful preventative tool against criminal behavior. When people participate in a blockchain economy their reputations and livelihood depend on maintaining good behavior and have much to lose if their criminal activities are known. Being shunned from a blockchain community like Steemit can be devastating, especially if a lot of value is tied up in it. We'll see exactly how everything plays out, but no doubt blockchain tech will help usher in an exciting and liberating future.
seafood, you seem like a thoughtful person. Thanks for asking questions, and please forgive any snarky responses you get. I have investigated voluntaryism and learned a good bit over the last 9 years, and I must say that like any good idea, not 100% of the "possible problems" have been figured out to perfection.
I do look back though at what we have to compare, and I must admit that the unknown probabilities are less 'bad' in most cases than the current-day realities.
I don't know what freedom would look like or how you and I might resolve our conflicts, but I know what things look like now. Most folks that use judges and juries under our current system do not walk away pleased. Please keep exploring and investigating, and if you really get interested, check out Larken's "Snarkin With Larken podcast."
OpenlyVoluntaryOne
I hope you are not talking about police...
And yet... look, what keeps that company you're paying for protection from deciding to enforce that protection? Nothing. They'll be the warriors, they'll decide everyone should pay, and they'll beat it out of him.
I'd also argue that, if one person is enjoying protection but other people are paying for it he's stealing that service from his neighbors. He's forcing them to pay more for something they all, including the non-payer, want.
Government isn't "divine" or magical. It's societies' answer to mitigating problems that crop up within groups of people. There will always be people who want to take advantage of others, as well as people hurt by thoughtlessness and even accidents.
These can be simple disagreements too. Take a neighbor who builds their fence on your property line. Without a government who do you go to in order to get your property back? And independent mediator? What keeps your neighbor from bribing him?
Right now, you'd go to the government and laws keep your neighbor from bribing him.
Let me ask you a question. What keeps that neighbor from bribing the government? Laws? Sure, but look at all the cases where government officials went back on the laws they said they upheld and whatnot.
No one is saying Rose's solution is going to be all peaches and cream. There would be abuses and problems like how there are abuses and problems now. The difference is, the abusers and problem makers are no longer centralized into a group that enough people believe has the right to do anything.
Simply put, the difference between the mafia and the government is simply that no one believes that the mafia has any right to extort and kill people. But when the same actions are applied to government, suddenly, it becomes ok. Goose and gander sort of thing you know?
@the-zone12:
First of all, why does it seem like I can never reply after a couple levels of the threading?
Now, on to the actual reply...
The difference between the mafia and the government is that the people have a say in how the government operates. If the mafia doesn't think you paid your dues, they break your legs. If the government doesn't, you get a trial. If mafia dues are too high, that's your problem. If taxes are too high, elect fiscal conservatives to get the taxes lowered. If the mafia don thinks you insulted him somehow, he can summarily kill you. If you talk shit about Obama all day long, the government can do nothing.
Moreover, what about foreign governments? Forget the local stuff... if we have no government and no army, what prevents Canada from taking over and becoming your ruler without even giving you the benefit of Democracy?
I'm going to guess you'll say civilian army, but without government funding, training, leadership... well, they'd get creamed.
"Government...It's societies' answer to...problems..."??? No, govt. is not the answer to problems of society. It was created to be. It failed. Here, and everywhere, every time. Obviously you have not been victimized by LEOs and in court. And you ignore all the stories, all the videos on Youtube. I grew up in the ghetto where LEOs seldom came, and gang violence was common. After getting out I still saw tyranny and chaos, but by men in uniforms/badges. In the Navy I saw it again with the SP & my captain. From the lowest authority to the highest, I see it.
"Right now, you'd go to the govt...."? I have. I got burned every time. I finally learned in my 50s. I don't call 911. I am armed. Now at 74 I wonder why it took me so long. When are you going to open your eyes and stop defending the biggest gang in the world, the US Empire?