From: Chris Struble <mece3d@uh.jetson.edu>
Newsgroups: alt.politics.libertarian
Subject: Libertarian enclaves overseas?
Date: 15 Dec 1992 19:00:43 GMT
Organization: University of Houston
Distribution: world
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From the discussions here about the degree to which Switzerland, Hong
Kong, and the Netherlands (not to mention Somalia) qualify as libertarian
societies, and the prospects of President-elect Bills administration,
two things are pretty clear:

1) There is no country on Earth that qualifies as a free or libertarian
society;

2) The United States is going to become a lot less free in the next four
years,   
     and it will be at least another ten years before America Uturns the
cornerj 
     and starts the long process of climbing out of the socialist
quagmire. Then 
     there will be the Greens to worry about.

This leaves us freedom-loving Americans with something of a dilemma. We
cannot be free (legally) in our own country today. We cannot be free
(legally) anywhere else.  We have a limited amount of money, energy, and
influence. 
Outside of efforts each of us makes to avoid government coercion in our
own lives (tax shelters, etc.), the most productive way to direct our
energy is to try to change an existing government to make it more free. 

This should not necessarily be the United States. 

If you want to move a mass somewhere, and you have a limited amount of
mechanical force, you would not choose a very large mass far from your
destination with momentum in the opposite direction. Yet thatUs what
America, with its 250+ million inhabitants and government-controlled
media is today. 

Some libertarians are working to create Ufree enclavesj in the U.S.,
(such as the Freedom Now Project in Ft. Collins, CO) but this fails to
get around the problem, since a free local government does not provide
isolation from federal or state government coercion.

By comparison, some countries in Eastern Europe, while far from being
libertarian, have much smaller Umassj, and are moving in the right
direction. Many Third World countries have very small populations, and
even a few hundred people could have a major influence over a small
country in a period of a few years.

Worldwide computer networks and communications make it possible for many
high-tech businesses (such as software development) to be run out of
almost anywhere. Pacific islands and countries near the equator are ideal
sites for small private space launch businesses. So there would be ways
to bring in money and keep us Yankee Uliberatorsj employed.  

A ULiberty Indexj of candidate countries for Uliberationj could be
developed, with a goal of finding a country that can be made into a free
society in 5-10 years. I am not talking about violent revolution, by the
way - I have heard that this was tried on a Pacific island in the early
70s (?), but that the URepublic of Minervaj was quickly conquered by one
of its neighbors. 

Some criteria would include:

1.  Population - the smaller the better, with a few million at most.
2.  Infrastructure - should have a well-developed communication and 
     transportation system, and a fairly well-educated populace that
speaks 
     English, if possible.
3.  Immigration Policy - it should be possible for an outsider to become
a 
     citizen or set up in the country fairly easily.
4.  Political Freedom - should have a fairly stable democratic government.
5.  Economic Freedom - should be as few restrictions on business as
possible.
6.  Money Policy - should be possible to trade foreign currency easily.
7.  Gun laws - is it possible to legally own a gun in the country?

Singapore, for example, is excellent on the first two criteria, but fails
miserably on all the others. There are probably much better candidates
out there. Any ideas?
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| Christian Struble    | Department of Mechanical Engineering         |
| MECE3D@UH.JETSON.EDU | University of Houston, Houston 77204-4792    |
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|    The true civilization is where every man gives to every other    |
|    every right that he claims for himself  --  Robert Ingersoll     |
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Newsgroups: alt.politics.libertarian