The 5th Empire - Pragmatic Culture, Small State

Key to the success of medium size towns is their relatively small local government, combined with a pragmatic conservative culture. There is no tolerance for rioting, looting, muggings and the like. People inclined towards this kind of behavior have to either move out in the country where they can indulge themselves in their antisocial ways, or they have to move to a large city where they can team up with like-minded antisocial individuals.

From the perspective of the concerned citizen, small government is a good thing. So is a pragmatic culture based on property rights and respect for privacy. This means that counties with large governments should be avoided. Cultures of surveillance, property confiscation, forced conformity and mandated tolerance should also be shunned.

Portugal is an interesting case study in this respect. It was once the richest and most powerful state on the planet, certainly when accounting for its relatively small population. This led to all sorts of horrors, such as the inquisition and a general atmosphere of terror. From its peek of power in the 18th century, it decayed into fascism. By the 20th century, Portugal was the poorest country in Western Europe.

Today, Portugal is an example of a country with a relatively poor state apparatus, combined with a pragmatic culture. Drawing on its Judeo-Christian heritage, it is home to a large number of brotherhoods and secret societies. Much power is located outside of the official state apparatus. There is a general spirit of pragmatism. Laws are seen as dictates that have to yield to pragmatism whenever their strict interpretation become too bothersome. This is particularly evident in the way traffic rules are constantly disobeyed, with the police turning a blind eye unless the violation is right out dangerous or disruptive.

One thing Portugal got right during its colonial past was that it encouraged cultural expansion as part of its colonial program. People in former Portuguese colonies speak Portuguese, practice Christianity and act and behave in ways that closely resemble the culture in Portugal. People from Angola, Brazil and other former colonies may look different from the typical Portuguese, but they do not act noticeably different.

Portugal has managed to integrate people of different races, ranging from Anglo-Saxons to Black Africans, Indians, and Chinese, without falling into the trap of Multiculturalism. To be Portuguese has very little to do with race. It is almost entirely a cultural description. This lowers the chance of race based unrest, without the need for segregation or other race based policies, as seen in places like South Africa and the United States.

Having recently risen from the depth of fascism, people are generally skeptical to government mandate. People organize themselves freely along pragmatic lines rooted in Judeo-Christian traditions of free will and property rights. The culture is conservative, with a liberal bias towards drugs, sexuality and freedom of association. It has a distinctly libertarian feel. An apparent reverence towards communist and socialist ideas do not include any desire towards uniformity and tyranny.

This is not to say that Portugal is perfect, or that it is the best place for a concerned citizens to migrate. However, it has many of the qualities required for social stability, so I can highly recommend it as a place of refuge. But other places have similar mixes of small state and pragmatic culture. There are more places than just one that will serve as a safe haven should things turn ugly.

By ho visto nina volare from Italy - Portogallo 2007, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link