Most people don't want freedom. They want the privileges and sense of security that comes with playing a subordinate role to government.
This has become abundantly clear over the last few years, and many libertarian have adopted a defeatist attitude because of this. However, their pessimism is misplaced. There never was a time when a majority strived to be free, and there never will come such a time. But that hasn't prevented us from having had periods of much freedoms in the past, and it will not prevent us from enjoying freedom in the future.
The defeatist attitude is based on two misconceptions about the world. One being the assumption that we must for ever live with our current system of nation states. The other being that democracy is the superior political system, without which no freedom can exist. Hence, it's generally believed that we cannot be free unless we can convince a majority to vote for more freedom.
But none of this is true. The nation state is a wobbly political experiment of relatively recent origin, and democracy has nothing to do with freedom.
Truth is that no more than 7% of people desire sovereignty, and this has probably been a constant throughout history. Yet, periods of freedom have nevertheless existed, and the reason for this can be found in the default political organization that nature, aka God, has endowed us with.
In the absence of government, the family becomes the political nucleus from which alliances of all kinds arise. The head of the family becomes king and his wife is queen. They choose in turn to engage in voluntary exchange with other individuals. They can choose a subordinate role by earning wages, or make investments on an equal footing with other sovereigns, or some combination of this.
Young people are typically more inclined towards wages, because it offers the dual benefit of earning a salary while learning a trade. The older we get, the more we long to be sovereign in our own domain. There's a natural progression in our lives from subordinate to more prominent positions. But some are fully at ease with a position of subordinate service for the entirety of their lives.
All sorts of arrangements can be formed in this way. The natural order of things provides a balance of freedom and safety for everybody. The subordinate seek careers as servants. Those inclined towards sovereignty pursue that as a goal. Others again like to mix and match.
There's a place for every inclination. Everyone can achieve the sort of freedom they want. All of us can become king in our lifetime if we so wish, because sovereignty is not actively opposed by a ruling elite. However, only 7% want to be truly sovereign. Most people prefer a more subordinate role. But this is not a problem. On the contrary, it's a strength.
The natural arrangement, aka God's Kingdom on Earth, doesn't require everyone to be intent on sovereignty. 7% is ideal in that this provides every household with one king and one queen.
The majority of people will thrive in a position where they have their own domain that they rule as king while they remain in service to an employer. Corporate climbers are typical of this kind of people, and can often earn very well. However, some will want more autonomy. They choose to go it alone, even if it means a modest living compared to the top brass in service of the most mighty of kings.
Once this is understood, it's clear that our problem is not our fellow men, but the system that we all too often support to our own detriment. Party politics is a waste of time. Nationalism and other types of authority worship is equally counterproductive.
Key to success is to start building the alternative right away, without waiting for a majority to condone our actions. Once we realize that we have nature, aka God, on our side, this becomes less daunting. We are not rebelling against nature. We're doing the exact opposite. We're taking advantage of the fact that our goal is the default arrangement that nature itself has provided for us. We don't have to exert energy to keep our system together. That's a problem faced by our opponents, and the reason we will succeed while they will fail.
We can all create our own kingdoms and become as sovereign as we possibly can. I've done this myself, and the results have been pleasing. I love the fact that I don't have to consider what people think about my opinions. I might be materially poorer than my relatives in Norway, but I don't have to hang a rainbow flag in front of the office building where I'm a CEO on pride day. I don't have to support the vaccine mandate. I can do what I please, and that's more important to me than a salary tied to the political correct nonsense of our day.
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| Café de Flore |
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