by Frederick Mann
Broadly speaking, I see nineteen approaches to achieving freedom:
The hermit strategy - go and live in the backwoods of Oregon, or somewhere the terrocrats (terrorist bureaucrats or coercive political agents) can't get to you; also called "VONU" or being "invulnerable to coercion."
The education strategy - educate enough people by disseminating freedom information, so eventually there will be enough people to change the system.
The political strategy - form a political party like the Libertarian Party (or infiltrate other parties to reform them from the inside) in order to educate people, gain political power, and eventually change the system.
The legal strategy - use legal means to fight the terrocrats in court or create an alternative judicial system. The Fully Informed Jury Association practices a variation of this strategy. The Common Law Court movement is another variation.
The protest strategy - write letters to the editor and to senior terrocrats; organize marches and demonstrations.
The mystical strategy - get lost in mysticism to the extent that political and economic systems become irrelevant to you.
The violent strategy - use guns and bombs to kill terrocrats and to destroy their equipment and buildings.
The non-violent sabotage strategy - sabotage terrocrat systems, for example by planting viruses in their computers, sending the IRS millions of fake 1040s, etc.
The floating-city strategy - build a floating city somewhere in international waters outside the reach of terrocrats; get this floating city accepted as an independent country. Eric Klien's Oceania is an example of this strategy.
The buy-a-country-or-island strategy - one or more wealthy investors could buy an island that could become a largely or completely free country. A substantial portion of an impoverished third-world country could be bought and operated under contract as a nominally free country.
The "Texas" strategy - some people claim that Texas was never properly incorporated into the USA; they've declared Texas a sovereign, independent republic, and apparently received some form of recognition from the International Court in the Hague.
The "state-citizen" strategy - there are many court cases and legal precedents that distinguish between a "US Citizen" and a "state citizen," for example a citizen of California Republic not subject to the jurisdiction of the "US Government," and not subject to any "state government" either. A variation of this strategy is to declare yourself a "non-resident alien" in respect of the "US Government." A further variation is to officially file expatriation papers in a foreign US embassy and to then return as a "freeborn American."
The "PT" strategy - live your life and conduct your affairs such that wherever you are at any given time, you're a tourist "just passing through." (PT = Perpetual Tourist.)
The invisibility strategy - a sophisticated form of "VONU" - live, work, and do business in a city in such a way that for all intents and purposes you are invisible to terrocrats.
The personal power strategy - develop your personal power (your ability to act and produce desirable results) so you can competently and effectively deal with anyone attempting to violate your freedom. A good way to start may be to increase the advantages you enjoy (and decrease the disadvantages that hold you back) - see #TL04C: The Ultimate Success Secret.
The economic strategy - become financially independent; withdraw your economic support from terrocrats; persuade others to do the same; practice real free enterprise; get involved with others in establishing private currencies, private banks, and other private institutions not subject to terrocrat control and domination; find ways to disseminate freedom at a profit.
The group-secession strategy - a group of like-minded individuals move to a selected state, take over the state offices (through elections), and then vote to secede from the union. (Remember the Civil War?)
The individual-secession strategy - a combination of some or all of strategies 12-16.
The Ridicule Strategy - Ridicule terrocrats at every opportunity. Near the end of #TL07B: THE NATURE OF GOVERNMENT, there's a section under the heading "Implications for Freedom Strategy," with the phrase "LAUGH THEM OUT OF POWER!" #TL07B: THE NATURE OF GOVERNMENT concludes with a section under the heading "POLITICS ON DUMBTOPIA."
Obviously, these strategies aren't mutually exclusive and there's some overlap between them.
My personal favorite is the ECONOMIC MEANS TO FREEDOM, which is basically the economic strategy, bolstered by the personal power, invisibility, and PT strategies. I also know a little legal strategy to the extent that if I receive a letter from a terrocrat, I have a pretty good idea whether I should ignore it, or respond in a way most likely to persuade the terrocrat to leave me alone and spend his precious time going after easier marks or targets.
The Economic Means to Freedom is grounded in certain core principles:
Individuals are free by nature because they and only they control the energy that animates their bodies. This could be called the "Rose Wilder Lane" principle as expounded in her book The Discovery of Freedom. It's not necessary for anyone to understand or agree with this principle in order to practice the economic means to freedom.
All the political systems in the world are fraudulent hoaxes. This could be called the "Lysander Spooner" principle as expounded in his pamphlet "No Treason: The Constitution of No Authority." It's not necessary for anyone to understand or agree with this principle in order to practice the economic means to freedom.
The power of tyrants (or terrocrats) depends on the power they are granted by their victims. If a critical mass of victims were to remove their support, the power of terrocrats would collapse. This could be called the "Ettiene de la Boetie" principle as expounded in his pamphlet "Voluntary Servitude." It's not necessary for anyone to understand or agree with this principle in order to practice the economic means to freedom.
Freedom Technology consists of the practical knowledge, methods, and skills to live free in an unfree world. This could be called the "Harry Browne" principle as expounded in his book How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World. Freedom Technology also includes elements of the personal power, invisibility, PT, and legal strategies. It could also include state-citizen-type strategies. Freedom Technology enables you to run rings around terrocrats. Freedom Technology, properly applied, enables you to lawfully, legally, elegantly, and safely exit terrocrat systems. It also enables you to protect your earnings and assets from the marauding ravages of terrocrats. In most cases it enables you to stop them cold if they attack you by way of sending you letters. In order to practice the economic means to freedom, you need to know some Freedom Technology - much of which is the common-sense knowledge of the denizens of the "underground economy."
Real free-enterprise alternatives in areas such as currencies and banking can play a major role in collapsing the power of terrocrats. Just imagine the impact of there being a real free-enterprise bank in every major city. Imagine that these banks didn't kowtow to terrocrats nor report anything to them. A pipe dream you might say! Well, Anthony Hargis has been operating such a bank for more than a decade in Orange County, California. He's been attacked by terrocrats, but so far he's been able to apply Freedom Technology to stop them cold. There's another such successful bank in Oregon. Soon there'll be yet another such bank, enabling you to do your banking via Internet. It's not necessary to use such real free-enterprise alternatives in order to practice the economic means to freedom, but they make it a lot easier.
It can be highly profitable practicing the economic means to freedom. Suppose you're currently earning $30,000 per year and you're paying 30% or $9,000 to the terrocrats, leaving you $21,000. If you could conveniently exit the relevant terrocrat systems, you could give yourself a $9,000 raise - 42%! Would you like a 42% increase in pay? Now imagine running a business that doesn't kowtow to terrocrats. Imagine how much more profitable that could be! There are already millions of people around the world who - even though most of them know little about freedom principles or philosophy - practice real free enterprise in the "underground economy."
Unfortunately, only a relatively small percentage of philosophical freedom lovers - like Anarchists, Libertarians, Neo-Techers, Objectivists, Patriots, etc. - have what it takes to practice the economic means to freedom. Many of them fearfully and compulsively kowtow to terrocrats. Some of them may psychologically "need" the "government" to blame as a scapegoat for the reasom why they operate at a level of around 1% of their potential and for their relative lack of success in life. Only a small percentage of them can read the life-changing information of most potential value to them, and apply it to free themselves and develop toward achieving their potential.
After the economic advantages, one of the biggest benefits of the economic means to freedom is that you don't have to educate or change anyone else to enjoy a wonderful degree of freedom - you may have to educate and change yourself, which is a lot easier! You can enjoy an almost unbelievable degree of freedom soon after you decide to free yourself. And you don't have to go all the way. You can compartmentalize your life so some of your affairs are conducted in the terrocrat sector, while others occur in the real free-enterprise sector. The Freedom Technology for doing this is described extensively in the Build Freedom materials.
A correspondent wrote me:
I have been reading your "Most Powerful Freedom Strategy" and it all sounds good in theory, but most can't obtain financial freedom. The gubment has made it virtully impossible, when you have little. I'm a web designer and work for the great HP, but my time of course is limited. I have fought for years to become financially independent and only hit brick walls. I live in Oregon and will probably choose the backwoods method. There seems to be no other way at this point.
This person most likely operates out of a context of unworkability which makes it difficult for him to see that, contrary to what he thinks, there are an unlimited number of ways for him to free himself financially. See #TL04C: The Ultimate Success Secret and in particular "#12. Success Context and Attitudes."
There are most likely at least five million people in America who are strongly freedom oriented. If we can reach and persuade just 2% of these people - that's 100,000 - to start living their freedom - practice real free enterprise - we'll be well on our way to achieving the critical mass that will collapse the power of the terrocrats - particularly if 2% of these 100,000 - that's 2,000 - would establish real free-enterprise businesses, or convert their current terrocrat-kowtowing businesses into real free-enterprise businesses. The potential is there for everyone of these 2,000 to become millionaires within a few years, and for some to become billionaires within the next decade or two.
"Money talks." "If you're so clever, why aren't you rich?" If you can't apply your knowledge of freedom to free yourself and become wealthy, then of how much use is it? If you talk freedom, but you kowtow to terrocrats - even financing them! - aren't you living a lie? Economic power not subject to terrocrat control is by far our best weapon for defeating the terrocrats. Whether you know it or not, you have a choice, a choice to use your economic power to finance and support terrocrats, or to use it to free yourself and the rest of the world. What's your choice?
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