Category Archives: Libertarian living

Kevin Carson on the Revolutionary Potential of Barter

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From a Kevin Carson comment on his own blog, Mutualist.org:

“So long as an industry is controlled by a handful of firms with the same organizational culture, using some form of oligopoly pricing, colluding to spoon out incremental improvements, and using push distribution methods for whatever crap they agree is the “new thing” this year, calculational chaos doesn’t cause much of a competitive penalty for any particular firm.

The main thing that will cause them real harm, IMO, that will cause the “walls to come tumbling down” for American state capitalism the same as for the old Soviet system, is the looming singularity in small-scale production technology that will enable much of the population to meet a large share of its needs through direct subsistence production for use in the household/informal/barter economy. (That’s the theme of one of the sections in forthcoming Ch. 15)”

My Comment

Carson is always an interesting and productive thinker, and this snippet is from commentary on a blog post of his about the seizure of some of his writings by the police. The commentary goes from this incident to discuss various other things, including whether big business is really no different from the state, and if it is, how that fact can be squared with the wealth it produces.

Carson argues that its wealth is produced despite the existence of the same “computational chaos” suffered by states, because big business enjoys subsidies, cost-externalizations, and benefits deriving from its size and privileged relationship to the state. That means its wealth isn’t really “its” wealth but the appropriation of wealth actually created by others. (I’ve made much the same argument myself).

Small-scale production and barter withdraw the life-blood of the huge corporations – which is the consumer. The direction of consumption away from the corporate economy is thus an effective form of direct revolutionary action against the corporate state.

Now, one man’s revolutionary struggle is another man’s budget shopping. but why quibble? The main thing is to reclaim the human being as the focus of economic theory, rather than any spurious “economic man,” “factor of production,” or “felicific calculus”…

Libertarian Living: Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay as Libertarian Destinations“

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I promised some of you a few tips about countries you might be considering fleeing to.

Here’s a quick guide to how three of them might work for runaway libertarians:

1. Cheap Living:

Forget what you’re reading about Chile being expensive and Uruguay being cheap. It all depends on where and how you’re living and what you’re doing. Comparing capitals, Santiago has more and cheaper living options than Montevideo. So does Buenos Aires. But you can find cheaper living in a smaller town in Uruguay. On the other hand, in smaller towns, don’t expect to find the variety of accommodation you find in a city like Buenos Aires. You may not find youth hostels, camping, budget hotels, or house-shares. In general, the more of an international crowd a place draws, the more and better your options.

If you are planning to live off the earth, farmland is relatively cheap and high-quality in all three countries, with Brazil and Uruguay being the cheapest. Soil quality is high in all these southern countries.

For organic growing, Chile and Uruguay are the places to go..

2. Eating/Shopping

But rent is not the only consideration. What about food and clothes?

Uruguay isn’t as cheap as Argentina, especially with the Uruguayan peso so much stronger than the Argentine peso.

Brazil is also more expensive.

In general, you’re wise to buy whole food in the markets and leave international brands alone in the supermarket aisles. Eating out is still cheap in Argentina, but less so elsewhere.

Again, you can always find a deal if you look. Brazil has the most variety. I had an all-you-can-eat meal in the border town of Chuuy, where the variety and quality of the asado was far superior to anything I’d eaten in Argentina.

Clothes tend to be relatively expensive, but again, if you look around, you can find places where there are sales, just as you have them in the US. A recent find, a jacket for about $4.

Electronic items like computers are more expensive. Make sure to buy the correct equipment for electronic appliances. Ask at a web forum before you visit.

3. Investment: Buying an apartment in Santiago, Buenos Aires, or Montevideo requires a lot of thinking right now. It all depends on whether you are buying it to live here or as an investment.

Prices are high in Buenos Aires, but evidence of the global crisis is everywhere, and the expectation is that prices will come down soon – perhaps sharply.

Santiago realtors are expecting a 15-20% drop in the next 6 months.

In Montevideo, the general feeling is that any price-drop in the other markets won’t be felt as sharply there. But everyone knows that even in Montevideo, prices have climbed as much as 30% in good areas, as rich Argentines move their money out of Argentina and put it into the stabler Uruguay economy.

That’s true not only of apartments but of land as well, although that’s a topic that would take too long a post to do justice to.

In general, don’t let anyone rush you into buying. Nothing is ever the dead certainty it’s made out to be, and getting in and out of a real estate transaction has costs. None of the property here is very liquid at all, in my opinion.

Also, don’t forget that old houses require constant maintenance and that if local currencies strengthen against the dollar, your labor costs for maintenance or renovation may end up being higher than your budget. Same goes for labor costs for management. You really might be better off buying a condo in Miami, no matter what Faber or Rogers thinks, if economic reasons are your only ones for living abroad.

Right now, you can find a waterfront apartment in Florida for a lower price than a comparable one in Uruguay. So if cheaper living is your only criterion, you might want to chew on that.

4. Privacy:

Uruguay is no longer on the black-list for tax havens, which is a good thing. On the other hand, it’s been a bit too compliant with US demands for transparency. Chile is a morass of bureaucracy, but predictable. Argentina is the least reliable, as far as banking goes.

This might not be something libertarians are going to like to hear. But the chances are that these societies too are going to be moving toward greater control. This is more true of Argentina than of Uruguay in my opinion.

5. Business Culture:

Chile gets top marks for a culture that is business positive, for those libertarians hoping to start a new life here. With English widely-spoken, low corruption and good property laws, it’s the best place to build a business. But watch out for a cultural problem – Americans I meet seem to find Chileans rude.

Brazil and Colombia (of which I know nothing else) are also good places for starting a business. Uruguay has some problems in this respect. It doesn’t have as much of a market or a business culture and the market also relies too much on foreigners. You’d have to know exactly how to work that. As Brazil, Argentina, and Chile go, so goes Uruguay. On the other hand, Uruguay seems to be the most accessible and easy-going culture of the three.

Businessmen I met uniformly thought Argentina was a terrible place to do business – and some even called it the most corrupt country in South America, much to my surprise. Portenos (those who live in Buenos Aires) were singled out for blame – although for myself, I had nothing but a positive experience of them. People in the provinces were said to be more honest.

But then, I wasn’t doing business, I was trying to find out more about Monsanto….and in my off-time, figuring out salsa. People saw me as an Indian, assured me they loved India, and spent their time complaining about America to me, as though I wasn’t from there. So much for the liberal view of citizenship as purely political and cultural….

Brazil gets good marks, but with plenty of warnings about corruption and street crime…
I found the Brazilians I met more politically aware than the others., for what that’s worth. A lot of fans of Chomsky and much discussion of 9-11.

So there you have it…a quick guide to selecting what you can do where..
In three important countries very far south of the border..

Bee-Positive Action

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A young German here in Buenos Aires alerted me to an unfolding story I’d not heard of – the decline in the bee population in the US and UK, attributed by some to the genetic modification of crops, by others to the use of pesticides. Other experts blame cell-phones. Or stress from migration.

At Natural Choices, one writer, Ladd Smith, describes the crisis:

“A topic of real concern to gardeners across the country is the recent major decline in the honeybee population. Referred to as “colony collapse disorder (CCD),” it was first reported in the U.S. in October 2006 and spread rapidly, with beekeepers reporting losses of between 50 percent to 90 percent of bees. While the exact causes are not known, there are a variety of theories, including pesticide use, migratory stress and the bees’ immune system failure.”

The article offers the following suggestions:

1. Plant a bee garden (this takes a wide variety of plants and shade)
2. Create an insectary (don’t use chemicals pesticides that kill insects)
3. Add Orchard Mason bees (non-aggressive)

Tips to Survive Hyperinflation..

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Greg at Holy  Cause has actually lived through the infamous Zimbabwean Zaire’s hyperinflationary crisis in the 1990s, so his words carry their weight in…er..gold (dollar-holders, I know that stings).

“Most Americans have not lived in hyper-inflationary environments.  I have, and assure you that your primary protection is to not hold cash. Treat it like a hot potato, let it rot in somebody else’s hands. This is repeated as Rule #1 below, but it bears saying several times.  Never forget it, when you get cash, flee to something else as quickly as possible…..

zaire9f

Just don’t hold an inflating currency – pass it on to the next guy like a hot potato, let it rot in his hands rather than yours.

Rule #2 – Have some type of business, even a “black market” one. Businesses which survived the inflationary hurricane in Zaire included those which were involved in the supply chain of basic consumer goods….money changing was also a profitable business…..

Rule #3 – Own a house and enough land to farm to feed your family. Houses (a primary residence), well bought and paid in full, served as a good hard asset, and provided a roof over one’s head as well. Having a little land to garden or for raising small animals helped keep a family from starving….

Read the rest of this great post at Holy Cause.

Flight AND Fight..

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My latest piece at Lew Rockwell, answers some questions readers had asked me about leaving the US:

“My last piece, “Time to Run,” provoked a lot of reaction, almost all of it positive, but some negative.

The readers who liked it wanted advice on where to run. That’s a tall order and I’ll come back to them in another piece.

Those who didn’t like it brandished a few arguments that ought to have a stake driven right through them immediately.

Here goes, point by point.

1. Running away doesn’t help

1. Actually, running away is often the best response to a bad situation.

Speaking practically, when a dump truck turns into your drive, mows down your rhododendrons and heads toward you, do you stand your ground yelling Sicilian imprecations at the driver until he rolls over you too? Or do you leap aside nimbly, take a photo, and call a lawyer? You have as much chance getting through to the poisonous shills in DC with constitutional arguments, as you have charming a rabid pit bull with Shakespeare.

Speaking theoretically, your body and brain are hardwired to either put up or shut up, a “fight or flight” response built into the structure of the autonomic nervous system. That is the physiological term for what you think of as your “lizard brain.” Fight or flight is the either/or response that helped your ancestors survive. It’s not the best way to tackle complex problems, but when it gets down to basic survival, it’s a handy guide.

And how do you know when your survival is at stake?

Check your gut response…..”

Read the rest at Lew Rockwell.

[I will be posting reader email on my blog  and will respond there, since my email is often compromised]

Wrong Thinking…Wrong Eating…

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Swine flu had one up side. It made a lot of people aware of the cruel and unsanitary conditions of factory farms for pigs.

Factory farms for chickens are not any better. Eating eggs from free-range chickens is one thing. But most of the eggs in the supermarket come from battery cages like the ones below. It’s cruel and it’s unnecessary. The mythology of growth spawned by mega corporations and governments is a mythology of numbers, in which high numbers means growth. Here’s the ground zero of these production numbers. You can see it replicated at every level. We’ve destroyed a voluntary, organic ecology – the free-market – and substituted for it a mechanical monstrosity hinged together by statutory laws with no connection to real demand or supply, but driven by subsidies, speculation, and bureaucratic aggrandizement.

Getting Off the Grid

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My latest piece, on living off the grid:

“Hundreds of thousands of people in this country live “off the grid.” If the power fails, food runs short or drought hits, their families won’t be hurt. Their houses have solar panels and electric generators; their shelves are stocked with canned food and seeds. They have wells in their back yard so they’ll never go thirsty. Some are retreating into farms. Others are bringing the countryside into their homes…..”

Some excerpts:

Predicting and panicking won’t help you now.

You have to prepare.

Fortunately, it’s easier and there are fewer people doing it.

Your preparation consists essentially of one thing – becoming more independent……..

Another excerpt:

Reducing water usage is not only thrifty it’s good ecological practice and has a direct impact on energy consumption. A large chunk of energy is spent pumping and heating water.

Start storing things. Use solar panels to store natural energy from the sun. Store water in tanks so you don’t run short in a drought. Store organic seeds. Store computer parts and electronic goods. Store anything you think you need which might go up drastically in price.

A quick recap now:

* Store

* Live healthily
* Grow your own food
* Drive less
* Make your job portable
* Barter
* Exchange services
* Recycle/reuse “

Read the rest at Lew Rockwell.
And here’s some advice on something I mention in the piece – square-foot gardening

Judge Orders Chemotherapy for 13 Yr Old over Parents’ No

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In the news: a Minnesota judge has ruled that 13 year old Daniel Hauser, a cancer patient, has to undergo chemotherapy that he’s stopped in favor of American Indian medicinal therapies used by the Nemenhah Band, in which Daniel is said to be an elder. His father claims he (the father) was cured of cancer by the same methods. The teen-ager’s cancer is reported to have resumed growing after the chemotherapy was stopped.

“Daniel was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and stopped chemotherapy in February after a single treatment. He and his parents opted instead for “alternative medicines” based on their religious beliefs.

Child protection workers accused Daniel’s parents of medical neglect; but in court, his mother insisted the boy wouldn’t submit to chemotherapy for religious reasons and she said she wouldn’t comply if the court orders it.

Doctors have said Daniel’s cancer had up to a 90 percent chance of being cured with chemotherapy and radiation. Without those treatments, doctors said his chances of survival are 5 percent.”

Living Without Health Insurance

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I have a new piece at Lew Rockwell, with some tips for people who might be interested in doing without health insurance for a couple of years:

(Legal Disclaimer:

I am not a medical or legal expert and anything written in the article should not be construed as medical or legal advice.  Readers should consult their own physician and attorney before making a decision about their insurance or about self-medication.

I am not in anyway responsible for any harm or injury that might come to a reader as a result of reading this article or from following therapies mentioned in it.

Neither I nor any publisher of this piece on a website or in print form, is in any way liable for any injury or harm sustained from following any recommendation whatsoever  in this article (or any recommendation arising from it)  in this country, or any other, now, or in the future).

“I stopped carrying health insurance over five years ago for many reasons that I won’t get into here. It wasn’t a big decision, because I’d done without it for a couple of years when I was between jobs

In any case, when I had it, it was never much use. I was misdiagnosed on a couple of things and ended up having to treat myself. I got to resenting the way some doctors never really listened. I bridled at having my questions treated like the uninformed babble of a simpleton.

And since I had to pay most of the bill for “maintenance” items like vision and dentistry anyway, dropping insurance altogether seemed like the logical thing to do.

That doesn’t mean it will work for you, though. Especially if you have an on-going illness, be sure to do your own due diligence.

Still, if you’re a relatively healthy person, if you’re cash-strapped or need to pay off a debt, or if you want to strike out in a new direction on your own, you might find my tips useful in helping you go insurance-free for a couple of years.

Or even longer.

You’ll worry less about doing without those “bennies” you’ve got used to for so long. And the less worried you are over going it alone, the more you’ll be able to stand up to the big lie of modern life – that people need the government to survive.