Unreal Estate For Sale
By Tom Creasing
[email protected]
Exclusive to The Libertarian Enterprise
I was looking through the Erewhon Times the other morning and
saw the most amazing coincidence. Two advertisements, side by side,
for identical houses, with identical parcels of land, in similar parts
of the Rocky Mountains. The price was identical. There was one big
difference, though. One homestead was located in a place called
Galt's Gulch, U.S.A., while the other was located just outside Greater
Laporte in the North American Confederacy.
Which house would you prefer to live in?
Which area would you rather call home?
Despite the fact that both areas represent libertarian/anarchist
utopias (sadly, "utopia" means "nowhere") they are actually radically
different concepts and very different visions of how an anarchic
society should best operate to provide maximum benefits to its
members. Your preference between the two, therefore, says something
about your own personal views on anarchy and its structure.
Galt's Gulch, you see, is the classic gated community.
Residence is by invitation only and is reserved for the elite of
society who've proved themselves through breeding and economic
success. Mere proper attitude is not sufficient; the Gulch is filled
with "natural aristocrats". The activities there are quiet and
cultured, though to be fair there is a great deal of industrial hustle
and bustle as well. Certainly there is no lack of physical and social
comfort. It represents, in its way, the ultimate getaway from the
problems of statist society, the "cabin in the woods" writ large and
comfortable. If you're permitted entrance, then the good life is
yours to have. Getting past that gatekeeper, though, can be a
problem, as the sole measure of "success" seems to be the acquisition
of wealth.
Not that there's anything wrong with the acquisition of wealth,
mind, but it seems that a culture based solely on wealth produces the
classic Adam Smith "brittle society," one that falls apart at the
first serious stress.
Contrast this with the North American Confederacy, which welcomes
anyone and everyone who agrees to simply abide by its rules. Living
and working in the Confederacy are all that are required to be a
member of that society and to enjoy its benefits. Having a bank
account in Laporte is, I've heard, optional.
The Confederacy, then, represents libertarianism/anarchy at the
other end of the spectrum from isolationism. It is a teacher, putting
on public display all of the good things that happen when statists
can't lay their tentacles on half to three-quarters to ninety percent
of everything through taxes and regulation. It is the human
imagination and spirits of invention and adventure set free to grow to
infinity, for these things have no bounds.
Those who would choose Galt's Gulch are, I would suggest,
pessimists, believing that the only path to happiness lies in
concealing themselves from Leviathan's tentacles, of finding a place
to hide from the oozing slime of statism. Would-be Confederates, on
the other hand, are optimists, seeing no boundaries in the future, and
viewing themselves as people who would prefer to strike the chains
from their fellows rather than merely dodge those chains themselves.
So look at your real estate choice and ask yourself, "Am I working
toward freedom for all, or just wanting to keep it for myself?" Think
about what you have done lately to teach, to show, to grow the spirit
of liberty in a land that needs it so desperately. Decide whether
you'd prefer the enclosed safety of the mountains, or the infinity of
the stars.
Besides which, I'd take a weekend with Lucy Kropotkin over trying
to figure out the convolutions of Round-heeled Dagny's thoughts,
anytime.
Attorney Tom Creasing has just returned to the 'States after a long
period of working in South Korea. He now lives in Portland, Oregon.