DOWN WITH POWER
Narrated by talk show host, Brian Wilson, “Down With Power” a Libertarian
Manifesto, by L. Neil Smith now downloadable as an audiobook!
L. Neil Smith’s THE LIBERTARIAN ENTERPRISE
Number 1,147, March 13, 2022

Night-Dark Wasting Time Again!

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Prepper Politics* 101
by Dennis Wilson
[email protected]

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Special to L. Neil Smith’s The Libertarian Enterprise

Context and Question

So you see our culture collapsing around you. Distrust of government in all its forms has never been higher. You have your food and ammo stockpile, your secure location with power, water, garden and livestock, your gold and silver coins, cryptocurrency and your trade-able skills, but do you have an explicit political arrangement with your friends, neighbors and like-minded associates?

Have you given consideration to the following question? It is a question that Preppers and libertarians DO NOT ask and one that Authoritarians WILL NEVER ask.

What *IS* the ABSOLUTE BARE MINIMUM that two people or more need to agree upon, in order to live together peacefully and productively?

 

Prologue

The TOTAL DISTRUST of central governments has already led to conditions in which relationships between individuals need to be examined and redefined.

*Politics is the branch of philosophy that studies the relationships between people.

Politics does NOT presuppose government. It presupposes and is a subcategory of morality and ethics. Government is a subcategory under politics. Politics is MORE THAN government. All politics start with two people. The most well known example in English speaking cultures is found in fiction, the day that Robinson Crusoe discovers that he is not alone on his island. Until that day, he needed a rational moral code of personal conduct in order to cope with existence and to survive. But from that particular “Friday” onwards, he was also involved in politics—something that had been utterly useless and meaningless to him since his shipwreck.


[10]

What *IS* The Bare Minimum…?

Starting from the basics of politics (the relationship between two people) and working up to more complex relationships, one should eventually ask…:

“What *IS* the bare minimum that two people need to agree upon, in order to live together peacefully and productively?”

A master/slave relationship (one of many possible political arrangements) might easily answer with:

“Do everything I say and we will get along just fine.” “Yes, Master.”

For the rest of us who choose individual freedom and trading instead of slavery, something a little bit more is needed.

Any attempt to answer that question will find a lot of useful advice (such as “do not steal or murder”) in various religions. But religions come with much more than the bare minimum requested in the opening question—far too much, actually, and some (most?) of it contradicts the useful advice. Therein lies part of the problem.

All systems of philosophy—including Ayn Rand's Objectivism—have some of the same characteristics. They encompass far more than the bare minimum that individuals need to agree upon, in order to live together peacefully and productively. It is NOT NECESSARY that everyone become an Objectivist or Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddist, etc in order to live together peacefully and productively. In fact, it is readily apparent that even groups of individuals who claim to adhere to Objectivism or some other philosophy or religion cannot agree on many essential core elements of their own philosophy or religion. Furthermore, all “Objectivists” are not at the same level of knowledge about Objectivism. The same is true of ANY philosophy or religion. There will always be newcomers, students and children coming into adulthood.

Yet evidence abounds that it actually *IS* possible for some Objectivists to live peacefully and productively with some non-Objectivists—even without an EXPLICIT bare minimum. And the United States is (or at least used to be) evidence that it is possible for people of differing religious views to live peacefully and productively together.

Here is the original question restated as a universal…:

Is there a bare minimum upon which *ALL* humans can agree?

Given what is know of socialpaths, psychopaths and people who gravitate to positions of power[12], the answer is “DEFINITELY, NO!”.

And that answer leads to a more specific question…:

Is there a bare minimum upon which *YOU AND I* can agree?

If the two of us[1] can agree upon something, perhaps there is one other person that you know, or that I know.

So what might an EXPLICIT bare minimum look like?

Keeping in mind all of the foregoing, I submit for your appraisal and evaluation, L. Neil Smith's Covenant of Unanimous Consent.[2] It is rational, simple, easy to read and understand and even short enough to memorize if desired.

If you agree and become a Signatory, at the very least you will have a single piece of paper that you can copy, point to and proclaim:

• “These are MY terms for dealing with other people. They are explicit and they are the bare minimum. Does any one other person agree with these terms? If so, let the two of us agree to treat each other according to these terms!”


Like the Darknet, Free or “Black” Markets, PGP encryption, BitMessage, Forth, Puppy Linux, Creative Commons, open source software, “mesh” networks, Diaspora, gold, silver and Bitcoin/cryptocurrencies, the Covenant does not and will not appeal to everyone—and like all the named items, it is not necessary that “everyone” embrace them. Those who *DO* use them, create their own value amongst themselves without depending on corrupt and collapsing governments, their crony corporate handmaidens and other government camp followers and dependents.

If you are organizing or are involved in a Voluntary Group such as described in Footnote [1], you may find the Covenant a useful way to qualify individuals for membership. The Covenant of Unanimous Consent—or something like it, if such exists—is a necessary, essential and indispensable core document around which small secession groups can stabilize and grow. It is objective law at the very foundation of such societies. [See Post Script]

At Footnote [2] there are links to several articles exploring various aspects of the Covenant. They may be of use during your appraisal and evaluation.

I have encountered a few other Covenant-like agreements[9] but none yet has been as clear, concise and comprehensive.

To live together peacefully and productively:

Follow the Precepts of the Covenant and no “government” will be necessary;
Violate the Precepts of the Covenant and no amount of government will be sufficient.

Live long and prosper.
Dennis Lee Wilson
Signatory: The Covenant of Unanimous Consent

 

Post Script: A New Model

You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
— R. Buckminster Fuller

We do NOT suffer from a lack of rules!!

Our culture—the world/country/state/city—does NOT suffer from a lack of rules. What *IS* lacking is a rational, reliable, objective means by which to judge which rules are good, valid, proper and which rules should be ignored, invalidated, and discarded.

A fully defined, rational moral code provides the key but is beyond the scope of this article.[14] The Non Aggression Principle (NAP) provides sufficient moral justification and the Covenant of Unanimous Consent with its Five Precepts explicitly based on the NAP, provides the Political Statement, i.e. the "Supreme Law" by which ALL other laws and rules can be judged.

There is an important connection between The Covenant of Unanimous Consent[2] and Customary/Merchant Law[3] and Blackstone's Commentaries[4].

One might argue that the Covenant is too simple and ask “What about 'everyday' laws against theft, murder, fraud, and property and contract issues?” In the past[5], Merchant Law and Blackstone's provided those details—and they continue to do so to this day. In spite of the existence of government “laws” and government courts, many people still resort to private arbitration to resolve disputes! Merchant Law and Blackstone's are the precedents and the foundations for these private arbitrations.

The Covenant of Unanimous Consent provides the means by which individuals can and should judge, accept, modify or reject particular instances of Merchant Law and Blackstone's,— i.e. the Covenant *IS* Supreme Law for those groups that chose to utilize it. The Covenant—when viewed as Supreme Law—*IS* what the Constitution of the united States was allegedly intended to be, and attempted to provide but failed.

The Constitution of the united States[7] and similar historical documents relied upon “other”, delegated people (government) to “make”, care for and enforce sensible and rational laws. We are witness to and living with the results[8] that are neither sensible nor rational.

The Covenant expects the individual Signatories to be responsible for themselves and their own actions, and to organize themselves as they deem to be appropriate. This is no utopian expectation! Some groups of people have relied on themselves for hundreds of years,[5] the most recent example being the pioneers who settled from the Appalachian Mountains thru-out the American West and especially in the California mining camps.[6] Merchant Law and Blackstone's Commentaries ALREADY EXIST! There is no great effort needed to utilize them. They are made, cared for and enforced by the individuals who use them and they are excellent tools for Covenant societies and associations[1].

 

Footnotes:

[1] It takes two people or more to form Voluntary Groups such as Friendships; Marriages; Agorist, Anarcho-capitalist, Anarchist and Survivalist Communities; Objectivist “Galt” Gulches and similar Societies; Redoubts; Family/Community Farms; Free State Groups; Temporary and Permanent Autonomous Zones; Supersedure Zones; Sea Steads; Independent Territories; Private Apartment Buildings; Home Associations and Restricted or Gated Communities, ZEDEs (Zones for Employment and Development of the Economy) and more. For details see…:

What *IS* a “Political Statement”? Why is One Needed? Who would Use It?

http://tinyurl.com/Political-Statement-W

[2] The Covenant of Unanimous Consent— see attachment below. Also see:
http://tinyurl.com/
Covenant-and-Galts-Oath-W

http://tinyurl.com/
Index-to-Covenant-Articles-W

http://tinyurl.com/
Objectivism-to-Autarchy-W

http://tinyurl.com/
Institute-New-Government-W

[3] The Enterprise of Customary Law [aka Law Merchant*]
http://tinyurl.com/
Customary-Law-W

*Law Merchant…:
By studying the incentives and institutions of primitive law, it becomes evident that precisely the same kinds of customary legal systems have existed in more complex societies, ranging from medieval Iceland, Ireland, and Anglo-Saxon England to the development of the medieval Law Merchant, and even to the western frontier of the United States during the 1800s. See Blackstone[4]

Law Merchant developed during the time when humans in Europe REJECTED the existing Roman law and actually managed to live—and thrive— for 1,000 years[5] without big central government!

[4] Commentaries on the Laws of England by William Blackstone—also known as Blackstone's Commentaries.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Commentaries_on_the_Laws_of_England

On the western frontier of the United States during the 1800s, numerous frontiersmen were familiar with Blackstone's and frequently quoted from it.

• The Commentaries on the Laws of England are an influential 18th-century treatise on the common law of England by Sir William Blackstone, originally published by the Clarendon Press at Oxford, 1765–1769. The work is divided into four volumes, on the rights of persons, the rights of things, of private wrongs and of public wrongs.

• The Commentaries were long regarded as the leading work on the development of English law and played a role in the development of the American legal system. They were in fact the first methodical treatise on the common law suitable for a lay readership since at least the Middle Ages. The common law of England has relied on precedent more than statute and codifications and has been far less amenable than the civil law, developed from the Roman law, to the needs of a treatise. The Commentaries were influential largely because they were in fact readable, and because they met a need. The work is as much an apologia for the legal system of the time as it is an explanation; even when the law was obscure, Blackstone sought to make it seem rational, just, and inevitable that things should be how they were. The Covenant of Unanimous Consent provides the means by which individuals can and should judge, accept, modify or reject particular instances of Merchant Law and Blackstone's,— i.e. the Covenant *IS* Supreme Law for those groups that chose to utilize it.

•Blackstone's Commentaries are available free for downloading on this site at the following link:
http://tinyurl.com/ Get-Blackstone-W

[5] Living for 1000 Years - The “Dark” Ages?
http://tinyurl.com/ 1000-Dark-Years-W

What *IS* so important about 1,000 years of human history that advocates of government need to label it “Dark”?

I reference the series of articles about the Middle Ages with the Covenant of Unanimous Consent because the slow motion collapse of central governments, following the historical model of the Imperial Roman Empire, will lead has already led to conditions in which the Covenant can and should play a vital role.

[6] UNANIMOUS CONSENT in '49ers California mining camps!
https://tinyurl.com/Unanimous-Consent-in-CA-1849

Beginning in 1848, the miners began forming contracts with one another … There was no government authority in California at the time… The miners’ contracts established property rights in land (and in any gold found on the land) that the miners themselves enforced.

[7] A Written Constitution: Protecting the State from the People
http://tinyurl.com/
Why-Constitutions-Fail-W
Also see Bill Bonner: The “Social Contract” With the Government Is a Fraud
http://tinyurl.com/ Social-Contract-Fraud-W

[8] 2010-January-1st saw 40,627 NEW mandates become “legal” in the USA! Have YOU read them? Ignorance of the law is no excuse!!
http://www.searchamelia.com/
Land-of-40627-Laws-and-Regulations-More

[9] I do already know of a plagiarized, abbreviated version of the Covenant that removed, among other things, the essential Supersedure clause which enables the five Precepts.

[10] Picture courtesy of Mises.org - Creative Commons, Attribute

[11] Graphic by Dennis Wilson

[12] There will always BE evil men and they always gravitate to positions of power. Louis L'Amour wrote that good people stand against evil by FIRST acknowledging the existence of evil:

• “They know that not all men are men of good will; they knew there was evil in the world, and stood strong against it. They knew that there were some who would take by force what they would not work to acquire. They knew … that outside their windows waited hunger, thirst, and cold; that beyond their doors there were savage men, held in restraint only be a realization of another force ready to oppose them, to preserve the world they had built from savagery into order and peace, where each man might work and build and create without the threat of destruction.”
—Louis L'Amour, Reilly's Luck (Paperback), p. 151, para 7

[13] Graphic by Dennis Wilson

[14] http://tinyurl.com/ The-Objectivist-Ethics-W

[15] Drawing by Milo Manara

 

The following four graphics by Dennis Wilson are available at http://www.cafepress.com/artemiszuna/318652

(For best viewing, expand to full screen)
Click image for further details.

[11]


[11]

 


[11]

 

To live together peacefully and productively:
Follow the Precepts of the Covenant and no “government” will be necessary;
Violate the Precepts of the Covenant and no amount of government will be sufficient.

 


[11]

 

This is an excerpt from an article was originally published on Mr. Wilson's website at http://tinyurl.com/ The-Bare-Minimum-W

 

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