The State’s cultural dominance has left us largely blind to institutions of NON-STATE Governance and order. These institutions are completely voluntary. They don’t initiate force or use criminal means. They serve rather than rule. These forms include . . .
- Self-governance
- The family
- Churches
- Contractual covenants
- Professional societies that set standards
- Testing agencies like Underwriter’s Laboratory that provide industry regulation
- Security firms
- Arbitrators
- Review systems such as AAA, Yelp, Angie’s List, the Better Business Bureau, and on and on and on.
Society is rich in non-state institutions of governance and order. And if we expand the idea of order to include social services or charities, then institutions of non-state governance becomes truly vast. These kinds of institutions — legitimate governments — will be the foundation of a ZAP-based society.
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By Jim Babka & Perry Willis
Perry Willis
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Jim Babka
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Show Comments 4
A little too vague. What about water, garbage, energy, and any service restricted by monopoly? I consider a monopoly service a government service. Where unrestricted competition is present, value is restored. The missing value is unseen and therefore hard to show. This is important because it is an unrecognized burden that touches everyone everyday.
Hi Don. We plan to add Mental Lever articles about all the specifics you list, and many more besides.
Roads
Churches are a source of coercion; witness the Crusades, the Salem witch trials, the Mormons.
Professional societies set standards, AND then use those standards to create exclusivity. That becomes a barrier to professional labor freely entering a marketplace.
Having the UL review a product for safety is fine. But if the product fails the UL’s standards, so what? Letting the buyer/user be aware is fine, but do not exclude the product from the marketplace. That is coercion. Let the end-user determine the product’s use, not the UL. That is too much governance, too much interference in individual choice.
The other bullet points seem benign on a spur of the moment review.