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From: nrh@inmet.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.politics.theory
Subject: Re: Laws of Libertaria
Message-ID: <28200612@inmet.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 29-Jan-86 01:18:00 EST
Article-I.D.: inmet.28200612
Posted: Wed Jan 29 01:18:00 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 6-Feb-86 10:48:06 EST
References: <28200585@inmet.UUCP>
Lines: 36
Nf-ID: #R:inmet:28200585:inmet:28200612:000:1915
Nf-From: inmet!nrh    Jan 29 01:18:00 1986


>/* Written  4:39 pm  Jan 23, 1986 by mrh@cybvax0 in inmet:net.politics.t */
>In article <28200585@inmet.UUCP> janw@inmet.UUCP writes:
>> >Why do you contract for laws?  Are you fair game for anyone otherwise?
>> Not entirely; the operation of other people's laws will give
>> you some protection; but your rights may be reduced and you
>> don't get the choice of laws. The first disadvantage is similar
>> to the situation of an individual without a citizenship in
>> a world of states. The second is the lot of everyone now.
>
>If each of the suppliers of "law" is competing against the others in
>the market, then obviously they are going to attempt to maximize
>their income.  Why shouldn't they simply proclaim that everybody
>must obey their laws and pay for them?  What's to stop this positive
>feedback back into feudalism?

If I remember right, positive feedback is when you have an action, the
reaction to which encourages further action of that type.  Let us examine,
for a moment what happens:  Jurisdiction "A" says: "Okay, everybody
must obey our laws and pay for them."

Jurisdictions "B" through "Z", "1" through "9", and one more for each of the
other ascii characters :-) say: "Oh Yeah? -- that's EXACTLY the sort of
thing our clients hired us to prevent.  Beat it".  This is not called
positive feedback....

By the way, were it really true that one justice system could make
such a play, we would now have a world government.  The current large
number of states what you might think of as a degenerate libertarian
society, where the "protectors" have indeed become the jailers.  Lest
you think this inevitable, let me concede immediately that yes, a
libertarian society *could* degenerate (as could anything but a
perfect totalitarian society), but consider: it would degenerate into
what we  already have.  Trying to make what we already have MORE
libertarian is moving things the other way!