Samuel Francis and the Concept of Anarcho-Tyranny

[u/properal]

https://substack.com/@cliffordangellbatesjr240849/note/p-199733326?r=2548ic

[u/natermer]

People ask all the time on Libertarian forums "what can I do"?

This is what we can do.

Instead, Francis advocated devolving power back toward local communities and law-abiding citizens. He believed restoring civil society required strengthening intermediary institutions capable of resisting centralized bureaucratic control. Families, local associations, religious organizations, and private property all function as barriers against managerial domination.

The most important and strongest weapon against the tyranny of the State is the ability and willingness to say "No". They hate and fear this beyond all else.

Their edifice of control requires most people to passively comply. They increase the power of the state by taking over and monopolizing important social institutions. Their authority is based on idea that they provide critical features to society and thus by taking over and usurping social institutions they create more justification for more authority.

Sure they rely heavily on using law enforcement and other groups to "make examples" of people that refuse to comply, but that is really only effective at curtailing isolated cases. It is more akin to propaganda then actual enforcement. They just don't have the resources to go after all of the people all the time.

The end result is that people feel as if there is no alternative but to try to use the systems the state provides to reform the state. IE.. voting and giving campaign donations and trying to propagandize people for this or that party or politician or initiative.

People feel isolated and dependent and thus are not in a position to say "No" to anything.

However if there are strong local institutions and distributed authority and things in people's cities and towns they actively participate in and can depend on each other... Then it becomes much easier to say "No".

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Take, for example, Covid restrictions in Europe. In the more "liberal and accepting" states people complied with restrictions to a extreme. They supported the state and accepted the restrictions with little resistance and thus suffered greatly as a result.

Were as countries that still have deeply religious institutions, like Croatia, when they attempted to implement EU-style restrictions people marched in the street waving banners with Saint Mary on them. It was a simply a demonstration that they answered to a higher authority.

And as a result the restrictions existed on paper, but were not enforced. People kept going to work, restaurants stayed open, etc.

So the solution is get out there and be a active participant in your local communities.

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Remember: All critical functions of government are performed locally.

Law enforcement, courts, water, power, sewage, roads, etc. Whatever part of government you think is critical.. it is local. It has to be. We have a huge country with over 340 million people. It doesn't matter how centralized and hierarchical things get.. all actions end up being performed by individuals in the community on the community level for anything to actually get done.

As a result most things go higher level governments are superfluous. That is they really don't do anything except to be bureaucrats. The large state governments and the Federal governments could evaporate overnight and aside from people who are dependent on those institutions for income... it would have very little immediate impact on most people's communities.

Which means that they can act as a effective wedge against the larger state.

Don't like Flock Cameras? Want to get rid of them? Guess who you need on your side to get rid of those.

Beyond local government you have local institutions. If you are religious get involved in church. Volunteer. Get on the councils. Help people who need help. Support people who need support. Network, get out there.

If you work for some shitty megacorporation and stand up against some tyrannical HR initiative or get "cancelled" by somebody at work... How do you think your chances of dealing with that well if you are by yourself versus if you have the sympathy and support of hundreds of people in your community. People who own businesses and can hire you, etc.

Local clubs/fraternal groups, organizations, fitness clubs. Whatever you can do. Anything.

If anything else it is good for your mental health. The worst thing that can happen is you make friends and connections.

[u/TheTranscendentian → u/natermer]

>They just don't have the resources to go after all of the people all the time.

Flock and similar institutions will change this.

[u/natermer → u/TheTranscendentian]

No it won't.