Agorism: Beat the State, show a profit, all in a non-violent way.

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Nov 20, 2007
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Beat the State: Escaping the Slave Taxation/Inflation System Using Non-Violence

Hello Folks,

I posted this previously in a tax thread that is now defunct, but I would really like to see if folks like this idea. I originally posted the below in another thread supporting Social Engineer's www.freemarketforliberty.com

This could lead to the most significant value to members of this forum.

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As most of you know, we are unwilling or unwitting participants in the "red market", that is to say, we are enslaved to a taxation/inflation system backed by State violence. The State siphons off a HUGE (it wouldn't be out there to say 80% if you factor in ALL direct and indirect taxes you pay, and the REAL inflation rate - some say between 12 and 15%) of your productivity by confiscating your money directly via taxation, and indirectly via inflation.

You cannot trade your productivity for anything other than Federal Reserve Points (FRPs) in the red market - as you are required to report your earnings to the State for taxation, regulation, and confiscation. Legal tender laws ensure that. The State demands taxes be paid in FRPs. This creates an artificial demand for those notes that have an arbitrary unit (the dollar) whose purchasing power is stolen from you by an arbitrary force (the State/Banking cartel - a.k.a The Federal Reserve). In other words, the State ensures that Gresham's Law works.

If you do not pay your taxes, the State will ultimately (after a great deal of harassment) deploy bad guys wearing clown suits and shiny badges to your house with guns to waterboard you and your family. It is raw terrorism. Who are you more afraid of? The State or some guy allegedly hiding in a cave with bad kidneys (who is more than likely dead) half-way around the world, or the IRS Terrorist Regime? I think we all know the answer to that question.

OK, Back on track.

We all know the US is bankrupt. It is only a matter of time before the economic system we are enslaved to implodes. The only reason that it has not collapsed like a third rate banana republic is that it's dollar is still viewed as the world's reserve currency (thanks to the Bretton Woods agreement that created the US dollar hegemony)...But that viewpoint is rapidly changing as Dr. Paul noted in this speech to Congress in February of 2006.

Prior to the implosion, you will feel the pain of your dollar losing value by seeing it in soaring prices. Average Americans, lobotomized of critical thinking skills and authoritarian brainwashing by government indoctrination camps we call "public education", will turn to the State pleading "something has to be done!" which of course the State will expand it's reach, size, and power like never before, similar to how the Fed is seeking greater expansion, essentially to nationalize the financially industry via the excuse of the recent $9/11 "credit crisis" hoax. The subverted MSM will do it's best to whip people into a frenzy by scaring the shit out of them via establishment deflections such as I.O.U.S.A. This is the same thing that happened in the 30's when the Fed CAUSED the Great Depression that allowed FDR to usher in the raw deal called the "New Deal" - arguably the greatest expansion of the State ever seen.

That all said, setting up a counter-economy network of trading partners prior to the coming crash is ABSOLUTELY crucial. Most of us lack the means to produce all the goods we need. This is why we need to identify trading partners and establish relationships now. This is how we take individual responsibility for ourselves into our hands and not wait for the State to violently fuck us over.

Social Engineer has provided the first step to identify potential trading partners. I would like to see this also grow into a site where people can identify potential employers/employees who are willing to trade their services using whatever money that is sound (i.e. probably gold or silver coins - but people are free to trade in whatever commodity they wish of course).

Initially, I foresee most people working part time in this counter economy (it actually has a name - "agorism"), as we cannot work full time in it, due to the requirement of paying taxes in Federal Reserve Points, or we would need to purchase something in the red market that is not available from participants on SC's site...yet. You need gas? You would still have to get that from a red market participant...until an independent stepped into SC's website and was willing to trade sound money (i.e. not Federal Reserve Points). In the red market, if I hire you, I am required to report the transaction to the IRS. When you are paid, you are required to pay your taxes to the IRS. You literally need Federal Reserve permission points to work!

By participating in what SC has set up, we get to protect the fruits of our labor from theft via taxation and inflation - provided we make the transition to sound money. Even if the State doesn't collapse during our working lifetime, we still profit from our activity. I think this is the only mechanism that stands a non-zero chance of success. For those of you who have read "Atlas Shrugged", it is a virtual Galt's Gulch, but you get to hide in plain sight!

Even if the State catches on and writes up some arbitrary rules to shut SC's site down, by then we would have established the network of trading partners - on pen and paper. New sites would spring up. Perhaps a P2P application will be built that facilitates trade with each other instead of files. The nice thing about P2P is that it is not centralized and would be difficult for the State to violently shut it down. It would be a "killer app".

Perhaps this site could be used where actors in the market rank the participant's trustworthiness. A State mole might be able to set up shop, but would not get far in the network.

I don't want to speak for you SC or hijack your idea to somewhere you didn't intend the purpose to go, but I thought I would highlight some possibilities to participants or lurkers in this thread.

Thoughts?
 
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I would be willing to do whatever I could to support alternative markets.

i am a touring musician by trade and I was already considering making a grey market merch booth next to our traditional merch booth in order to show kids at shows that you can have alternative markets.

as a traveller, i could be a great connector between people in a system like this.

are there plans for a site already?

I have people I could contact and get the ball rolling on this asap.

this is the type of thing that could really show our friends and neighbors that the mises institute and that type of philosophy could truly lead to prosperity.
 
This is a good idea- we would def. need to get a barter website together though..

I personally sew, knit, and bake..
 
This is a good idea- we would def. need to get a barter website together though..

I personally sew, knit, and bake..

Barter is OK, but extremely inefficient. The reason for this is that it is a system of a "coincidence of wants" which means that A and B must have what the other wants at the same point in time AND they agree on mutually accepted value for their goods.

This inefficiency was addressed by money. Money serves as a "store of value" where you can sell your goods and services today so that you can spend tomorrow. Money is a complete confidence game. I accept money from you on the confident that someone else will accept it from me. Believe me, I would have NO problem accepting Eagles or Canadian Maples at all for my work.

You can register on the site provided above. Make up a name for your business. If you accept gold and silver coins for your labor - although you of course are free to choose what you accept for your labor.

Silver coins in hand, you can then look up another liberty minded business on the website for the things you want. Using your silver coins, buy what you need. The seller will do the same as you...look up another business for what he/she wants or needs.

We have a micro-economy starting to brew. We are using sound money. Occasionally we may have to go into a coin dealer to trade our sound money for counterfeit fiat to pay something into the "red market" - the inflation/taxation system, but as more and more people board into the economy, more and more varied goods and services are going to be offered, and less and less gold/silver coins are going to flow out of the economy. I am getting ahead of myself though...the network building phase is more important right now...

I even see one of the first businesses to spring out of this is a gold and silver barter network where people buy/sell their hard money for soft money at competitive rates. Oh, the irony!

Cheers!
 
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how does one go about getting the coins of the same size and value.

I am not sure I understand you. One thing you might want to do is to simply use one ounce silver rounds - avoid premiums on "official" coins. I mean, to us folks operating in a liberty network, do I really place more value on a 1 oz Canadian Silver Maple vs. 1 oz Silver Liberty Eagle? No. Of course not.

All I care about is that it is one ounce of pure silver and I can easily recognize it. You can get great rounds at many online dealers, Here is one of many:



Check craigslist to see if someone is willing to sell locally to you and it is worth it.

There are many posts kicking around on this forum w.r.t the best way to buy gold and silver coins. Do your own due diligence. In general, buy rounds, bars, and stay away from exotic gold coins due to outrageous premiums.
 
I am not sure I understand you. One thing you might want to do is to simply use one ounce silver rounds - avoid premiums on "official" coins. I mean, to us folks operating in a liberty network, do I really place more value on a 1 oz Canadian Silver Maple vs. 1 oz Silver Liberty Eagle? No. Of course not.

All I care about is that it is one ounce of pure silver and I can easily recognize it. You can get great rounds at many online dealers, Here is one of many:



Check craigslist to see if someone is willing to sell locally to you and it is worth it.

There are many posts kicking around on this forum w.r.t the best way to buy gold and silver coins. Do your own due diligence. In general, buy rounds, bars, and stay away from exotic gold coins due to outrageous premiums.

yeah, i was more worried about accidentally trading a 1 oz aluminum coin with silver plating by mistake, haha. so I suppose the value of the coins for goods would just start to develop in the network on its own.

fair enough.
 
Ah. Now I understand....I think ;) You mean that you are worried about being ripped off with counterfeit coins?

If so, you can use a device like a Fisch at the point of sale. Easy and convenient.

Did I understand correctly?
 
As long as it's voluntary, I have no problem with the "idea". ;)
That's why I got behind it. Their is nothing coercive behind it, unlike "democracy". No mob rules. No political might makes right. No stupid assumptions like "the majority owns truth", like the red market we are all enslaved into today. You are free to participate...or not. Your choice.

However, I post it because:

a) It is virtually unheard of.
b) Education is key. Rational folks will rapidly see the advantages of this. I find a higher percentage of these types of folks amongst the Ron Paul supporters.
c) Social Engineer's website is a good way to capitalize on the networking aspect.

Hey, if us folks want to spend a mountain of time and effort to reform the system, that's great. Ron Paul is the only political figure I have ever been interested in (and even excited about), Canadian or American. However, as per standard investment advice, it is a BAD idea not to diversify and put all your eggs in one basket. There is no reason we cannot do try to reform the State AND build an agorist network.

I personally think the State is virtually unsalvageable - but it doesn't mean I won't help others try. If our attempts fail, we have the foundations of an agorist network! It doesn't need to be reformed, it needs to be scrapped. I don't want to get into arguments of "who'll build the roads?", or "who will run the courts or police?", as the State created these things and thwarted what a free market might have created. As a result, most of us cannot imagine what the free market version of these "institutions" might look like. There are MANY arguments explored over at mises.org how that may come about. Free markets were never really allowed to be tried before they were usurped by a State and history rewritten. But I am rambling on again...

We cannot match the firepower of the State (remember Ed and Elaine Brown?). All they wanted was the State to show them the law where it was required that they had to pay income tax. Instead, they got a 3 month siege, helicopters, and men in black running around their property. How much did that cost, as opposed to the State simply showing them the law! Answer: There isn't one. If the State hastily passed some new legislation, then they would have to admit there wasn't a law for 90+ years! Doesn't matter. The State will always use violence against its citizens.

I think this method is the only one that stands a non-zero chance of success.
 
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That's why I got behind it. Their is nothing coercive behind it, unlike "democracy". No mob rules. No political might makes right. No stupid assumptions like "the majority owns truth", like the red market we are all enslaved into today. You are free to participate...or not. Your choice.

However, I post it because:

a) It is virtually unheard of.
b) Education is key. Rational folks will rapidly see the advantages of this. I find a higher percentage of these types of folks amongst the Ron Paul supporters.
c) Social Engineer's website is a good way to capitalize on the networking aspect.

Hey, if us folks want to spend a mountain of time and effort to reform the system, that's great. Ron Paul is the only political figure I have ever been interested in (and even excited about), Canadian or American. However, as per standard investment advice, it is a BAD idea not to diversify and put all your eggs in one basket. There is no reason we cannot do try to reform the State AND build an agorist network.

I personally think the State is virtually unsalvageable - but it doesn't mean I won't help others try. If our attempts fail, we have the foundations of an agorist network! It doesn't need to be reformed, it needs to be scrapped. I don't want to get into arguments of "who'll build the roads?", or "who will run the courts or police?", as the State created these things and thwarted what a free market might have created. As a result, most of us cannot imagine what the free market version of these "institutions" might look like. There are MANY arguments explored over at mises.org how that may come about. Free markets were never really allowed to be tried before they were usurped by a State and history rewritten. But I am rambling on again...

We cannot match the firepower of the State (remember Ed and Elaine Brown?). All they wanted was the State to show them the law where it was required that they had to pay income tax. Instead, they got a 3 month siege, helicopters, and men in black running around their property. How much did that cost, as opposed to the State simply showing them the law! Answer: There isn't one. If the State hastily passed some new legislation, then they would have to admit there wasn't a law for 90+ years! Doesn't matter. The State will always use violence against its citizens.

I think this method is the only one that stands a non-zero chance of success.

[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]You're an Anarchist[/FONT]
Me too, says Butler Shaffer. So are all civilized men, in practice.
 
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]You're an Anarchist[/FONT]
Me too, says Butler Shaffer. So are all civilized men, in practice.

Now that just hurts ;) Yeehaw! (Conjures up images of looting, burning buildings et. al.).

I don't like labels. They are a kind of censorship. People tend to think you ONLY operate within the boundaries of them and their understanding of what the labels mean. Kind of like language :eek:.

I think the goalposts should be set to "no government"....how close we get there? I don't know if we can. Shouldn't we be allowed to try?

I yam what I yam. - Popeye
 
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