The Liberty Papers

The Obama administration, having retained the basic elements of Bush’s disastrous n ational security policies, and having applied a similar political approach to the economy, has set the stage for the collapse of the U.S.

The number of laws that tangle us all continues to multiply. At this point it is probably impossible for us to survive, let alone prosper, without breaking one or more laws on a weekly basis. People seem to be helpless in the face of these out of control laws. Some people wonder how far people can be pushed before violent revolution takes place.

There will be no violent revolt. People have too much to lose, and we are not a violent people. Nor should there be – we can look to the fall of the communist states of the old Warsaw Pact, where the state collapsed and freedom spread with hardly a shot being fired. Violent revolution, such as that which led to Caucescu and his wife being gunned down by a firing squad, were the exception rather than the rule.

How did these states collapse? Simply put, the people stopped respecting the state, and began to ignore its edicts. They ignored the laws forbidding certain economic activity. They ignored the laws demanding the payment of taxes. They ignored the laws demanding people acquire licenses to take up certain professions. They ignored the laws mandating that young men report for mandatory military service.

Our salvation lies through systematic disobedience to the state.

In a way, Obama is doing us – those who love freedom – a favor. His policies will push the people to the ragged edge. Many people will come to hate and distrust the state. Like bitter soviet citizens, they become cynical, and develop a visceral understanding of public choice theory. And when a sufficient number of people recognize that the problem is not a conflict between Democrat and Republican but between the government and the market, between the alliance of politicians and rent-seeking big businessmen and the people, then the true revolution will begin.