Rather than the ballot box, imagine you voted by moving to the country with your favorite economic philosophy. While a progressive might select Denmark or Sweden and social conservatives always have Singapore, finding a libertarian country has been pretty tough…until now.
Where are we going? To the three questions that every economic system has to answer.
But first, we need to look at the world’s newest country.
The Free Republic of Liberland
Along the Danube, there had been a 3 square mile area of land that neither Croatia nor Serbia claimed. Seizing the opportunity to possess a “no man’s land,” a Czech politician created the sovereign state of Liberland.
With small government its basic philosophy, Liberland became a state on Thomas Jefferson’s birthday (April 13, 2015). Implementing a national motto of “live and let live,” the country’s founders have said (on their website) that they are looking for citizens with the following characteristics:
- have respect for other people and respect the opinions of others, regardless of their race, ethnicity, orientation, or religion
- have respect for private ownership which is untouchable
- do not have communist, nazi or other extremist past
- were not punished for past criminal offenses
You can see that they’ve sought a community where government minimally participates in people’s personal lives. Similarly, on the economic side they project optional taxation, zero debt and privatized public services. All necessary government revenue would come from a land fee.
Right now Liberland has only one house, a national anthem and problems with the Croatian police sometimes blocking access. Still, more than 200,000 people have applied for citizenship.
Our Bottom Line: The Three Economic Questions
Like all countries, Liberland had to be sure their economic system would answer the three basic economic questions:
- What goods and services will be produced?
- How will goods and services be produced?
- To whom will the economy’s income flow?
Using a “libertarian” approach, Liberland will let the market provide its answers.
My sources and more: Thanks to marginalrevolution for sharing a new way to vote with your feet. Then, checking for countries with each of their economic preferences, I had the delightful experience of learning about Liberland here, here, and at Liberland’s own website.
