What if you woke up tomorrow and government was gone?

Some would be extremely happy! Some would be terrified! What would your response be? How would things work without government? One of the fundamental ideals shared by libertarians is the belief that we should all be free to do as we choose with our own life and property, as long as we don't harm the life and property of others. In theory, this could be done without government!

Sounds good, right?

Libertarianism is the combination of liberty (freedom to live our lives in any peaceful way we choose), responsibility (self reliance and no use of force against others), and tolerance (respecting the peaceful choices of others). These all sound fantastic in theory but the reality is that it’s been tried in America and has failed…and I’ll show you how! Bear with me…

If you think about it, the ONLY way Libertarianism CAN work is if everyone shares the same ideals, which we know will never happen. Does anyone think for one minute that if the government disappeared and left us to our “liberty” things would work better than they do today?
This one clever video demonstrates how libertarianism doesn’t work and actually leads to the same situation we face today…sort of.



Let me state that I do lean Libertarian in many ways. I do believe in most Libertarian ideals and I believe our country (the US of A) was founded on Libertarian principles. I believe in the US Constitution and Bill of Rights and I believe the federal government and ‘other powers’ have worked very hard to strip us of our freedom. However, many citizens of US (and virtually every country in the world) are not responsible enough to handle liberty properly!! Everybody wants personal freedom for themselves yet many of these same people don’t want to extend the same courtesy to their neighbors. Many human beings simply aren’t capable of the “live and let live” mentality and need government to maintain order. So what do we do??

I struggle with this issue…I really do. I’m one of the first people to stand up and call *Bull Spit* when the federal government violates our constitutional rights, especially when they rob our freedom in the name of security. But how do we maintain law and order (and security) while at the same time limiting the power of the government?? How do we maintain law and order as well as personal freedoms without government (or with limited government) when so many of our fellow citizens don’t (and never will) share our ideals about personal freedom and personal responsibility?? It seems that no matter which path we take we will end up in the same predicament...the one we're in now.

Thoughts?

if ALL gov was gone it probably wouldn't be a very good day to wake up to.. if the FED GOV was gone and we still had state gov then I would be very happy...

Well if the government was gone tomorrow you'd have a very short window of opportunity to enjoy your new freedom.

Almost instantly you would see factions forming up with the strongest one gaining power over the others and instituting thier own form of government.

It is literally impossible to group 300 million plus people together and not have this happen. Basically you can not have a large group of people together who do not form a society.

Even the hunter-gatherer tribes had their own little societies with rules to follow.

Originally posted by dc4lifeskater
if ALL gov was gone it probably wouldn't be a very good day to wake up to.. if the FED GOV was gone and we still had state gov then I would be very happy...

Well the US used to be that way but people were miserable which is why the Federal Government was granted an increase in power over the States.

Simply put, State governments were ineffective at running the nation or even their own region.

Originally posted by dc4lifeskater
if ALL gov was gone it probably wouldn't be a very good day to wake up to.. if the FED GOV was gone and we still had state gov then I would be very happy...

So you would be happy?

Did you watch the video and see a possible scenario that would unfold (actually it has unfolded already)?

I share your dislike of the federal government...I'm a 10th amendment guy! I'd like to see a complete reset at the federal level and a new Constitutional Convention by the states but I simply don't think things would work as smoothly as you think they will if the fed disappeared tomorrow. I think we'd eventually end up right back in the same situation we're in today (and rather quickly, too) because there aren't enough people in this country who think like us.

It would be chaos!

Social Services would be cut.
So would many throats.

reply to post by Hopechest

Well if the government was gone tomorrow you'd have a very short window of opportunity to enjoy your new freedom.

Almost instantly you would see factions forming up with the strongest one gaining power over the others and instituting thier own form of government.

It is literally impossible to group 300 million plus people together and not have this happen. Basically you can not have a large group of people together who do not form a society.

Even the hunter-gatherer tribes had their own little societies with rules to follow.

Very well said!!

Look, I scream for liberty and am vocal in my distrust (and sometimes hatred) of the actions of our federal government. I sometimes believe we’d be better off without it. But then the reality hits me that there are a LOT of evil people in this world who wish to impose their will on others. There are also many more who are dependent on government and totally don’t understand what it means to be self reliant. How could we EVER go back to Libertarian ideals when the majority of the country is incapable of doing it??

There are too many ingredients in this melting pot for real liberty and freedom to work without government so new forms of government (or tribes) would pop up instantly....and they might be worse than the tribe in DC!!

would look around and wonder what happened and if the higher up Cosmic Forces were gone as well. Then would assess if a possible mass abduction type situation went on to try and further understand then by who?? and why? as 1 questions further WHO is the New, in Order so it would be an odd day it seems... Interesting OP

If there was no government -

I'd fear those who crave power. They would take, murder, maim. Create their own communities/societies - while fighting with the opposite ones over the land and resources.

It would become the wild west.

If my daughters were raped - I'd have no recourse to make the perpetrators pay - except for taking justice into my own hands. That's a problem now in today's society - think of a society with no law. Think of all those pedo's and the fantasy land world created for them. There would be no laws to stop them, watch them, or hold them accountable.

I'd have to defend my land/food from those with none, starving - and willing to kill me and my own to take what I have.

Yeah - I'll pass. Maybe people who wish to live without government should get together, pool their money, and go buy an island to live on together?

Cirque

Originally posted by seabag
Some would be extremely happy! Some would be terrified! What would your response be?

How would things work without government? One of the fundamental ideals shared by libertarians is the belief that we should all be free to do as we choose with our own life and property, as long as we don't harm the life and property of others. In theory, this could be done without government!

Sounds good, right?

I'm all for going back to Athenian Democracy, the only difference being that only the educated (not necessarily landowners) get to vote. It makes me sick to see the uneducated masses voting for a candidate (6 or 7 times) for a friggin' Obamaphone.

It's worse when you have supposedly educated legislators crafting laws about objects with which they don't even have the most basic familiarity; case in point the stupid woman out in Cali that said "Once these magazines are all used up there won't be any more." Then there's Nancy Pelosi's famous comment about Obamacare, "We going to have to pass it before we know what's in it.

People that stupid should not be allowed to vote, or to serve. I wish there was an I.Q.-type test for common sense that everyone had to take before participating in the political process.

reply to post by seabag


my first thoughts would be, where did they go?, and WHY did they go?. i think then i would probably seriously think of bugging out myself. after all why would they just disappear for no reason?

reply to post by seabag
I believe in the absence of big government we would probably fall back into the old ways where local governments ruled their own areas and set their own laws according to the will of the residents. Maybe not the greatest way of governing but probably the most fair.

Originally posted by generik
after all why would they just disappear for no reason?

and was it intentionally or forcefully... to add

If all government ceased to exist, I'd make a list of things that I need to do.

I'd make a huge run to my nearest big box store and buy a lot of food stuffs.

I'd drop by my local sporting goods store and top up on supplies I might need in the future.

I'd go by the feed store and get more supplies for my animals. I'd also purchase more seeds for my garden.

I would see this as an opportunity and also a time of upheaval. Remember 47% of the people are receiving benefits from the government. Suddenly, there would be no more SSI, welfare, ebt cards, foodstamps. People who depend on the government for their support would be up the creek.

I'd be in my little house in the country raising my crops and animals.

bug out probably not, best to start looking for the UFOs if this is a global gov. absence EVENT.

I see a nightmare if this happens. No cops and no justice department to keep people honest. I do see a lot of population reduction as people get shot for trying to break into others homes. If you make it past the first year, all the criminals around here would be dead.....because so many people have rifles and shotguns. I could see a new militia of private citizens forming and people trying to take control of others at local levels too.

I think the Feds could disappear as long as the local and state governments were intact. The cops would just have to shoot criminals during this transition because they couldn't be having that number of people in jail. Even though the percentage of people that would rather get their wealth by deceiving or stealing from others is at about seven percent, seven percent of the population cause a lot of chaos.

reply to post by seabag


Just replying so I can keep track of the thread..
SNF

As earlier posters have noted, factionalism would rise almost immediately. Some would be relatively benign, many would be horrific. I don't think it's a stretch to say that lynching's, torture, human trafficking and vengeance would become part of the new norm, but that isn't the worst of it.

The truth is probably a lot closer to feudalism / rule of the strong. Those with land and power would consolidate and take control of nearby resources. Water, power and food would be controlled by armed gangs with guns. Those downstream would be cutoff entirely, or polluted into extinction with little recourse, travel would be taxed, banditry would rule the areas where factional control is weakest.

The basic problem with large scale libertarianism / anarchy is respect is only granted between partners of the same level of power and authority. Everyone else rapidly becomes irrelevant to the negotiation of power and authority because they lack the physical means to enforce their own sovereignty.

I'd pull my bass boat around with a pirate flag on it, and rape, and pillage!

MAN THE CANNONS YOU SCURVY DOGS!!

reply to post by seabag


I love it!

It shows how people, given the chance to live freely, will eventually form governments again and end up enslaved just the same way as they were before in order to win some peace and security.

Living under some type of government is necessary for all people in order to ensure some measure of peace and justice. Its just a matter of how much of your freedom you're willing to give up to ensure that peaceful existence.