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A Tale of Two Flags
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[Editor's Note: the following post is by TDV Correspondent David Giessel]
A couple weeks ago while visiting friends in the San Francisco Bay Area, I found myself driving north to Berkeley with a friend to spend the evening wandering Telegraph Ave. To get there we decided to take I-880 North along the East Bay. This route takes you past two interesting complexes: Solyndra and Tesla Motors.
For an anarchist, driving past the Solyndra buildings (now for sale!) provides an entertaining and highly visible example of the failure of central economic planning, which goes well with the terrible rush hour traffic on 880 caused by the socialist road system.
Even normal people often find the Solyndra situation funny, they just don’t understand exactly why. Of course my friend and I discussed this briefly as we drove by. She observed it as yet another failed program of the Obama administration, but did not indict the state itself as the more fundamental cause. It’s a start though. Baby steps.
The Tesla complex is a bit north of Solyndra and much larger. They are not bashful about their brand and have TESLA written in massive letters on all of their buildings. My favorite aspect of their complex however is the flags out front. On the tallest pole, the American flag, on the middle pole, the California flag, and on the shortest pole, the Tesla flag. I thought about this for a second and commented to my friend how awesome it was that so many Bay Area companies have their own flags out front. Notably, Apple used to fly a pirate flag in front of their campus in Cupertino, hence “Pirates of Silicon Valley.”
Upon my comment about the Tesla flag, my friend said that she thought it was a bit ostentatious of them to put their flag right next to two “real” flags. I could feel my inner anarchist twinge a little and as gently as possible I explained that the Tesla corporate flag IS the real flag and that the ostentatious ones were the two flags representing theft and violence. Tesla’s flag represents a business that only exists through voluntary exchange, subsequent wealth creation, technological development, and ultimately human progress. The two other silly flags that happen to cutter their yard represent institutions based solely on coercion. Tesla Motors offers electric cars on a take it or leave it basis, only ultimately succeeding if people like what they have to offer. By contrast the State of California and the United States Government present you with a different offer: your money or your life. If you choose not to buy their product (the main one being murder of foreigners) you are either kidnapped and locked in a cage or murdered for resisting. They even go as far as to codify how their symbols of theft and murder (their flags) are to be displayed, stating that they should be flown higher than symbols of peace and prosperity (i.e. private flags).
After explaining this to her I commented that, “Once two of those flags go away we’ll have it made.” Indeed, I have long-term hope for parts of the United States and California in particular. There is a strong anti-state sentiment among many technology moguls, with people like the late Steve Jobs going so far as to point out to the Cupertino City Council that if they want to make things difficult for Apple (the largest target for their expropriation) he would simply move the company elsewhere.
Those in the tech industry who are successful have become so by seeing how things can be done better. Monopolistic political rent seeking behavior doesn’t work as well for them as it does for slower paced industries because product cycles are short and they compete in a global market. From repeated conversations with another good friend of mine who has been very successful in her own right, many in Silicon Valley see the nation state as a albatross around their neck and eagerly anticipate the era of the Sovereign Individual.
As the State of California goes into fiscal collapse due to its massive debt burden, I am hopeful that the productive companies will seize the opportunity. Companies like Apple, Cisco, Google, Intel, etc already have large campuses in the South Bay that are largely autonomous. Many have their own child care, their own green spaces for recreation (accomplished without so-called “imminent domain” property theft), and in many cases their own power plants. They have their own private road systems within their campus and their own security to keep their employees and buildings secure. Apple and others even run their own bus service for their employees (see the video above). Companies like these are already existing example of Hans Hoppe’s “private law society” despite the existence of the state.
In many cases these companies are also sitting on large piles of cash and would be well positioned to re-negotiate the terms of their property rental from the real Pirates of Silicon Valley, the Municipal, State, and Federal Governments.
When the Federal and State debt collapse goes into full swing, they could offer something like a one time cash payment to bail out the state in exchange for true property ownership, free of expropriated rent that is euphemistically referred to as “property tax.” True property ownership would also legally exempt them from being forced to fund the murder of potential customers through the Federal corporate income tax (which is essentially purely a war tax). They could bid on residential and commercial properties nearby, offering their employees a lower cost of living with far better services than the state provides now. No more rolling blackouts. No water shortages. Services and resources would finally be allocated efficiently and costs for everyday goods and services in the area would plummet just the way they have in the technology industry. Free from the state, the South Bay area could make even relatively free areas like Singapore look like a stone-age city in a matter of years. There would be enormous pressure around the globe for other areas to compete with this growth and there would only be one possible way to do so: roll back the state and ultimately abolish it, one city, state, and country at a time.
It is possible. It is happening already because of economic law, even in the presence of the state. Whether or not it is taken to its conclusion remains to be seen, but to the extent that we recognize the legitimate flags and laugh at or ignore the pirate flags of the state, we will bring the private law society one step closer to being reality.
David Giessel is a professional engineer, amateur economist and philosopher, AM talk radio host in Fairbanks, Alaska, and aspiring perpetual traveler. Since 2009 David has organized an Austrian Scholars' group in Fairbanks with other like minded friends. This group seeks to educate its members and the local community by studying works on economics, philosophy, and politics. David also co-hosts the Patriot's Lament radio show and writes for the Patriot's Lament blog.
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Comments (27)
@MavaThe symbiotic relation that you explain between corporations and governments exist, because from the side of the corporation, you have the money and economic growth and from the side of the government, you have economic control and a military force. If the government cease to exist in a single day, it doesn't mean that the military would.... Military in modern days, requires resources which corporations have. Legitimacy only exists in minds of people that do not have hungry and have theirs stomachs filled with food and have time to think about politics. Once you have control over a military force through resources and you demonstrate to that military force that the only way for them to survive is to fight for them and to support them, you have am empowered corporation. The threat of hunger and pain, have always been good incentives.If you have a gold coin, you can buy food to someone. If you have a gold coin and a gun, you can take the food and keep the gold. If the other guy fights back, then the conflict will escalate, but that only happens if the other guy fights back..... Pure brute force.Basically, if we had all said tomorrow: No more!, then it would disappear like in a magic story, because all it's power is only that that we "believe" it has.I totally agree... but like you said. "If we ALL"... and that's the problem... ALLAnd yes... maybe the US Americans citizens deserve the government they have...Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely... and the US Military machine has quite a punch...
Yes, I know a bit of Russian Gastronomy to understand how Russian people feed themselves in the past. For a country that only has good weather conditions for about 2-4 months per-year, it can be a pain to produce fresh vegetables during all year. I remember my Russian Language Teacher (yes I had some Russian classes at University), teaching us how Russians conserved farmed their lands the most that they could during those months and then, conserved everything they could in bottles, using the same process that is used for pickles. I know that Portugal exports some Oranges, Apples, Pears, Olives, Olive Oil and other agricultural stuff to Russia, but we still don't have enough production in order to satisfy such markets. Blame EU lame politics for that...
@ ClaymoreAgain, modern corporations have little-to-nothing to do w/free-markets and wouldn't even EXIST w/o the state.Corporations are extensions of the state and vice-versa.GOVERNMENTS are simply corporations, themselves.
A public company is just that, a communal enterprise. They suffer the same ills as any communal enterprise, for instance Agent - Owner conflict of interest, central planning, lack of feedback, etc. A private incorporated business is a fascist model, where a proprietor gains licensed powers and breaks, on behalf of the state.
@ShaneYes Shane, I understand your point of view, but I don't share it...Corporations, nowadays could exist without Governments because now, they are the ones who control Governments and dictate how laws are manufactured. If Governments cease to exist, they would implement their own authority system trough private armies (mercenaries), which actually, already exist (Blackwater Security). Mafia Organizations back in the 20's and 30's in the US, were based in a similar system.They exist and it's real.
Claymore,Incorrect. The corporations are symbiotic with the government. But without the government, they would not be able to affect anything at all. This is because pure power is not the only requirement for authority. The power must have at least a shade of legitimacy. Once the last of legitimacy is gone, there is not enough force in the universe to sustain the authority.In the newer thread, there is a point made, that the dollar will not collapse for as long as the military rules the earth. This is an example of simplistic reasoning. This also would be a good case for you to examine and to reject your own misconceptions, that you have stated here.Observe. As soon as the power loses it's legitimacy, no military will be able to support it. Sure there may-be an all or nothing effort, but you can bet it will fail.Someone said "We deserve the government that has us". This is very true. It refers back to the fact that the sole reason that the government does exist, and rapes us daily, is because through our own logical weakness, we give it the legitimacy that in needs to exist.Basically, if we had all said tomorrow: No more!, then it would disappear like in a magic story, because all it's power is only that that we "believe" it has.
russia:Net grain production rose at 3.1 per cent annually between 1885 and 1913. Russia produced more grain than any other country in 1861, and in 1913, was second only to the US.All this ended when the Bolsheviks took power "for the benefit of all people". Then (from your Wikipedia):The Russian famine of 1921,... which began in the early spring of that year and lasted through 1922, was a severe famine that occurred in Bolshevik Russia. The famine, which killed an estimated 5 million, affected mostly the Volga-Ural region.Until this day, the community oriented central planned economy struggles to feed it's own people.Sep 5 2003 assessment: "The Russian agricultural sector is struggling to rebuild as it transforms itself from a command economy to a more market-oriented system."Please, note, that both, the successes and failures of Russian agriculture are happening on the same 10% of land that is deemed cultivable. The land is still there, but the individual owners and producers are all gone. When it was all done for personal gain, Russia fed the world. When it is done "for the benefit of the people", it struggles to feed itself.My point is that the land is not the factor at all. It is whether they system allows unlimited personal gain or not.
As Karen DeCoster wrote:(Under the state)...Raising prices is
@ShaneWe extrapolated that probably because... well... it's the world reality, not a fictional one. I read several of Jeff's articles here at TDV, expressing is feelings towards the definition of economy and free-market by Mises. I do NOT disagree with it's ideas but I have yet to met such market. Otherwise, the market that Shaw and I described , not only exists but it seems that its starting to take control of everything... My opinion is simple... large corporations are substituting Governments, changing into a Corporate Monarchy... you will soon see those changes in a more visible way when those big corporations start acquiring mercenaries... First they will state that it's for their own protection and then well... I don't even dare to predict what might happen...@StuartThanks for the description of the Video. I should remind you that I'm not American nor Danish...The few things I know about those countries is what I read on the web and what friends that I have living there, tell me of how things work and how life is for them there. Friends that I have in Denmark tell me that life is great there... so, could you explain me why you have such anger towards Denmark system so that I can understand a bit more?About China, what you said about savings rate is quite true, but you are missing one thing... the savings rate is 48%... in Average! It' doesn't mean that every Chinese saves 48% of it's income... This is a statistical miss evaluation...It's the same that saying that in a certain country, people eat 1 chicken in average per month, when in reality, half the population eats 2 chickens and the rest, eats nothing...What I'm trying to say is that, despite there is a large saving rate, those savings are focused on what might be called the Chinese 1% population (actually is much lower than that...). The rest of the Chinese population is left to die... Should I remind everyone of the factories that have safety nets so that workers do not commit suicide ? Apple Factories? Remember anything?About the Chinese needing the US and EU, well, if they didn't need it... they would have abandoned the US dollar long ago... There is no market consumption like the US or EU in the world... Brasil? The country that is even more State supported than the US? Should I remind you of the Alcohol (BioFuel) State Subsidies? What about Russia? As long they have Gas and Oil, everything is good, yet... they need to sell it... Russia is not a country rich in agricultural land so they are going to have to buy food from someone... India? Overpopulated... constantly threatened by nuclear war from Pakistan... High levels of Pollution, low access to medical care by 75% of the population... Only South Africa for me, is the country that might be an example to follow, but I know little about their economy...BRICS starting their own IMF? Are you sure? -> link Anyway,,, thanks for your comments and point of view.
@jeffIt hasn't ?Then what was this? Link What about OPEC ? What is that?
@ClaymoreI only wanted you to see the budget. The words look very much like the english and 10 seconds investigation would have led you to that conclusion. I think you can also note the apology for not having an english version, this is the craziest story about welfare I have ever seen and thought it might be interesting. My bad... Maybe you like working to support unemployed people receiving $40,000 US per year from the state...Your premise about Singapore is faulty. Do you know how many Malaysians cross the bridge to work there because the salaries are 4/5 times they can make the other side of the water? So it's not perfect. Denmark has more alcoholism than almost any other country in the world, and this is the largest re-distributing country in the world. Drug dealers and hookers stood outside my old apartment window (and I lived in a premium neighbourhood). Me dodging used needles as I walk down the streets. Socialist paradise, available at a price of 60%-75% of your income!!!Your conspiracy theory about a china war is also unlikely. You can't substantiate any of that. China also has a savings rate of 48% according to Jim Rickards well respected book Currency Wars. So maybe that combined with a family centric culture will leave Chinese pensioners in better shape than western pensioners who have little or no savings, and are sat on currencies that are likely to be hyperinflated so much soon that even Gideon Gono would blush. Hey grandad, here is your pension... good luck buying a loaf of bread... And your kids, yeah they live in Mexico now because they escaped their own repressive countries.The idea that China needs america... Have to laugh... They basically receive paper (dollars) for physical products. When they are forced to print more of their own currency due to their pegs, they cause internal inflation. So supplying the USSA is a net loser for the chinese. The BRICS are starting their own IMF soon, and will likely demand goods for goods payment. Not greenbacks for goods payment. I am sure the dollar going down will cause some restructuring, but nothing like what is going to happen in the US (i.e. you cannot buy anything anymore).
Fun fact that I just remembered..Did any of you remember how Al Capone actually changed/innovated the Mafia system back in the 20's-30's?:)
ClaymoreYour description of a "market cartel" is pure fantasy - it has never existed in practice.
@ Shaw and ClaymoreCorporations, as currently configured, are fictional entities created by legal fiat.They are granted privileges and protections by the state--outright exemptions from liability as well as various regulations (environmental, trade, 'workers rights', 'equal' rights, etc.) and taxes which favor them at the expense of upstarts and other smaller competitors.You are extrapolating the current STATE-CREATED corporations into a future stateless society...which is just wrong.
@mavaWhen two or more companies freely decide to keep the price on the same level, that is not price fixing, because it is their natural right to enter into agreements, and to call it "price fixing" presupposes some action they have no right to, such as Obama has no right to declare anything that he does declare.That's actually called "Market Cartels" which actually goes against free-market systems. When a Market Cartel is well established, a Market Monopolization is also establish by the consortium of corporations that constitute the Cartel. Market Cartel can also be heterogeneous which means that can be constituted by companies that produce different products but that are dependent in business. Prices are manipulated in order to obtain maximum profit, without any regard of the product quality. This means that instead of maximizing the quality/cost ratio, which happens in a free-market system, in a market controlled by a cartel of corporations, product quality will lose any value or meaning, were the only concern will be, to manufacture the product at the lowest possible cost even if quality is sacrificed. Since there is no real market competition, products sold from the corporations belonging to the cartel, end up being the same. This will eventually lead to a corporation merge/fusion, creating a massive corporation that has the market monopoly. From there to authority corruption, politics corruption, market control through force, mercenary hiring and other repression acts, it's actually just baby steps...
@ShawI totally agree with you... you just described the system were Governments are substituted by Private Corporations that finance their own private mercenaries...There is even a movie such system is presented -> Tekken
I am not very familiar with the coal mine companies and standard oil history, but I seem to remember that :- In case of coal mine companies, they did not hold anyone by force. People who got stuck at the company store simply didn't want to seek any alternatives peacefully. Sure they tried to turn things around, but not in a peaceful manner, and so were met with police repression, and rightfully so. Basically that was the same case as a case of any loser today, who wants the company to start providing him with a job he likes and the pay he wants, and not the other way around.- In the case of standard oil, there were no price fixing, and no monopoly. Price fixing is when Obama declares that he will fine anyone not buying certain dollar amount of insurance. When two or more companies freely decide to keep the price on the same level, that is not price fixing, because it is their natural right to enter into agreements, and to call it "price fixing" presupposes some action they have no right to, such as Obama has no right to declare anything that he does declare. Monopoly, likewise, means no one else is allowed to enter the market. A prime example is monopoly on drugs in US, and on legal advice, on medical advice, etc. This is where you are not allowed to enter the market. In case of standard oil, anyone can freely do so, and be faced with competition of very well capitalized and much more efficient company. But, notice that the Standard Oil can not take you to court for entering the market! Try to give a legal advice and watch yourself going to jail.With this said, I too have a feeling that your understanding of those events, Shaw, does remind me of Das Capital, because it irks with misconceptions at the root, on which you later build. This is exactly what Marx did. He perverted the definitions first, before he was able to apply the blame where it didn't belong. These perverted definitions got stuck in our dictionaries to this day, in order to confuse millions of people. Same with Keynes. They all pervert the definitions before they compile their attack.For instance, ask anyone what is inflation, and you will receive a wrong answer 99% of the time.
Hi Shaw.Unfortunately your understanding of history reads like "Das Kapital"Filled with half truths and fallacies.I suggest you Read Antitrust: The Case for Repeal http://mises.org/document/6061And How Capitalism Saved America http://www.fff.org/freedom/fd0410f.aspAnd get back to us.
@StuartYou could have been a nice person and post a video that at least would be in English... I wasn't able to understand a word... I wonder if you would understand anything if a posted a video in Portuguese...Anyway, labour work in the south Asian countries will always be more productive because of the Slavery rules that are applied their... Is China going to be able to sustain such development? I doubt it... there is no middle class in the South East Asia to support such massive consuming market, equal to the EU and USA... China as completely failed to create a middle class and the fact that they pushed the "one child policy" thirty years ago, is going to take it's effect in the next 10-20 years, when more than 50% of the Chinese population will be over the 50-60 years and start to be a burden over the youngest generations, which will be obligated to take care of the elders... Don't believe me? Just check the demographic information on the net about China and South East Asian countries. Countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai and others, had their growth supported by western countries because of their massive consumption that fed all those markets, which had only one concern... to deliver low cost products. Already are the Chinese working class, demanding higher payments which will increase the final products cost and I wonder... if EU and USA are on the verge of bankruptcy, who will they sell their products?Even within China, there are massive ghost cities that show how an epic construction bubble has formed, yet people still believe that China is the future? Lol... It may seem that because of all the Gold that they are buying but last time I checked... people don't feed from Gold but from Food and China Imports lots and lots of grain...It seems that those who spread the word that South Asian countries are a paradise and everyone are rich and every building is a five star hotel, as if it were a religion, maybe but just maybe, they should go to the suburbs... See if all those persons have access to proper medical facilities or education.Would I like to live, for example in Xangai? Look at this...I know that Singapore has a much better air quality, but I don't like when someone tries to throw sand at my eyes by showing a lifestyle that presents itself as an example, when the Singapore government is actually a government which represses outdoor group reunions without legal permits... they even support canning as a legal corporal punishment both judicial and educational. Singapore is nothing but smoke and mirrors cleverly placed...I also predict a possible future military conflict between China and several south Asian countries due oil resources.... That globe zone is a time-bomb.
@Mava - A lot of Silicon valley companies are in the Dallas area - the weather is no better, long really hot/humid summers and the area is tornado prone. A lot of them are in Massachusetts, bitter cold winters. So I don't think weather plays much role in that decision. I think they will discover the advantages of Nevada very soon.@Claymore - your data on Singapore is not only completely outdated but also grossly incorrect. I fully agree with @Stuart Bishop
What a dreamland utopia! Total corporate rule is going to provide for every need and solve all of the social problems as well. The return of the "city state", only this time "corporate state". What could go wrong? Remember when coal mine companies ran everything? How did that go for the average person? They were forced to work for low wages and buy at the company store. The average person was in fact a slave to these companies and could never get out of debt to them. Slave for life. When the average worker tried to improve the situation, they were met with private police who shot them dead. Also, do you really think that in a corporate owned town that any sort of competition would be allowed? I don't think so. The number one focus of a corporation is always to increase market share and/or create a monopoly that will allow price fixing - remember Standard Oil? The system you describe is the oppposite side of the same coin as the "socialism" you decry, only instead of the state as master, you have corporate masters. Niether of these systems is designed for personal freedoms and liberty.
Sam, yes. You're missing the weather, the dust storms and things of that nature.Claymore, I can not believe it. I agree with you! Holy cow!
Nice story. Too bad you didn't do your homework first. At the same time Solyndra was dipping into the DOE trough, so was Tesla. Tuesday, June 23, 2009 SAN CARLOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)
Really liked the article! A good read.@ Claymore - Funny you post a leftist party article about the third richest country in the world (after a couple of oil emirates) that was freed from British rule and took less than 50 years to achieve that position.Singapore is the anti Scandinavia. Whenever a drooling brainwashed leftist extols the virtues of the Scandinavian societies I ask them why they have income levels almost half the average Singaporeans whilst the cost of living is SUBSTANTIALLY higher (and I have lived in Scandinavia so can testify to it). The only real conclusion is that Singapore is a beneficiary of minimal state intervention, Chinese/Indian work ethic and the stats bear this out. The power balance of the world is heading this way whether you like it or not (from the unproductive to the productive) so if you want your welfare state live in Europe look forward to your unemployment benefit buying you a loaf of bread if you are lucky in 10 years or so. The rest of the world will keep on working, producing, innovating and enjoying the material benefits of this whilst your type whinge about 1%'ers or some other nonsense. Maybe this is the type of state you would rather live in (apologise for not having english subtitles - it is a welfare recipient in Denmark getting $40,000 US after taxes and the left complaining about her being an example of poverty. Link is set up on her budget for you to see)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6MzkAlhgQU&t=2m24sPeace
When the Federal and State debt collapse goes into full swing, they could offer something like a one time cash payment to bail out the state in exchange for true property ownership, free of expropriated rent that is euphemistically referred to as
Excellent article David.
I am in full agreement with you. Recently I drove 1500 miles through the bay area onto Reno/Tahoe and then south to Las Vegas. I have come back a bit confused. Home prices, business setting up and taxes in Nevada put the high costs in neighboring Ca to shame. I am wondering why dont more businesses move to Las Vegas area. It is one of the best connected airports in the world, It has low living costs, some of the lowest entertainment costs, and lowest taxes anywhere within the 50 states..? Am I missing something..?
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