Notes: International Students for Liberty Conference, David Friedman, Problem of National Defense

Defense without Government
---------------

- government bad at doing things, esp complex things (ex: legal systems)
  am willing to accept government solution when alternative is worse
- court and police aren't complicated enough to require government
- define National Defense as invasion defense from a neighbor nation
- define Public Good as that where the producer cannot control who gets it (ex: radio broadcast)
  often economical to privately produce when combined with public bad (ex: advertisement)
  - can't guarantee that a free market produces it
  - but must propose a funding model. imperfect, but better than government

- founders of the constitution had a good idea with 2nd amendment, mentions militia
  - prob1: Oliver Cromwell proved that a small professional army beats larger unorganized amateur army
  - prob2: A large professional army can perform a coup de etat
  - soln: combine a small professional army with a large unorganized militia
  - we can take that solution and modernize it

- Rudyard Kipling: anarchist poem, story Army of a Dream
  - piggy-back off national pastime, popular sport that include mock wargames
  - result: everyone is trained in combat as a side-effect
  - it's social and voluntary
  - ex: David himself participates in the Society of Historical Anachronism
  - modernize: paintball, already proven popular and profitable
    can be encouraged with nationalistic pride

- now we have a large body of amateurs, only need the small cadre of professionals
  - what about the PR advantage of an Apr 15th parade where
    Apple, Google, etc. fly drones/jets in shape of logo or do acrobatics

- Some stories that David won't write http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Miscellaneous/story_ideas.htm
  - in battle of govt vs. market, david's trying to find atypical alternatives: cultural, open source
  - problem with funding the small professional cadre
  - possible solution: taxicabs have 1$billion non-repeat customers
  - can encourage cultural factors: war bonds, weapons donation
  - example: Larry Niven, Oath of Fealty, the private organization that plays the role of government will receive some nationalistic loyalty
  - example: Cloak of Anarchy (it's actually an anti-anarchy story)
  - example: The Ungoverned, Vernor Vinge, assumes state is poorer and backwards compared to anarchy
             Mexico (invader) doesn't think to go around when someone defends
             Mexico: What slime you are to use nukes against us!
             Private Security: What do you mean us? He's not a customer of ours!
  - No current wealthy developed country is worth invading
    - if rich, no profit in it
    - if poor, can't afford to

- Moral arguments are inadequately convincing
  - Hume's ought from is problem
  - don't have to win, the range of differences is not all that much
  - often can't agree on hypotheticals anyway
  - ex: Orwell's review of Hayek and Road to Serfdom and Zilliakis The Mirror of the Past
        he misunderstand market power
  - David's chosen consequentialism because the economics and reason easier to explain

- What about the warlord problem
  - the accumulated wealth of the richest family (Walton's) could pay for only a couple days of today's government

- David would advocate gradual change, to establish alternatives (ex: voucher education)
- Anarchy doesn't require uniform culture
  - donations for common defense can come in many forms: spying, information, reporting, bonds, equipment
  - Cadre is interacting with the culture
    - conferences on the latest weapons tech, training classes, etc..
  - might be able to use gift economics (ex: open source)
    - businesses employs basic research scientist as a cultural resource (informant)
    - status motivation
- Mechanism of outrage is not all that good
  - ex: in South Africa, Americans never upset about Black on Black Nigerian Civil War
- Future Imperfect,
  - we are really rich today, even the undeveloped is 10x more wealthy than historical norm

References:
  - Future Imperfect
  - Orwell's critique of Road to Serfdom
  - Cloak of Anarchy
  - The Ungoverned
  - Oath of Fealty