Exploring the Three Pillars of a Resilient Society

Throughout history, empires have come and gone. Some emerged from favorable farming locations, such as the Nile river valley. Some came about from taking advantage of new technology, such as iron smithing, or roadbuilding. Many came from exploiting the wealth of other nations. Others came from the emergence of a charismatic and ambitious leader who united the people to conquer the world. Many of these empires have left a trail of death and destruction in their wake. These empires ultimately find their place in the history books, after being replaced by another, more powerful empire. Oftentimes, the very power of the empire is also the cause of its collapse. Some empires collapse under the weight of their own governments. In others, their sudden prosperity leads to uncontrolled inflation and poverty. Some are unable to adapt to changes in environment, technology, or world events. Authoritarian leaders die, bringing their nation down with them.

What if we could design a society that could stand the test of time? What if there were a society that offered freedom and prosperity to its inhabitants? Could a society exist that by its nature overcomes catastrophes and becomes stronger as a result of them? What if instead of building a powerful, all-consuming society, we built one that is resilient, and could last forever? A nation that embraces the three pillars of a resilient society, Freedom of Thought, Free Markets, and a Well Regulated Militia, could adapt and thrive through any challenge by empowering each individual to succeed on a personal level. Each of these pillars operates in conjunction with the other two to spread power to the lowest level possible, bringing mistakes and failures frequent and small, and spreading successes to society as a whole.

Freedom of Thought

Freedom of thought, which encompasses freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of conscience, and other freedoms, can simply be summarized as the Right to be Wrong. This is our greatest freedom.

Freedom of thought recognizes that our mind is our universe. It is where our reality exists. It is the source of our creativity and the solution to all our challenges. A free mind can explore infinite impossibilities and can create realities out of nothing. When all else is taken away, our mind is the only thing we have left.

The Right to be Wrong: Our Greatest Freedom

Throughout history, tyrants have recognized the power of free minds, and have sought to stifle threats to their own power. This is why history is full of book burnings, heretics burnings, inquisitions, reeducation camps, propaganda campaigns, and "misinformation" bans. We have repeatedly been told to "trust the experts," and not to question authority. Those in power have regularly sought to stifle wrong thoughts, whether through religious dogma, political loyalty tests, or "settled science." Those in authority have regularly claimed they are protecting the populace against dangerous ideas. They have committed unimaginable atrocities for the greater good of society.

The problem with this is that throughout history, the authorities have nearly always been wrong. Consider nearly every religious, economic, or scientific belief held throughout history. Human sacrifice was once considered essential for society's survival. Everyone knew Earth was the center of the universe. A person's guilt or innocence could be proven through armed combat. Draining the blood was the best cure for a wide range of maladies. The government was best positioned to decide how to manage the economy, or make medical decisions on behalf of individuals. Those who objected had to be punished. How much better would the world be today if people had been able to question these beliefs? What tightly held beliefs do we have that will seem equally ridiculous 1,000 years from now? Stifling thought has only served to stall human progress, regardless of the stated intentions of those in power.

A resilient society recognizes that an individual's right to think any thought is absolute, regardless of how hateful, obscene, heretical, or wrong it may be. That is not to say that all thoughts are equally valuable. Rather, by upholding an individual's right to be wrong, it can test and evaluate all possible thoughts. A resilient society tests various views based on their own merit. Strong views will rise to the top, while weaker views will wither away. Banning unfavorable views by force prevents the free market of ideas from weeding out weak ideas based on reason and logic, and instead unnaturally calcifies emotional thinking.

A free market of ideas spurs more thought by sparking the creativity in others, and allowing good ideas to spread. This enables societies to address emerging or evolving challenges quickly, and allows the best ideas to flourish. This contributes to a society's resilience by making it flexible to change, and allowing it to effectively adopt newer and better ideas.

Free Markets

The global economy is an unfathomably massive and complicated system. It is by far the most complex structure ever created, and it continues to evolve every second. How a rubber farmer in Brazil, a lumberjack in Canada, a graphite producer in Madagascar, and an aluminum miner in Australia can send raw supplies to China in a Panama-flagged vessel for a pencil manufacturer to assemble them into a tool used by an accountant in the United States to jot down calculations for a Japanese corporation without communicating with each other, is mind boggling. No one person could create such a system, nor could anyone understand, let alone control such a labyrinthine ecosystem.

In spite of the impossibility of controlling the global economy, many political and economic thinkers have insisted that centralized control of the economy will lead to a more prosperous or equitable society. They argue that the brightest minds can make better economic decisions than if left to the chaos of laissez-faire economics. This argument may have made sense 100 years ago, but by now it should be relegated to the same category of those who believed in human sacrifice or that the earth was flat. Centralized economies have universally brought widespread suffering, poverty, and unimaginable human rights abuses. Most countries today operate as mixed economies, neither fully free, nor fully centralized. Yet those that trend toward the free market side of the spectrum consistently demonstrate higher prosperity, higher life expectancies, higher levels of happiness, and greater political freedom.

Can You Trade a Paperclip for a House?

The very act of engaging in the free market creates new value. When you decide to spend $10 on an item at a store, you receive something that you valued at more than $10. The store owner receives $10, which is more than the value of that item to her. By engaging in free trade, both of you received a greater value. In this way, it is possible to trade a paperclip for a house. On the flip side, when a central authority requires you to purchase an item or service value will be lost on one or both sides of the transaction, regardless of the stated intentions of those in authority. That is why ideas like compulsory medical care, subsidized housing, or increased regulations inevitably result in higher costs. Free markets create value. Compulsory markets erode it.

Like Freedom of Thought, Free Markets allow societies to quickly adapt to changing circumstances and thrive. A mother choosing between eggs and breakfast cereal, or a husband choosing between faster internet service and saving for retirement may not realize it, but they are both contributing to the global economy. Their choices, along with billions of others around the world every single day, shape the global economy and adjust it for microrealities that are imperceptible to economists. The flip side to this is when centralized decisionmakers dictate people's choices for them, they inevitably will miss the complexity of the market, resulting in inefficiencies at a broad scale. The market is constantly evolving, and constantly adjusting to new products, new technologies, and new needs. The market is never perfect, but it is constantly approaching equilibrium.

Why Financial Freedom is Key to Preserving Political Freedom

Most importantly, free markets are inextricably linked to political freedom. Many have dismissed the Revolutionary War as rich landowners who didn't want to pay taxes. However, this overlooks the basic reality that because they were rich they were able to assert their political freedom. A society that thrives financially is empowered to thrive politically as well. People who are not dependent on their next paycheck are free to speak their mind, stand up for their beliefs, and pursue their own happiness.

Why Being Poor is So Expensive

A resilient society is one that embraces free markets. By pushing financial decision-making down to the individual level, societies can quickly adapt to changing realities. Yes, individuals will make poor financial choices. small businesses will constantly fail and go out of business. However, the market will quickly absorb these mistakes, and none will lead to depressions famines, or major economic disasters. On the other hand, some of these businesses will thrive. Some people will generate enormous wealth, which will then benefit society as a whole. A resilient society will reject centralized economies, and push toward constantly freer markets.

A Well Regulated Militia

One lesson that is clear from history is that when power is concentrated it leads to wars, death, and destruction. When it is dispersed, it leads to greater freedom. The enlightenment and the idea that we are all endowed with human rights did not appear overnight. It was the result of centuries of the dissolution of power. It was the result of the separation of the Church from the Roman Empire. It was the result of the nobles limiting the power of the King through the Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights. It was the result of the Protestants separating from the Catholics. It was the result of the Colonists being separated from their homeland by an ocean. Every division of power resulted in greater freedom.

When the founding fathers declared their independence from England, and formed a new nation, they knew that spreading power to the lowest level was essential for preserving freedom. They wrote a Constitution, which explicitly limited the power of the government to only those powers granted by the Constitution. They further divided those powers between three branches of government to prevent any one from becoming too powerful. Above all, they entrusted power to the people to keep the government in check through the power of the well regulated militia. The founding fathers warned incessantly about the dangers of standing armies, so they ensured that no army would be more powerful that a well armed and well trained populace.

Envisioning a Modern American Militia

The only service offered by a government is the use of force. The use of force is great as a deterrent against foreign invasion, punishing terrorists or rapists, or as an impartial tool for settling disputes between neighbors. However, it quickly can become oppressive when politicians use force to benefit themselves and their supporters, or to advance their own priorities. Standing armies follow the orders of those who provide their paychecks. Militias fight to protect their families, their neighbors, and their communities. In a resilient society, militias form the basis of power for the politicians. Politicians can't do anything without the consent of the governed, because their power is derived from the people. A well regulated militia prevents political leaders from engaging in unjust foreign wars, or trampling on the rights of the people.

A well regulated militia is one that is well armed, well trained, and well organized. It forms the backbone of a free society. It preserves everyone's right to think for themselves, and it denies authoritarians the power to make the populace dependent on government power. By their nature, authoritarians will oppose a powerful militia, as it restricts their own power to control. That is why governments by default seek to restrict individuals' rights to bear arms using arguments such as that it is for public safety, or the greater good. History has shown that governments murder far more people than criminals do. Criminals murder far more people than gun owners do. It is up to armed individuals to prevent both. Each individual must make the conscious effort to arm themselves, train with their weapons of war, and ensure that they are capable of defending themselves and their community against violent aggressors, whether they be criminals, authoritarians, or foreign invaders.

The Three Columns Work Together to Support a Resilient Society

Each of the three columns discussed above is critical for preserving a free and resilient society. Each column supports the other, as people who are free to think for themselves, can make the best financial decisions for themselves, which enables them to spend some of their money on arms to protect their ability to speak their minds. Each of the columns is constantly under threat, as authoritarians regularly seek to stifle wrong thinking, control the economy, or overpower the people through weapons for military or law enforcement use only. As we have seen through history, powerful empires eventually collapse under their own weight. A resilient society, on the other hand, distributes freedom, wealth, and power down to the individual level. By empowering individuals to overcome their own challenges, a resilient society can thrive and last forever.