Liberty Pile - Libertarian News

In another venue, I was presented with a criminal scenario and challenged to apply propertarian principals to it, and demonstrate how justice might be obtained by free enterprise in a plausible Anarcho-Capitalist society. I did so in the form of a little story which I hope some of you may find amusing. The scenario given to me was this:

> Let's say "Bud" has been seen eying my sniper rifle collection and
> one night he breaks into my home and steals three of them. Unbeknownst
> to him I have surveillance cameras rolling and they catch him red
> handed in no uncertain terms, the footage of which I present to Judge
> Wavy as evidence for the trial along with the serial number of the
> missing guns. In the mean time Bud takes one of my guns, sells it in
> parts on Ebay, (traceable through IP addresses and Pay Pal accounts)
> then takes another one and uses it to hold up another store that makes
> it's money by sponsoring ocean dives for pearls (also caught on
> surveillance).

First the ethical analysis:

Let me preface this by saying that these are my definitions and not necessarily anyone else's. God didn't hand them to me, I caught 'em and skun 'em myself, and so far they seem to work pretty well wherever I apply them. If you don't like them, provide a counter-example and we'll dicker. OK. Property is anything you can control access to and disposition of, so the guns are property alright.

Possession is having control over A&D of property so yep, you had possession.

Ownership. I'll assume you received them in a voluntary transaction with the previous owner, or constructed them in your basement machine shop, or found them in the woods. That pretty much covers the ways ownership can arise. So I'll stipulate you are the rightful owner. If Bud disagrees, I'll consider his evidence, if any.

So bud now has possession of property that you own. Did you give it to him voluntarily? No? Can you now do what you want to with it? No? Then he has interfered with your A&D of your property. This is a violation of your property rights.

Now Force is the violation of property rights (we can break this down further if you like). Have you ever seen or dealt with this guy before? No? Then he has initiated force against you.

The Prime Directive:
"Thou shalt not initiate force against another",
or "Thou shalt not violate the property rights of another",
or "Thou shalt not violate the life, liberty or property of another".
It's all pretty much the same thing.

Q.E.D.

So what happens next?
You could go after him yourself and be justified in a certain amount of violence in seeking recovery and restitution. But you decide it's safer in several ways to buy your justice from professionals rather than try to make it yourself (a wise decision). There I am in the yellow pages under 'Arbitration'. You've heard of me before but you go on line and do a little homework. I've plenty of track record on your reputation server of choice, mostly positive. In fact I was one of the first such services in the community, and I get good marks for logic, ethical analysis, and fairness, and I have very few reversals. A veritable Pillar of the Community ;) Because of my rep, I'm kinda pricey. But you have more than 25 gold ounces in those guns replacement cost, and you can afford it. Almost anyone in the community can, it seems, for some reason ;) The following takes place on Liberty Hall ("You can spit on the mat, and call the cat a bastard"), an artificial island in the sheltered Sea of Cortez....

Your security contract is with Griswolds (Brrrr!). They come by with a Fair Witness, check out your broken window and remove the memory chips from their cameras in a formal way as evidence. You and their representative Come to me to make a claim against Bud. He is served notice and shows up to defend himself to avoid a judgment by default. How did I find him? Let's just assume that Griswolds
(Brrrr!) is good at what they do. (we can pursue any of these assumptions, but they are each another story).

There is ample proof of his actions and I rule against him. In fact, the proprietor, a Mr George Muff, of Muff Divers Ltd also shows up at the party, looking for his own pound of flesh. With me so far?

All in all, Buddy Boy owes over 50 Oz AU for his little spree. What was he thinking of? Must have been a newbie and thought he could get away with it. No matter. I add on 1/2 oz each for my fee. Ka-Ching.

Now buddy boy says "Screw you all, you can't make me pay". Two more persons
in the trademark black and grey plaid kilts mosey in the door, well heeled, and stand on either side. Turns out he rents his digs but owns a nice 26ft Boston whaler tied up in the canal behind his place, full Nav and Comm and all the trimmin's. That's worth maybe 60 Oz AU, plus near as we can tell, he still has two of the guns. We can't trace the ebay money because our banks do not require ID. I point out that the mechanics of collection would be performed by Griswolds (Bud says "Brrr!").

Tune in tomorrow for the next exiting installment of "The Frontier Justice Files" (With apologies to L. N. Smith for certain appropriations).

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In the last episode, we left our young genius sociopath Buddy Boy in the company of Lenna, Mr. Muff, judge Hill, the Griswolds rep (B ... you get the picture) and a couple of gals from the same outfit by the door. One of them is cleaning her nails with a 9 inch dagger. Both are sporting more hardware than they could swim with.
So is Hill, but then he collects the stuff. And the Arbiter biz can get exiting at times. Bud is having second thoughts about shining on the judgment and
being very careful to keep his hands away from the ill-maintained 9mm on his hip.

"Bud", says Hill, "Here's how it works in this town. You owe a total of 50.5 ounces for what you took alone. You can pony up, or we can sell your" (looking at the
Griswold report) "Whaler and give you back the difference, if any. If you can return the other two guns, I'll knock off" (picks up a copy of a bill of sale) "18 ounces I make it".

"Hey!" says Muff, "What about me? Caught me by surprise. Nobody does this kind of thing anymore. Me and my daughter, well, I'm gonna need some therapy and a new pair of shorts!". Hill smiles and says "I was just getting to that part. Bud, you also owe restitution for the trauma and just plain aggravation of dealing with you.
That'll be another 20 ounces divided between Lenna and Mr. Muff, here. ". Bud looks incredulous. "B-B-But I thought there's no laws here! You have no right ...".

Hill half stands up and looks him in the eye. "That doesn't mean there's no justice. We do have one law here, son. In words of one syllable: Don't.Mess.With.Our.Stuff. Did you get one of these when you came on board?". Hill waves one of the thin little "Welcome to Liberty Hall" pamphlets the Personal Rights Protective League hands out to all newbies and visitors. "I know you did. Did you even bother to look at it?". Bud won't meet his eye.

"Thought so. Look, you pay up now and it's over and done with (if not forgotten). If you don't, you'll find it very hard to get gas, groceries, phone and data service, even a burger and coke. We don't like cheaters here and you're already on the news" . He turns his screen around on the desk. Behind the news anchor is a shot of Buds house, with his picture in the corner. "We don't get a lot of excitement
around here, not your sort anyhow". Bud says "Uh, you mean I'm not going to jail?". "What jail? Who would pay for your vacation and why? How can you make restitution if you can't work? Crime does pay around here, Bud. It pays the
victim. What could be more fair?".

Bud gets a crafty look. "OK. I still have the two rifles. 52 ounces, right?". "52.5 . Be back here in 48 hours. Is that long enough?". "I guess so, Judge". "And don't call
me Judge!". "Yessir!". "The name's Wavy, dammit!". Bud departs awkwardly.

Hill looks at the Griswolds rep. "That one's gonna be trouble, Alex". "I guess so Wavy". We'll put a tail on him and stakeout the canal. Just in case. That's not covered by retainer Lenna, 'Specially if there's shootin'". "That's OK Alex. You do what's best". Wavy says "In that case, we'll add it to his bill. Ya'll keep in touch". They say their goodbyes, Lenna, Muff, and the three Griswolds file out the door.

Outside Alex turns to Lenna. "You gonna be OK, kid?". "Thanks, but I can take care of myself Alex. Won the pop-up range competition at work last two years out of three", She pats the Chinese machine pistol at her waist. "OK, but we'll
keep an extra eye on your place for a few days, just in case". "Thanks Alex, you're a knight!". "We aim to please, ma'am", say Alex, giving his non-existent Stetson a turn.

Later that day, at Bud's rent-a-joint, the airwaves are cracklin'. "Hey Alex! Buddy Boy's loadin' up his boat". "Thought so. Didn't look like tha sharpest tool in tha
shed. Be right by with the cruiser. You and Jackson stay out of sight". "Yo!". Presently a 32 foot steel hulled inboard comes around the bend and up the canal by Bud's place, hardly workin' up a sweat. Small arms ports dot the cabin and a 50 cal sits behind a shield on the deck. Two guys are visible, plus Alex at the wheel. They pull up beside Bud's 26 foot Whaler. The smaller boat is already riding a bit
low in the water and the lawn looks like a yard sale. "Way ta go, Einstein", says Alex. "Who'd a thunk it?", looking at the HD flat screen in Buds arms,"Hey, nice TV!". Bud looks crestfallen.

"Say, thanks for loadin' all this stuff up for us. We'll see you after the auction". Bud tosses the flat screen into the canal. "Go fish for it, assholes!".
The Griswolds look at each other in amazement and Alex shrugs. "It's your bottom line, Einstein". Bud thinks about it and in a moment, the puzzled look is replaced by one of annoyance. Both expressions look like they're in familiar territory. A pair of bubbles float to the surface (pop ... pop), followed by a stunned fish. The two stakeouts mosey up behind him and Alex holds his hand out with a smile.

"I'll take those keys now ... if you don't mind". Bud looks at the 5 men and the deck gun and hands them over, grinding his teeth. The Griswolds putt off down the canal in the two boats, leaving Bud to ponder his fate, trying to understand what just happened. He still doesn't get it.

Cue theme music, roll closing credits, and fade to commercial.....