The World Is F*cked—So What's Your Solution? Part 1

"You're not voting? So you'd rather do nothing?" The opposite is true.

When I make the case against using the system to fight the system, such as voting for “lesser evils” to stop evil, I'm often asked, "What's your solution?"

I will never claim to have the solution(s), and I think it is wise to distrust those who insist with certainty that they do. However, there are many ways to support freedom, humanity, and the evolution of consciousness outside the system that has hindered them for so long.

The following are some that I consider to be the most important and effective (this list is by no means exhaustive, and I hope it serves as merely a jumping-off point for your own ideas). Some categories overlap, but all are oriented around self-reliance, decentralization and leveraging markets, and interdependence with your community via voluntary interactions rather than dependence on the coercive State.

Support disruptive technology that disempowers the State and its collaborators

A key strategy to roll back government encroachment is to operate outside the tentacles of government, which lessens the reach of its authority. So is supporting technologies that help solve global problems.

Cryptocurrency (not just "Bitcoin") is the most obvious solution of this kind. It directly challenges the Federal Reserve's central banking fiat system, which holds a monopoly on currency in the form of the ever-devalued dollar.

These currencies have the potential to expand financial freedom and agency for disempowered people. More broadly, they offer us the freedom to trade using our currency of choice depending on our values, say, privacy. They give us the ability to opt out of the grip of the ruling class. In light of this, it is not surprising that the establishment has long attacked digital currencies. Now, central banks around the world are moving to impose their own digital currencies. To me, this signals that the technology has serious potential—that those in power view them as a threat and are attempting to insert themselves to exert control. On a similar note, using gold, silver, or even simply bartering is a small but effective way to individually opt out of the financial system. If more people did this, it would have massive ripple effects.

Other important options that support freedom from the ruling powers include using communications with encryption to block State surveillance and using apps, search tools, and software that don't collect your data. Another example of disruptive technology is 3D printing, which is currently rendering some victimless crime laws obsolete. This tech is also making a difference in the housing market. Housing costs have risen in part due to overregulation, while the deteriorating economy, largely a result of government intervention, makes it increasingly difficult for people to afford homes. Houses "printed" with this technology are more accessible and surprisingly visually appealing.

Yet another example of solutions-oriented technology can help the environment: using drones to plant trees en masse and replenish depleted forests, which are essential to ecosystems. Many new inventions have the potential to help heal the planet without a central authority managing the process. Whether you are implementing technologies like these for yourself or donating to companies and organizations creating and implementing them, disruptive technology will undoubtedly play a huge role in the evolution of humanity and the planet.

Agorism at large

Leveraging technology to disempower, counter, and replace the State is one example of the broader strategy of agorism. Agorists engage markets to undermine government authority and build a new world rooted in consent and voluntary interactions.

Examples of this include purchasing services from people who don't have "official" permission to perform them, like someone who is talented at cutting hair but can’t afford to spend thousands of dollars on the official training and licensing to do it legally; growing your own food and trading with neighbors who may grow other kinds of food, which not only builds community but also helps you opt out of Big Agriculture and its many toxic, nutritionally deficient, government-approved practices; and choosing to homeschool your children rather than sending them to regimented, authority-driven public schooling if you are in a position to do so (there are many options on this front). These ideas are directly connected to the next solution.

Voting with your dollars

By spending your hard-earned money (fiat or otherwise) on people and products outside the system, you gradually chip away at the system's ubiquity. Massive (and often massively corrupt) corporations dominate much of the market thanks to government intervention, subsidies, and regulatory capture, but there are other options. While it's not always possible to buy exclusively from small businesses, local farmers markets, and people you know, there are many 'mainstream' options. This reflects consumers' shifting preferences and the markets’ response (it is important to be discerning to avoid marketing gimmicks): buying foods grown organically (at least relative to glyphosate crops), avoiding synthetic additives in food, and choosing cleaner personal care products without phthalates, fragrances, and other chemicals known to cause health problems are all options that are increasingly available both from small businesses and larger manufacturers alike.

In another example, you can choose to bank with smaller, local financial organizations that don't fund politicians or participate in bailout programs (or transition to alternative currencies altogether). You can limit your purchases of products from companies that have dominated the market by paying off politicians, instead supporting smaller or more ethical businesses when possible. In another example, you can support independent journalists who directly challenge the corporate media's narratives and refuse to play into the two-party divide-and-conquer agenda that so often manipulates well-intentioned people. These journalists rarely receive adequate financial support to continue their efforts, and crowdfunding their work is another essential solution to hold those in power accountable.

In yet another example, you may be able to find holistic, natural remedies to health ailments and opt out of the pharmaceutical and medical-industrial complexes (given the wide range of health ailments, I understand this is not always possible, but it is worth investigating for your unique issues and needs).

There are countless examples of ways to vote with your dollars and signal your preferences.

Community-building

If you are interested in building up communities, a good place to start is forming a network of people near you—even a few to start is enough—interested in serving your local area. Some examples include sheltering or feeding the homeless or disadvantaged, housing victims of domestic abuse (or supporting organizations that do), caring for homeless or abused animals in shelters, providing aid during natural disasters, or building community gardens. Learning self-defense is also increasingly important as police cannot be relied upon (nor are they able) to stop harm in the moment.

Other ideas may intersect with modern technology, like building mesh internet networks from the bottom up or leveraging alternative energies that don't rely on the grid. These are direct ways to build decentralized, local reliance and infrastructure and decrease dependence on government services, which are often inefficient at best and counterproductive at worst. Many areas have done this as a necessity when the government fails to act adequately or at all. See: FEMA and natural disasters. The Cajun Navy has been stepping up to fill in gaps in government response for years, and groups around the country are doing the same for all kinds of local problems. You can also engage in these volunteer efforts as an individual—it always makes a difference to those on the receiving end of your care.

To me, the ideal scenario starts with individual self-reliance that then allows you to help others establish the same with your assistance.

Peaceful non-compliance

For those who are in a position to risk government backlash, refusing to comply with a variety of State mandates and demands is a direct affront to its authority. Refusing to pay taxes, pay registration fees on your property, or submit to arbitrary dictates (such as lawn height regulations—yes, you read that right), or repairing pothole-ridden roads without permission, for example, can be powerful.

However, they often come with the cost of attracting the enforcement arms of the State, which is not a challenge everyone can take on. A less risky option in this genre is to participate in jury nullification. When you are "summoned" to sit on a jury, you have the power to nullify laws if they are unjust. This has historically been the case in the US and has been used to overturn victimless crime cases. Unsurprisingly, courts tend not to inform jurors of this right, and informing them about it still does come with some risk.

Using the system against itself

While I do not believe voting is a solution (or moral), over the years I have come to recognize that 1) many people are not ready to let go of it and 2) if done with a specific purpose, it can have a net benefit. For example, voting out a local prosecutor who goes after victimless crimes can reduce the reach of the State. Removing a corrupt lawmaker (to be fair, that's most of them) is also never a bad thing—though their replacement rarely does much better. Repealing a bad, oppressive law when 'given' the opportunity to do so with propositions at the state and local level can also be worthwhile.

That said, the system will always be rooted in centralized authority that secures power through its monopoly on violence. No matter how many times people vote, this system will continue to attract those who seek authority over others. As long as this is the prevailing system, voting may help chip away at government impositions, at least in small ways. Still, this can’t be the only strategy, as evidenced by generations of history showing voting does not disempower the government in any significant way.

This list of solutions offers ideas for external solutions to disempower the State while building and supporting a new, decentralized paradigm that empowers people with freedom, health, community, and agency. Part 2 explores internal solutions at the individual level that I have come to view as essential for humanity's path forward.