nation states – the paradise paradox

The Story: The transition to the information age will end nations

According to the case made in the book “The Sovereign Individual”, the nation state rose to power as a natural consequence of the conditions of the industrial age.

Gunpowder made obsolete the old technology such as armed cavalry, and castles. That set the stage for the efficient smelting of iron, which lead to factories.

Factories are very centralised – making them vulnerable to vandalism and also to taxation. The factory owners needed the protective watch of governments to maintain their properties.

Now we are moving into the information age, and it is much more common to have digital property, in the form of websites and cryptocurrency. In many ways, the nation state is powerless to protect these new forms of property, and in many cases it is powerless to tax them.

Still the belief in the authority of the nation state remains. How long will it hold up? Kurt explores that question and more in this episode of The Paradise Paradox!

The Links:

Urban/Rural divide – Multiversity Project

Post Anarchism, the Sovereign Individual – Multiversity Project

Welfare State Collapse – Multiversity Project

The Cash:

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The Episode:

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The Story: States are compulsory cults

In the USA, many children go to school and say a prayer to a piece of cloth, affirming their faith in a deity called a “nation”. Many of them will grow up to continue worshipping the flag, repeating the words of their pledge of allegiance impressed on them when they were too young to even sign a contract. If someone desecrates the flag, urinating on it or burning it, they will get angry, because they know it means something – in fact, in their minds, it’s very difficult to separate any flag from their god – their nation.

The American bald eagle is no longer endangered in the United States, but it’s still illegal to harm one. To the lawmakers, the bald eagle is also a sacred image, a totem that represents the unity of their tribe. If you question whether obedience to the state is really beneficial or necessary, it’s normal to hear the response “It’s the law!” as if just by virtue of being declared a law makes it worthy of reverence, deference, and subjugation. The code of the government is sacred, no matter what it says, no matter how absurd.

All around the world, people have similar practices, blurring the lines between government and religion. In fact, they may be the same thing. Worshipping the government is just a particular kind of religion, a “civil religion”. In this episode, Kurt interviews entrepreneur, traveller and thinker, Shamus Mac, as he presents his case that governments are imposing their own compulsory religions, convincing or brainwashing their subjects into believing that their government, their country, their symbols and the spirit of them are all identical. Join us on another deprogramming adventure on … The Paradise Paradox!