national defence in a free society Defending a Free Society?

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How does a free society defend itself? I differentiate between nascent and established free societies. A 'free society' is an anarchic polity based on the consistent principles of sovereignty ('self-ownership'), property rights and the NAP. Could a free society effectively defend itself against a state? I personally think an established (i.e. second or third generation plus) free society would crush any state aggressor with 'soft power' means alone (e.g. asset freezes, boycotts, cyber warfare, etc.), but I am interested in what others think on the subject.

On nascent or very new anarchistic societies, I think history shows that any such society will be crushed almost on creation, such as in the Catalonian Communes and the Free Territory in Ukraine. That is why no free society can come about through military or traditional revolutionary methods alone. It requires a gradual spread of knowledge about sovereignty and active non-violent pushes towards non-state solutions to societal concerns (e.g. local currencies, voluntary cooperatives, black markets and voluntary labour exchanges, among many other methods).

Apart from well-armed individuals and militias, I think any collection of professional defence companies in a free society would greatly outmatch any state armed force. I base this assertion on the context from which these companies would operate. Free societies would be far richer than any state given the lack of taxation, fines, licensing, business rates and all the panoply of state money-sucking costs. There would also be heavy investment in defence, given it is a concern now and so would also be so in a free society.

Find out more on my own view at: www.clarkead.co.uk.

Cheers.