I have put a fair amount of thought and research into this because I really would like to help create a free society that is voluntary (hence my sig).
I think it is possible, for the most part. Just because I think it is possible doesn't mean I think we will have it in this lifetime, or even any time soon. But I think a free society, a society built around self-governance as opposed to group-governance, is the result of evolution. So I think we are slowly taking steps there and will at some point get there.
Society comes down to people. If you have bad people you generally have a bad society. If you have good people you generally have a good society. Obviously certain types of societies shape people a bit, but it is usually people shaping society rather than society shaping people.
I think the main reason why people fail creating a free society is because they try to convince everyone. It's stupid. Most people don't want to be free. Most people want government and they want control. And that's fine. Let them have it. Leave them be.
People need to treat it like a business and start a new society that only has people who want it. If Libertarians are so into a society without statists then they should create a society and set the example (what I'm trying to do). You can't blame statists if they are acting in their own rational, self-interest as pointed out in this thread. They are doing what is best for them. Libertarians should do what is best for themselves and stop trying to convince people to change their mind and instead just focus their efforts on creating what it is they desire. There is no reason non-statists can't get together and assemble a free society. You can't convince everyone to follow you and you don't need to.
I think another thing people should at least consider is that you don't need just 1 society that is free that everyone is a part of. We don't have just 1 restaurant serving one type of food. People like variety and people like choice. Why not have 10 free societies in different parts of the world that are all a little different that all have different people with different goals. Each society can act like a business serving up society for the type of people that want to be a part of it. But isn't that what we already have? Somewhat, except we don't have any new businesses popping up. And we have all the same business owners creating new brands but we never change ownership. We need a new group of owners to get in there and create some new brands with better products. The standard in society is so weak right now.
But yeah, I could go on and on about this topic as I am slowly building closer and closer to really turning something into a reality. I'm so sick of hearing people talk about it and never do anything about it. I have already taken the first step and I really want to do something about it.
Since you're into myers briggs, you may want to read this post which talks about the progession of society, how we are currently not in a voluntaristic society, but we are close and eventually will reach a stage where civilization is effortlessly engaged in being "voluntaristic" and "moral" as a whole:
http://www.the16types.info/vbulleti...n-Energy-Dynamics-of-Quadra-and-Benefit-Rings
The article is about socionics, the russian and advanced version of MBTI/psychological types.
this system is a vague description of the energy-informational progression of complex communicative systems (socionics) and is only a brief overview of the socion as a whole, so you'll need to study psychological types and socionics in deeper detail to have a gr8er understanding.
what the article basically speaks about is the fact that there are 4 quadras of 16 psychological types (alpha, beta, gamma, and delta, and no these dont refer to the stupid alpha male/beta male dichotomy).
alpha (includes INTj, ESFj, ENTp, and ISFp) represents the quadra of analyzing and reflecting - this quadra is generally responsible for the beginning of society because they are the ones who invent the idea of society.
beta (ESTp, INFp, ENFj, ISTj) represents the quadra of suffering and conquering - this quadra is responsible for acquiring power and the building of a society. for example, socionists say that in eastern europe when countries fell in the 1900s, it was the beta quadra that seized power. although the beta quadra is good at taking power, they're not good at maintaining it, which leads us to our next quadra.
gamma (ESFp, INTp, ENTj, ISFj) represents the quadra of collaboration and acquirement - this quadra promotes liberalism, democracy, and capitalism on a global scale - and currently we are in this stage in the socion clock. if this socion is left in power for too long, then there is stagnation, and not much is changed and society soon falls into anarchy (see gorbachev, the last president of the soviet union). since morals and consideration of human individuals are lacking in this quadra, a western capitalism had to be built on strict moral codes of protestant self-restraint, so, we must progress into the fourth quadra if the human species is to develop further as a whole species.
finally, the delta (ENFp, ISTp, ESTj, and INFj) quadra, the truly "moral" quadra
comes into play. we are not yet in this quadra on a world or national level. for example, the ESTJ is the type that will turn over management to the world by making it more decentralized - see, this has happened in europe already, but not in russia and the ukraine because they want to keep power in the center. the ENFp and the INFj are the most emphatetic of the psychological types and do good deeds without bringing attention to themselves. the clock ends here with the ISTP, the technological zenith, perfecting technological advancements for which there are no further developments. at this point, there is no emotion, no enthusiasm, and maximum efficiency is reached. thus, the clock starts over again, and society evolves even further.
in my opinion, ignoring all the hiccups and bumps in the road and assuming we don't self-destruct as a species, i can see the world progressing in a linear fashion as such: current society -> a society in which there is elimination of poverty/pollution/inefficiency/immoral deeds -> a society in which since all earth problems are solved, we expand into outer space -> (and this is up to your imagination..)
wow, i strangely enjoyed writing this post. nice!
