Column by Jim Davies.

Exclusive to STR

The power-crazed psychopaths running government need one thing above all: a supply of employees to do their grunt work. With that, they can survive any crisis, any criticism, any revenue shortfall, any desertion by voters; but without it, they are powerless. Therefore, those wishing to enjoy life without government in practice as well as in theory need do only one thing: persuade all of them to quit. Nothing less will do, and only one other thing is needed: to show everyone how to live and work in a society by voluntary exchange alone. Not at all hard, except for the numbers involved.

True, when the ruling élite perceives the threat, they will try enslavement--to compel employees to keep working, not to leave. A desperate measure, which will not long succeed. Once a person has seen the wickedness of the task he's being paid to perform, if he's prevented from leaving he will still find a dozen ways to go slow, or to monkeywrench his allotted task.

It's therefore very obvious that the task of persuasion is the only one that matters. To imagine that a government-free society will come about by political force, for example, is ludicrous. No other pro-freedom activity counts, unless it directly supports this one. So long as the machinery of oppression remains, with people working its knobs and levers, nothing permanent can be achieved.

There are two approaches to the persuasion needed, and both of them require education: moral, and pragmatic. Once a government hack can be shown that his or her "contribution" to society is actually causing damage both to society and himself, he will be ready to seek alternative employment. And once he is shown that working for an outfit whose resemblance to the Mafia is as close as a Remington shaves, his conscience will give him no peace until he quits. Demonstrate both of these, and the work force will drain away; and to reach everyone, we need only to "go viral."

So far, so good, and that is the thinking behind The On Line Freedom Academy, going strong since 2006. Recently, I've been wondering whether it might be complemented. Might it be possible to approach government workers directly, with the suggestion to quit? That might make the very light workload of Academy graduates (finding one friend a year to join) even easier, by preparing the ground.

Government people publish their locations only if they are at the top of a particular heap--and of those, few if any will respond because they are hopelessly drunk on power. We're interested more in those who work for them, and upon whom they depend, and generally those don't advertise where they can be found. Hard to blame them. So some form of publicity is needed, tailored as closely as possible to the particular job being done.

Obvious example: tax department clerks. Some years ago, Russell Kanning stood in the lobby of the IRS office at Keene, NH and offered handbills to workers coming and going at lunch- and quitting-time. He had a short stay. Police were called, to violate his First Amendment rights, and after he returned following their first ejection, he was hauled off to jail. So perhaps a better tactic would be to stand just outside the door, on the sidewalk.

Bumper stickers like this one would look very colorful on the doors and windows of tax offices, but that would be to decorate government property, no doubt contrary to some law. It's more convenient to undertake this noble task without breaking those, if possible--though just to stick them on one's own bumper seems a bit diffuse; the advertising is hardly targeted. But Paypal me $1 via jimdav {at} copper {dot} net, and I'll mail you two.

Another good target would be soldiers, now returning from the Middle East. How about a "Welcome Home!" letter to the local editor, which would raise the question of whether they now saw it as a fair risk of their lives, to try to impose "democracy" on people who do not want it and who made their preference lethally clear. The military is a very important part of the government tyranny machine, and right now is a good time to try; note the groundswell of support it has given to Ron Paul, just because he suggested America should mind its own business and follow the Golden Rule. And that support came not from draftees but from volunteers! Be sure to include a Web link in the letter, so that they can read more.

Imagination is the only limit, but here's another idea I'm developing currently:

Slogans, letters to the editor, T-shirts and bumper stickers like these aren't going to motivate anyone to change his career unaided, so each should (unlike the red one above, but like the black one) incorporate a URL to some web page that will offer a more detailed explanation. It's not hard to set one up; TinyURL.com is a fine facility for clipping to it a catchy name, as in QuitGov above. Why not make your own; the more, the merrier. Or if you'd like to contribute to QuitGov, email me your offer; the site is still a work in progress and any with experience working at some government job could greatly enhance some of its pages, and correct their errors. Use View Source to see the list I have in mind (in green, perhaps) and please suggest new ones you think are needed.

Everyone needs this re-education, because we need not just to prise present government workers loose from their jobs, but to motivate all others not even to think of taking their places. Freedom will begin when government HELP WANTED signs go up and nobody responds.