hacking leviathan

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P E R S P E C T IV E Hacking Leviathan S EP T E MB E R03, 2013 by  THEFR EE MAN ˙Libertarian populism˚ is a ll t he ra ge in the Beltwa y blog os phere. The idea, more or less, is tha t somethin g of a politic a l platform is eme rging .Eve rybody hates cron yis m and the rigge d ga me that sus tainsit .The ga me ke epsgood people back and diverts mone y into the coffers of the wea lthy. People would hate the s ys tem if the y kn ew mo re a bou t it . All the center- righ t ha s to do is ex plain ev ery thing and promise to dismantle the inf ra s tructure of cro ny ism. This will us her in a new-a ge lov e fes t for libertarian mes s a ge s a mong the laity. T hatˉ s a s ketch, a ny way .  All well a nd good. W eˉ re not particu la rly s a ngu ine a bout the idea of disma ntling the corpo rate s tate throug h old-fa s hion ed democra ti c polit ica l me a ns. B ut weˉ re ha ppy to let the B el tway types ha ve their con ve rs a tion a nd hope the vo tersget wis e to the ga me. W ho kn ows ?Maybe it will beco me a pla tform. Ma ybe people who care more a bout must-see T V right no w will fina lly s tart t o care a bout public ch oic e ec ono mics . W eˉ re jus t no t go ing to s it aro un d an d wait for tha t fire to ca tch. W eˉ d p refer to get behind wha t we ca ll ˙hack ing L ev ia than .˚ If youˉ re worried because ˙ha ck ing˚ ha sa neg a tive connotation, plea s e know weˉ re no t s ug ge s ting people do a ny thing ille ga l. T hatˉ s bet ween you a nd yo ur ris k-bene fit ana lys is. W hat weˉ re s ugg es ting is that ˙ha ck ing˚ ha s pos itive connotationsand tremendou s poten tial to liber a te people. C onsider s o- ca lled ˙life ha ck ing˚: W ikipedians refer to it as ˙a ny productivity trick, shortcu t, skill, or n ov elty method to increase productivity a nd e fficien cy , in a ll wa lks of life; in other words, a nythin g that s olve s an eve ryda y problem in a cle ver or non-o bviou s way.˚ S oundsgood. W ha t about a form of ha ck ing that usesshortcu ts, no velty methods a nd innova tion in general to circumvent or s ha ke up the s tatus quo? Ha ck ing L ev ia than taps more into this s pirit tha n into the notion of beco ming a virtua l s a fe- cra ck er. G ov ernment is s low, not very inno va tive, a nd its rulesare beco ming incre a s ingly obs olete. T hisS tate s cle ros is is due la rge ly to s pec ia l inter es ts tha t a cc rete a nd harden a round old w a ys , old laws , and old public trough s. T hey ˉ re go ing to protect the gr a vy train, a nd they ˉ re pretty go od at it, usua lly. But if eno ugh people a re deve loping crea tive workaroun ds and ne w goo d things , the S tate and its functionarieswill s imply b bewildered by it all. T hatˉ s the ho pe, a ny way. B y the time the technocra ts (a nd their cronies ) catch up to the a ction, it will h ope full y be too late. L a rge co nstit uen ciesw ill have forme d around, sa y, Bitcoin (pee r-to-pe er priva te pa yme nt), Bitmessa ge (p2p priva te mes s a ging) , Airbnb (p2p temp ora ry a partment rentals ) or Uber (p2p cab s ervices ).  An d a L eviathan- hacker neednˉ t be a techie,even if a lot of the ja rgo to sa y no thing of the ge neral a tt itudes ˆ comes from that worl d. T here are doctorswho ch a rge small sums and are deve loping ˙concie rge˚ models to dit ch the Obama care- indus trial c omplex . Hondurans ha ve a men ded t heir constitution s o a s to upgra de their so cial opera ting s ys tems , makin g room for s tartup cities (o fficia lly known by the a cro nym ZEDE). S ome one might reje ct a bad sys tem s imply by opting outˆ for exa mple, simply by cho os ing a diet that isnˉ t based on the gov ernmen t food pyra mid. Our own dis tinguishe d fellow J effrey T ucker ha s made a co tta ge indus try out of t elling people ho w they ca n seize their sho werh ea ds back from the S tate, or raise glassesof bourbon to Mich a el Bloomberg at 8:30 a.m. W ha tever peo ple do, we a re ex cited by the prospects of c rea tive co lla bora tion in an a ge of ra pid so cia l a nd tech no logic a l ev olu tion.  An d that lea ds us back to this ques ti on of lib ert a rian populism. J ames Poulos, wri ti ng for Forbes. com ,s ug ge sts a form tha t dove tai ls nic ely with liberty hack ing , pa rticula rly when we move from the merely politic a l to the anthro polo gic al. He writes : The a nthropolo gy Iˉ m propos ing [is all a bout] unforeseeable transforma tions ,a t the pers onal lev el and t he human level. T hatˉ s the essence of a ga me tha tˉ sa nythin g but z ero- sum: inh eren tly cre a tive, open -s ourc e, universal, and unable to be ca pt ured by pl an ners and forecas t ers. S uch an anthropology is co nsonant wi th wha t we have called ˙networked libertarianis m.˚ A nd it is certa inly alibertarian populism

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Page 1: Hacking Leviathan

7/27/2019 Hacking Leviathan

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hacking-leviathan 1/2

PERSPECTIVE

Hacking LeviathanSEPTEMBER03, 2013 by THE FREEMAN

˙Libertarian populism˚ is all t he rage in the Beltway blogosphere. The idea, more or less, is that something of a political p latform is

emerging. Everybody hates cronyism and the rigged game that sustainsit . The game keepsgood people back and diverts money into

the coffers of the wealthy. People would hate the system if they knew more about it . All the center-right has to do is explain

everything and promise to dismantle the infrastructure of cronyism. This will usher in a new-age love fest for libertarian messages

among the laity. That s a sketch, anyway.

 All well and good. We re not particularly sanguine about the idea of dismantling the corporate state through old-fashioned

democratic polit ical means. But we re happy to let the Beltway types have their conversation and hope the votersget wise to the

game. Who knows?Maybe it will become a platform. Maybe people who care more about must-see TV right now will finally start to

care about public choice economics. We re just not going to sit around and wait for that fire to catch.

We d prefer to get behind what we call ˙hacking Leviathan.˚

If you re worried because ˙hacking˚ has a negative connotation, please know we re not suggesting people do anything illegal. That s

between you and your risk-benefit analysis. What we re suggesting is that ˙hacking˚ has positive connotations and tremendous

potential to liberate people.

Consider so-called ˙life hacking˚: Wikipedians refer to it as˙any productivity trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method to increase

productivity and efficiency, in all walks of life; in other words, anything that solves an everyday problem in a clever or non-obvious

way.˚ Sounds good. What about a form of hacking that uses shortcuts, novelty methods and innovation in general t o circumvent or 

shake up the status quo?

Hacking Leviathan taps more into this spirit than into the notion of becoming a virtual safe-cracker. Government is slow, not very

innovative, and its rulesare becoming increasingly obsolete. ThisState sclerosis is due largely to special interests that accrete and

harden around old ways, old laws, and old public troughs. They re going to protect the gravy train, and they re pretty good at it,

usually. But if enough people are developing creative workarounds and new good things, the State and its functionarieswill simply b

bewildered by it all. Thatˉs the hope, anyway. By the time the technocrats (and their cronies) catch up to the action, it will hopefully

be too late. Large constit uenciesw ill have formed around, say, Bitcoin (peer-to-peer private payment), Bitmessage (p2p private

messaging), Airbnb (p2p temporary apartment rentals) or Uber (p2p cab services).

 And a Leviathan-hacker needn t be a techie, even if a lot of the jargonˆ to say nothing of the general att itudes comes from that

world. There are doctors who charge small sumsand are developing ˙concierge˚ modelsto ditch the Obamacare-industrial complex.

Hondurans have amended t heir constit ution so as to upgrade their social operating systems, making room for startup cities (officially

known by the acronym ZEDE). Someone might reject abad system simply by opting outˆ for example, simply by choosing a diet that

isn t based on the government food pyramid. Our own distinguished fellow Jeffrey Tucker has made a cott age industry out of t elling

people how they can seize their showerheads back from the State, or raise glasses of bourbon to Michael Bloomberg at 8:30 a.m.

Whatever people do, we are excited by the prospects of creative collaboration in an age of rapid social and technological evolution.

 And that leads us back to this question of libertarian populism.

James Poulos, writing for Forbes.com, suggests a form that dovetails nicely with liberty hacking, particularly when we move from the

merely political to the anthropological. He writes:

The anthropology I m proposing [is all about] unforeseeable transformations, at the personal level and t he human level. Thatˉs

the essence of a game thatˉs anything but zero-sum: inherently creative, open-source, universal, and unable to be captured by

planners and forecasters.

Such an anthropology is consonant wi th what we have called ˙networked libertarianism.˚ And it is certainly a libertarian populism

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suitable for a small-but-inspired army of Leviathan hackers.

SHARETHIS

 ASSOCIATEDISSUE

September 2013

 ABOUT

THE FREEMAN

Copyright 2013 Foundation for EconomicEducation. All RightsReserved.