“The opportunistic serf is probably also more contented than the “non-conformist” who tried to be free in some things while remained servile in overall living pattern. One who is half- free and half-serf dwells in a psychological no-man’s land. He knows too much and thinks to independently to play servile status games with conviction and success, yet remains too immersed in, and influenced by, that culture to achieve success/satisfaction on his own terms. This includes many (not all) “bohemians,” “adventurers,” black market entrepreneurs, religious/cultural minorities and radicals of all sorts. A half-and-half life-style tends to be unstable: some go on to more complete liberation; some drift back into, at first, outward conformity, then, acceptance of servile norms; some end in psychosis or early death.”
-RAYO
As I continue the journey as a Vonuin, there are many things I’ve come to notice along the way that I’d like to share. Maybe you have also experienced these things as well, maybe you haven’t, or maybe you’ve just never noticed. I’ve spent a lot of time out in the woods thinking and hiking in one of the few remaining areas that’s (almost) free from coercion.
It’s important for me that as a half-in half out citizen-serf, that there be a goal of being as invulnerable to the coercion of the statist servile society as possible—self liberation—or risk falling back into the comforts and security of the servile society.
What the Servile Society is
As a half-free serf myself, I am aware of what goes on in the servile society, it’s murders, theft, and violence that happen daily. Everyday as I sell my labor to a large corporation in the servile society, I notice the state taking more and more from my paycheck each period. Most people don’t like getting robbed, but if it’s shrouded in a cloak of legitimacy, then it is easy to see why the government’s violence apparatus keeps growing with no possible end in sight.
“In the modern world, the IRS cannot, much as they may wish, mount their sweat-soaked stallions, draw their morningstars and maces, and ride shrieking through the peaceful suburbs in search of wealth for the Director. Then again, they have an advantage over their spiritual ancestors of three-millennia ago. Their victims turn themselves in. Three thousand years of mystification pay off every April 15 in the US. American citizens are asked to send in the very information the State needs to know. The exact amount doesn’t matter; the deductions are window-dressing. The stark truth is that, without the volunteered information, the State would have no idea where the wealth is.
–Samuel Edward Konkin III
The typical citizen serf’s response to the theft is something like, “Without it, it would be chaos” or “If you don’t like it, leave” or some kind of change-it-from-the-inside bullshit. Unless there is some miracle that happens where the rulers decide to just dissolve the income tax, it’s going to be there indefinitely to fund the Statist Servile Society.
Endless War
The perpetual wars are designed to be endless, this way there is quick justification for indefinite funding. Debt levels in the USSA are skyrocketing, with the national debt now surpassing $22 TRILLION and deficits with no sign of balance. There is even a new progressive statist theory called Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) used as a conditioning tool in higher level indoctrination centers, which states that the debt levels don’t really matter. It’s more of the same wizardry to magically sell a bullshit bill-of-goods to the hapless tax slaves; a mix of Keynesian and Marxian nonsense that will no doubt help solidify the ruling class’ economic pro-spending policy making forever. The empire’s troops are dispersed and intertwined all over every area of the world and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are good for justifying the ruling class’ existence to “keep us safe” and intact more and more tyrannical policies and mass surveillance on the citizenry.
Servile Society Culture
Statist servile society culture is designed to distract and divert the ignorant citizens with whatever the “flavor of the day” is while they continue to be robbed blindly. From “The ruler was convicted of no wrongdoing by a commission of legislators that are part of the same ruling class”, “Ruler X has been allegedly colluding with Ruler Y”, as well as the songs and anthems, movies, books, and programming that perpetuate the constant narrative of “you need the State, you need the State” and the double-moral-standard of, “If the man in the costume murders it is justified, but if the tax slave commits murder it is wrong.”
The Importance of Indoctrination and the Moral Double Standard
From an early age, children of the servile society are forced to undergo thousands of hours of conditioning that solidifies that being a good citizen is obeying the laws the rulers have handed down to us, paying taxes is virtuous, signing up for military service to kill for one’s country is honorable (I unfortunately fell victim to this and now I’m living with its psychological side effects years later), and again that there is a moral difference between when a citizen-serf does something and a higher standard for when the rulers and their agents do it. For example, pulling someone out of their car and beating them to death is obviously wrong for the citizen, yet it often happens when enforcers do it, and it is justified as often a heroic act.
Political Crusading
Spending thousands of hours campaigning and raising money for some bullshit cause or running as a “libertarian” is a fruitless effort, and one that is seen in the servile society as the only way to “get things done.” If the same amount of money raised for a campaign were used for a different purpose, say to purchase a small village or a plot of land where a self sustaining farm could be built, or the funds could be funneled to WikiLeaks or Defense Distributed, is that not “getting things done?” Most will never come to realize this and so political crusading becomes a powerful tool for which the servile society will never change.
Temporary Havens for the Vonuin (Temporary Autonomous Zones)
Retreating to the Forest / Nature
Obviously, a state of nature can be a form of coercion in-and-of itself; if you don’t properly prepare, if you’re ill equipped to gather food or you don’t bring enough supplies, or if you are not able to defend yourself from threats (bears, mountain lions, other predators) you could also find yourself in a world of hurt. You could also be unlucky enough to be harassed by forest bludge, although most of the time I found these bludge don’t really give a shit most of the time, unless you are stealth-camping and are found out or you are caught on “federal-land” after dark—owned mysteriously by all of us and none of us at the same time. There’s also anti-foraging laws, which to me make no sense whatsoever, and which I gladly break by eating berries and other wild-edibles I find on the trail.
I find that retreat to the wilderness is one of the best options I currently have for escaping the filth of the statist servile society. Wilderness VONU is also an option, if you choose to pursue it. It’s obviously going to be a bit more difficult than going mobile, but in many ways it can be combined with several other self liberation strategies. For the most part, at least for me, it helps me “clear the collectivist spooks from my head.”
From multi-day hikes and journeys to living off the grid, the wilderness can (depending on what geographical region you are in) provide a haven for those looking to decrease coercion levels. The opposite of a forest retreat would be driving into a densely populated area (a city) where you are almost certain to be either extorted or coerced daily.
Freedom Festivals / Concerts / Camps / Raves
Another great example of a temporary retreat for the half-in half out serf would be some type of event that is organized so as to maximize freedom. In my youth I remember going to several “raves” where we would head to a certain location and then be told where to go from there. Once we got to the destination, usually a corn field in the middle of nowhere, a park area, or warehouse, everyone there was able–for the most part–to do whatever the hell they wanted and escape from the budge for a while. Some of these events may be ideal for a group or individual looking to establish a free and open private trading center, to exchange currency, goods, etc. And, not to mention most of them are really fun!
Thanks so much for reading. If you took anything away from this article, please consider making a voluntary contribution of bitcoin to the following address:
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