Hi, Jackie...

I'm up late, doing revisions on the podcast I just released, and I saw your post. You've thought of one of the most interesting speculative questions any free market booster can address. I think those who truly think about this always get to a point where they say, "What about private police and justice systems? How would those work properly without conflict?"

First, we have to note that historically, most people try to avoid conflict and maximize honest dealings. They exclude bad actors and better their lives by gaining good reputations.

So how does this work within a sphere of multiple free market societies that have hired different police forces and operate under private arbitration agencies? The key factor here is something akin to what we do when we pick insurance companies. Of course, we're dealing with a theoretical society here, but since we can logically assume -- based on past behavior in history -- that people in a stateless society will form societally accepted modes of behavior and will exclude bad actors, those societies which are separated by geography or other factors will find that by anticipating long-term interaction and creating peaceful modes of coexistence with other societies (and by changing their operational rules to maximize their living standards through trial and error), different societies will reach harmonious arrangements by hiring justice agencies that work out systems of reciprocity and tend to diffuse conflict. No one would want to hir a privat ejustice system that promised to never be able to work out arbitration with people from other socieities, it would be a total market killer. What would occur is that the honest private justice systems would rise to the top, just like all other market participants. As the sytems became refined, a standard would be reached which would enjoy the most adherents. There might be smaller, less reliable systems that cater to shadier folks, but those would become known, and wouldn't be able to gain market share the way the good guys do. Just like McDonalds grew because it pelased customers, so would McLegals.

Of course, this isn't to say it would be perfect. We need to look at a scale, and on the spectrum, private,competing justice systems would be much more open to addressing customer satisfaction -- for traders, neghbors, vacationers, etc., traveling from one land to another -- than Statist government, with its insulation from competition. Any entity with a monopoly on force is pretty much the worst monopoly you can find. It's not only got no competition, but if you complain, it can kill you or arrest you.

Only those who voluntarily sign on to a market justice system will be affected by its rules. Likewise, only those who sign on to peacefully co-existent private justice systems will benefit from their standards and security.

If you get a chance, check out "The Market for Liberty", it's really good on these points! Mary Ruwart's "Healing Our World" is also excellent on this, in a more general way. :-)

I'm glad you're here...

Bye for now.

G

Thanks, Gard, I had this idea in my head of a big city and a million police forces running around. I was also curious how it would work if someone who was not a part of your community came in, and broke a more serious law. But, I guess if you go into another persons community and break one of their laws, facing their justice seems fair.

If you don't mind, I have another question.

We all know Bastiats quote that says, "If goods don't cross borders, soldiers will" (or something similar). Trade is something that is very important to any community, and it's not my intention to say we shouldn't be involved in trade. We absolutely should. However, doesn't engaging in trade put us at risk for possible military action?

For example, let's say Nation A, a very small country, has a precious resource that has become very vital to our way of life, hence they are a vital trading partner. Then one day, Nation B, a very large country, attacks that country, takes it over and says they aren't going to trade that precious resource to us anymore. Nation A asks us for our help. As a non-Inerventionist community, do we help?

Hi...

Very engaging thoughts, and the only thing I would add is that in this hypothetical, market-based justice system, people who didn't agree before-hand to abide by the rulings of the justice system to which they signed on (and to their reciprocal justice exchanges in a more complex system) would be ostracized. Just like a "justice/arbitration business" that did a poor job would lose market share, those who broke rules or would not sign on to voluntary market-based justice systems would see their ability to interact in a profitable manner decline, even while the ability of honest dealers to protect themselves increased.

There can always be problems, but it is a much more responsive system than the one-size-fits-all system of government through the state, in my opinion.

:-) -- GG

Oh, absolutely. I really like the idea of free market justice as it is justice that is accountable. That's the key. I honestly don't understanad why more people aren't more upset about the idea that there is a group of people that can basically do whatever they want, and are completely unaccountable. I don't think all cops are bad. I used to know a girl in high school whose father was a policeman and was shot and killed protecting someone during a bank robbery. God bless him, but I'd suggest he's rare. There are too many stories of 92 year old women being killed when cops bust into her home or guys being killed, unarmed, in their bathrooms by police barging in. It's rediculous. Let the people decide who will protect them.

Yea, if someone kills another person in a drug deal, and is sentenced to death row, they will line up and do their hippie song and dance all night. But, I wonder what any of those people had to say about this...

http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2010/jun/18/drug_raids_las_vegas_nar...

I'll bet most don't even know about it.

So, in this hypothetical situation could I have my private police force catch the perp and bring him to my wood shed?  I after all am paying them to catch this person and bring them to justice.  No amount of money is going to be enough restitution so I might as well have the justice of killing the perp slowly at my leisure.  How does the stateless society really deal with sociopaths and really vengeful people?  I don't support the death penalty because I think it is worse to keep the person alive for decades in a 6X8 cell with the lights on 24/7 and no contact with people.  Now, if it was a stateless society with my own police I would have the person brought to me so I could carve on them for awhile as punishment.  Would that get me ostricised from the community because I exacted the justice I thought fit the crime.  No amount of money will brig my child back so for me the price would be paid with blood and the perps life.  On another note, if I have to sign a contract to be part of a community who is the overarching enforcer of the contract?  Isn't that a type of state?