Ask anyone for the title of a fiction book advocating a free market society and you are likely to get references to Ayn Rand’s immortal Atlas Shrugged. Fans of fantasy writing may bring up Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series. But there seems to be a gap where detailed explanations or explorations of how such a society might actually work; particularly in the context of an anarchistic society; something that many Libertarian and “free market state” advocates have promoted from time to time. That gap has now been filled by David Barker in his recent work “Welcome to Free America.” 

 

Barker is a Ph.D. economist who formerly worked for the Federal Reserve, taught college, and now runs a multi-state real estate business. This is, apparently, his first venture into the subject of fiction writing, although one has to use the term “fiction” guardedly. One could also put it into a class of predictive political philosophy or similar non-fiction. Either way, it is an interesting journey into what might occur if the government of the United States collapses and is replaced by an governmentless society in which market forces are given a maximum of free rein and pretty much anything goes within the confines of local community standards. 

 

What David Barker has submitted for our approval is a work presented as a guidebook for new immigrants entering the free society that replaced the old United States. As there is no government, there are no states and so the former title has become meaningless. The year is 2057 and the former nation has been replaced by a society that is, for all practical purposes governed, if at all, on an individual level. There is no government, no military, and no law enforcement in the traditional sense, but there are other entities that serve similar purposes within a different context. He begins with how this happened, and then begins the orientation. 

 

For example, laws in the traditional sense may be replaced by community standards set by the people who live there and enforced by private entities hired for the purpose including protection agencies who appear to act in the capacity of police, judge, jury and executioner, all at the same time, unless they hire arbitration agencies to take on the adjudication part of the process. Everything is privatized, and largely informal including employment, unless one has a reason to engage in a long-term contract. Money is issued by other private entities and backed by specie or other items of value. And, everything is subject to ownership by someone; even the roads and sidewalks. 

 

What makes this work fascinating is how the author effectively puts all aspects of social interaction that we take for granted within our present system and placed them in an entirely new context. It is a context in which the dimension of government and law are replaced by other entities in the civil, criminal and social realms. If you want to walk or drive on the street, be prepared to pay a fee for doing so. If you break a rule, expect to be visited by a protection agency, rather than a police officer. If someone harms you, don’t go to court; see your own protection agency and ask them to take action on your behalf, assuming that you paid them to do so. After all, services come in a wide variety of different levels, and you get what you pay for, or should, if the agency you contracted with is honest. In fact, what isn’t computerized, such as using a GPS style system to determine who is driving on what street and how much they must pay for the privilege depends heavily on the honesty of the parties involved. 

 

The society that Mr. Barker envisions for us is different from anything we have experienced today in the extreme. It is something that I believe will fascinate some but have others shaking their heads. It is a world that is totally foreign in so many respects that it deserves study to determine whether on not any of it can be incorporated into today’s society as a means improving it. 

 

On the other hand, there are areas where things remain cloudy; particularly in the area of foreign affairs, governance of the military (Free America does have one that is, effectively private) and precisely how the former United States survived its period of economic disorder without falling prey to the current jihadist military threat. It is, not a complete work, in that respect, but some of these details would not be necessary to an immigrant who is more concerned with where to live, how to find work and provide for his or her individual security on arrival and thereafter. 

 

At just over 100 pages with a few illustrations advertising Free American immigration, security, banking and medical insurance companies, it is a short read and generally speaking an enjoyable one, as it is written in an easy to understand manner. This is not some political economy text with highhanded verbiage that will leave the casual reader in the dust. 

 

And whether or not you believe that Free America is a workable society, or even a desirable one is left up to you. Barker is not an advocate. He is merely stating how the system works. The rest is up to the reader. 

 

It is available from Amazon.com in paperback or in a Kindle edition at a substantial discount.