the freedom activist network

Mutual Aid for Liberty Activists

Darian, James and I just finished a brainstorming session on the C4SS blogger's call about mutual aid for liberty activists. Here were some of the ideas we came up with:

1. Contribute to a pool, with aid being commensurate with contributions and/or according to agreement with other members.

Considerations:
-High level of trust among members
-Method for verifying claims
-Method for protecting the pooled money from theft including govt confiscation/ encryption
-More likely to be implemented by local clubs where members know each other well

2. Social network w/mutual aid pledges to people an activist connects with as "friends"

Considerations:
-Provision to ensure people don't feel obligated to accept new friends based only on brief internet conversations.
-Option to allow privacy and hiding friend lists and/or pledge amounts except among friends.

3. Set up a blog where members could post requests for assistance with paypal links and/or other addresses.

Considerations:
-A template would facilitate people asking for help when needed.
-In order to maximize aid to liberty activists, utilize a blog that's already popular among them (possibly fr33agents?)

What are your ideas for implementing mutual aid among liberty activists? Are there other considerations or solutions for any of the options above? Who wants to work on implementation? The more ideas the better... none of these mutual aid ideas are mutually exclusive!

Tags: activism, mutual-aid, social-networking

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by James Tuttle on November 1, 2009 at 2:22pm: @Pambas !

Can't we do both? We can help people be successful and be ready to catch them when they fall?

I also like the idea of being able to pledge tangible goods other then just dollar bills. If some one is a awesome carpenter they could pledge a table or a baby cradle and the MAS could chip in for the shipping. OR just pledging labor for near by projects, i.e., helping to rebuild a house or with a community garden project.

We could even start a library service, maybe, within the MAS. The MAS could chip in for a rare or expensive book and the MAS gets to trade it around or break it up to scan into PDFs for MAS members?

Just thinking out loud.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Brad Taylor on November 1, 2009 at 2:49pm: Just to throw in my two cents on competing with the state: I think the important thing is to voluntary produce services currently being provided by government in order to demonstrate that it's possible. If there were mutual aid societies in existence, people would come to realize that the state is unnecessary.

Competing with the state in terms of violence is impossible today. Competing for mind-share isn't.

I agree with George that a conventional mutual aid society organized like an insurance company is probably the best approach. I don't see why you'd want to restrict it to liberty activists, and the tipjar approach seems alright for supporting the efforts of activists.

I think there would be definite value in a "tyranny insurance" type scheme, though. People who want to ignore the state pay $X per month and the fund pays any fines (probably excluding traffic, speeding, etc - anything that people can rack up huge fines easily) and legal costs, and compensate for jail time. The CDE fund is kind of doing the same thing, but I think formalizing it into an insurance scheme would provide more certainty that you want be left out of pocket if you get on the wrong side of the state. People who wanted to donate to the scheme without engaging in civil disobedience could just buy a policy even though they don't expect to claim.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Brad Taylor on November 1, 2009 at 2:52pm: And I think we'd want someone with experience in the insurance business to take the lead on either mutual aid or tyranny insurance.

I'd definitely sign up for both if they seemed solid.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Chris Lentil on November 1, 2009 at 7:30pm: Actually, I wouldn't want someone with experience in the insurance industry to take the lead. That is, unless they are a whistleblower.

Brad Taylor said:
And I think we'd want someone with experience in the insurance business to take the lead on either mutual aid or tyranny insurance.

I'd definitely sign up for both if they seemed solid.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Brad Taylor on November 1, 2009 at 8:47pm: Why? It's a heavily regulated industry with lots of corporatist deals going on, but they have experience in doing the kind of business that needs to be done: risk sharing among individuals on a subscription basis. I wouldn't have confidence in any enterprise run by people without relevant experience.

Chris Lentil said:
Actually, I wouldn't want someone with experience in the insurance industry to take the lead. That is, unless they are a whistleblower.

Brad Taylor said:
And I think we'd want someone with experience in the insurance business to take the lead on either mutual aid or tyranny insurance.

I'd definitely sign up for both if they seemed solid.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by George Donnelly on November 2, 2009 at 9:38am: I'm sure that any mutual aid enterprise will be started by the right person(s). That's usually how self-selection works. Let's not underestimate the ability for people to learn new skills.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Chris Lentil on November 2, 2009 at 9:56am: Most people that I choose to associate practice mutual aid on some level. This is too important to leave to "the experts."

Brad Taylor said:
Why? It's a heavily regulated industry with lots of corporatist deals going on, but they have experience in doing the kind of business that needs to be done: risk sharing among individuals on a subscription basis. I wouldn't have confidence in any enterprise run by people without relevant experience.

Chris Lentil said:
Actually, I wouldn't want someone with experience in the insurance industry to take the lead. That is, unless they are a whistleblower.

Brad Taylor said:
And I think we'd want someone with experience in the insurance business to take the lead on either mutual aid or tyranny insurance.

I'd definitely sign up for both if they seemed solid.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Brad Taylor on November 2, 2009 at 6:27pm: Small-scale mutual aid between trusted acquaintances is fine without any insurance industry experience. If you're talking about expanding beyond people you know personally, though, new problemsarise, and insuarance companies already have experience mitigating these problems.

Sure, smart people will work out solutions over time, but I don't see the reason not to prefer people with prior experience and knowledge.

Chris Lentil said:
Most people that I choose to associate practice mutual aid on some level. This is too important to leave to "the experts."; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by George Donnelly on November 2, 2009 at 6:32pm: The market will decide. So we don't have to worry about it, right?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Brad Taylor on November 2, 2009 at 6:57pm: Well, the market is made of people. If someone is going to set this up, I think it's an important consideration for those involved in that particular venture.

George Donnelly said:
The market will decide. So we don't have to worry about it, right?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Chris Lentil on November 3, 2009 at 11:28pm: I suppose you can already buy this form of insurance. I don't trust a broker from All State or State Farm to operate a MAS. I can see it now,

We regret to inform you that your claim is denied. Your pre-existing, yet undiscovered, condition forbids us from providing you with the benefits we led you to believe that you will receive in the current situation. You agreed to this in addendum 6c. of the contract you signed.

Sincerely,
Katrina Louisiana; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by George Donnelly on November 4, 2009 at 7:46am: LOL. Good point Chris. Actuarial science and business skills can be learned. Integrity, that's a lot harder to come by.; ▶ Reply to This