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In a voluntary society, why don’t people who advocate for things like the abolition of private property (the thesis of the linked article) just create this them

In a voluntary society, why don’t people who advocate for things like the abolition of private property (the thesis of the linked article) just create this themselves? Absolutely nothing stops a group from creating a non-profit, electing a board of trustees that appoints managers, and signing lifetime contracts to pledge their income to it. Then the board and it’s managers can divvy up the income among everyone fairly, build communal housing, negotiate to provide health benefits for all at group discounts, provide retirement income, etc. And if people sign on when they are young, then some will become more successful and provide more income for the whole. This is the same as taxes, except even better because all group members are ideologically aligned and would be happy to give all their income away to an elected group of people who will spend it on everyone fairly. And this way, people who don’t want to participate aren’t forced to do so.

neilwilson 7y ago
"Absolutely nothing stops a group from creating a non-profit, electing a board of trustees that appoints managers" We have done. They're called nations. Other nations are available. You're not forced to stay in the one you are born in. That's enshrined in the United nations charter on human rights.
- seibelj 7y ago
  The nation is quite unlikely to radically increase taxes and outlaw private property. Why not create this system yourself among like-minded people?
  - 0x8BADF00D 7y ago
    They tried that in Waco. Didn’t work out so well for them. It turns out that you can’t really escape the tyranny of the government. Might as well suck it up, and have strong property rights. At least that is a check on government tyranny.
    - neilwilson 7y ago
      How is it? Who grants these 'rights' and who enforces them? Distributed enforcement always ends up being who has the most and sharpest pointy sticks. Centralised enforcement is called "government" Pick your poison.
      - pc2g4d 7y ago
        The norm of private property rights gives citizens a powerful tool against government overreach. Norms alter how power is legitimized and as such make new things possible---it's not just about pointy sticks.
        dragonwriter 7y ago
        It is, in fact, always about pointy sticks, which becomes shockingly apparent any time norms and the desires of those with the pointy sticks diverge too far, and having and consistently applying pointy sticks with a given rule is a very powerful method of establishing norms aligned with the stick holders desires, which then reduce the need for pointy stick holders to stick people with the sticks. (This fact is also why a number of people have a strong preference for the norm of the wide distribution of pointy sticks, to try to better align the desires of those holding pointy sticks with general norms.)
- TheSpiceIsLife 7y ago
  > That's enshrined in the United nations charter on human rights. Good luck turning up at $country’s port of entry with that as your only immigration document.
  - neilwilson 7y ago
    That's a straw man isn't it. The UN charter enshrines your right to leave a nation. And that's all it enshrines. It's more the port of exit that is the issue.
    - TheSpiceIsLife 7y ago
      Fair point. Being stateless may very well be an improvement.
skitout 7y ago
The fact is people are forced to participate in our current society. There is more freedom than in Cuba, but there are still huge number of things constraining my freedom, how I can use it, how much would cost to exercise this freedom... How capital and revenue is unequally (and many says unethically) shared in our current system, and how it is structured to favor people who have more capital, create many huge constraints for most people, while favoring few. The goal of Pikety and of many others is to change the rules of the game, the rules we are force to live with and that have huge impact on our freedom. Starting a non-profit does not change the rule of the game, it change only the way we live with the rule.

neilwilson 7y ago

"Absolutely nothing stops a group from creating a non-profit, electing a board of trustees that appoints managers" We have done. They're called nations. Other nations are available. You're not forced to stay in the one you are born in. That's enshrined in the United nations charter on human rights.

seibelj 7y ago
The nation is quite unlikely to radically increase taxes and outlaw private property. Why not create this system yourself among like-minded people?
- 0x8BADF00D 7y ago
  They tried that in Waco. Didn’t work out so well for them. It turns out that you can’t really escape the tyranny of the government. Might as well suck it up, and have strong property rights. At least that is a check on government tyranny.
  - neilwilson 7y ago
    How is it? Who grants these 'rights' and who enforces them? Distributed enforcement always ends up being who has the most and sharpest pointy sticks. Centralised enforcement is called "government" Pick your poison.
    - pc2g4d 7y ago
      The norm of private property rights gives citizens a powerful tool against government overreach. Norms alter how power is legitimized and as such make new things possible---it's not just about pointy sticks.
      - dragonwriter 7y ago
        It is, in fact, always about pointy sticks, which becomes shockingly apparent any time norms and the desires of those with the pointy sticks diverge too far, and having and consistently applying pointy sticks with a given rule is a very powerful method of establishing norms aligned with the stick holders desires, which then reduce the need for pointy stick holders to stick people with the sticks. (This fact is also why a number of people have a strong preference for the norm of the wide distribution of pointy sticks, to try to better align the desires of those holding pointy sticks with general norms.)
TheSpiceIsLife 7y ago
> That's enshrined in the United nations charter on human rights. Good luck turning up at $country’s port of entry with that as your only immigration document.
- neilwilson 7y ago
  That's a straw man isn't it. The UN charter enshrines your right to leave a nation. And that's all it enshrines. It's more the port of exit that is the issue.
  - TheSpiceIsLife 7y ago
    Fair point. Being stateless may very well be an improvement.

skitout 7y ago

The fact is people are forced to participate in our current society. There is more freedom than in Cuba, but there are still huge number of things constraining my freedom, how I can use it, how much would cost to exercise this freedom... How capital and revenue is unequally (and many says unethically) shared in our current system, and how it is structured to favor people who have more capital, create many huge constraints for most people, while favoring few. The goal of Pikety and of many others is to change the rules of the game, the rules we are force to live with and that have huge impact on our freedom. Starting a non-profit does not change the rule of the game, it change only the way we live with the rule.