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You didn't talk of a military in your first post. Assuming that there exists a military paid for by taxes, than it would probably have its own food reserves. If

• tome 18y ago
  I'm not trying to make a point about military. I'm trying to make a point about self-sufficiency at the state level. The military may well have reserves, but if they are supplied by Xia, all bets are off once those reserves are depleted. If Libland does not have the capacity to generate Food during a protracted war then it is vulnerable to external aggression. However, I don't see a way that a Libertarian state can ensure that sufficient Food production capacity is maintained in the presence of cheap Food available on the international market. And the point is not food either. "Food" is an arbitrary good that people rely on to survive.
  • cx01 18y ago
    People will keep reserves big enough, so that they last long enough to rebuild their national food industry. Or as I said earlier they might continue buying domestic products in order to keep that industry alive. Even if most people neglect the risk, there will probably be individuals who keep operating food industries (even at a loss) in hope that in the resulting war they might make huge profits.
    • gravitycop 18y ago
      People will keep reserves big enough How big are your food reserves that you have on hand right now? One year? Two years? Ten years? http://a.abcnews.com/images/abc_doomsday_080812_mn.jpg http://a.abcnews.com/images/abc_doomsday_080812_mn.jpg You don't tell your neighbors about it, do you? They might say, "Oh, I don't need to store any food. I'll just go over to cx01's house and eat his food." What would your neighbors think if you told them in advance that they couldn't have any of your food, that you personally sacrificed for in the form of opportunity cost? Would they think that you're not very neighborly? When the National Guard comes around to collect all of your stored food so that it can be distributed equally among your neighbors, are you planning on handing it over peacefully? http://proliberty.com/observer/20070917.htm http://proliberty.com/observer/20070917.htm Paul James, 85, standing beside some 200 cases of Mountain House freeze dried food. Purchased and trucked all the way cross country from Oregon in 1975, this "mountain" of food was recently pulled down from where it was stored for 37 years. [...] The year was 1975. At that time many Americans were concerned that the Cold War with Russia could turn hot. People all over the country were building bomb shelters in their backyards and storing large quantities of food. I was one of them. I didn’t build a shelter, but I did order $10,000 worth of Mountain House freeze dried food
      • cx01 18y ago
        My arguments should be understood in the context of tome's posts, not regarding my current situation. Personally I don't keep reserves because there's no risk of war (at least I think so). If there was war and I had reserves, then libertarian ethics would allow me to defend my reserves (with force).
        • gravitycop 18y ago
          The context of Tome's posts is that the war risk is secret. Why would another nation think that it had a good chance of successfully invading a nation that was prepared for such an invasion? Did Germany decide to invade France because the former figured the latter new well in advance of, and was well prepared for, the invasion plans? The nation that does not prepare for war, is at risk for war. If you personally do not have any food stored, and you and I live in the same nation, it puts me personally at risk of war.
          • cx01 18y ago
            If war risk is secret then a government won't help and that's what we're debating about.
          • sfg 18y ago
            "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maginot_Line http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maginot_Line" Massive French government fortification program designed to protect their borders with Germany and Italy. France knew perfectly well that the Germans were a clear and present danger. They just could not do anything about it - despite having that great protector: government military.
  • deleted 18y ago
    [deleted]
  • veritaze 18y ago
    If Libland did not have the capacity to generate Food, I would think Liblanders would have unique and unusual ways of being resourceful with Food and its storage, knowing full well that they are dependent on Xia for it. Canning, freeze-drying and other methods of preservation would probably be innovated to an extreme in this massively unrealistic metaphorical Libland.
    • tome 18y ago
      What's the incentive for them to innovate that?
      • veritaze 18y ago
        Survival.
        • tome 18y ago
          As a collective, yes. But what's the incentive for any one individual to attempt to innovate, especially given the high chance of his attempt failing? He might as well just wait for someone else to innovate. Indeed everyone else will wait for someone else. Prisoner's Dilemma. Oops.
          • veritaze 18y ago
            If that individual has progeny to nurture and protect, I would think that individual would take measures to innovate methods to do so, including grouping together with other individuals with common goals. Even if he or she didn't, the survival instinct would still persist. If that grouping no longer serves those inviduals, then they would likely want to disband it, especially if there were a sub-group of parasitic individuals within it that existed simply to maintain that group if that was their only method of survival. If you're going to cop out with intellectual laziness rather than provide your own opinions and observations, I think I am justified in referring to someone else's work on this topic who has addressed everything you are anemically trying to assert: http://www.jrbooksonline.com/PDF_Books/why_govt_doesnt_work.pdf http://www.jrbooksonline.com/PDF_Books/why_govt_doesnt_work....