> you may not enjoy consular protection or any other diplomatic representation from the country whose citizenship you bought and paid for ... So be careful how

> you may not enjoy consular protection or any other diplomatic representation from the country whose citizenship you bought and paid for ... So be careful how you shop for citizenship Of course, people should do their homework before purchasing expensive insurance policies that might or might not pay out when the need arises. If you follow the social contract tradition of Western political philosophy to its logical conclusion, a state is just that: a glorified insurance policy that people feel compelled to buy in order to avoid the various dangers and inconveniences of statelessness. In exchange for regular premiums (taxes), you get assurance that a bunch of dudes with guns and bombs will protect your life, liberty, and property from anyone who dares to harm you. The fact that you also happen to be a shareholder (citizen) of this insurance company is a nice perk, because it means it's at least theoretically possible to make the company's interests align with yours. But that doesn't change the fundamental fact that the state is a glorified insurance company. It's nice to see that a lot of the baseless romanticism and fanaticism that used to surround statehood during the last couple of centuries are finally fading away in favor of a more rational analysis of costs and benefits. Right now, it's only happening with millionaires who have much to gain and lose. But I wish ordinary people also had the chance to calmly evaluate whether the premiums they're paying are worth the benefits they're getting. The usual act of voting with your hands can become radically more effective with combined with the threat of voting with your feet.