The Decentralization of Everything
The only possible future for people who want liberty, prosperity, and true happiness is the end of almost all federal policies, regulations, and agencies that routinely commit wrongdoing.
The centralization of power has been a consistent theme throughout history, as a government grows over time, it wants its power to become increasingly centralized to ensure its own survival. The United States federal government, through centralization, has become the largest authority ever to exist on the earth. The bloat of the federal government has become glaringly obvious as it interferes with more aspects of our private lives every year. It is also pretty crazy to think that a nation of over 330 million people must live by the whims of politicians of two parties that are two wings of the same bird. We have an illusion of choice with the supposed two-party “democracy” that runs the country. Does anyone really think that every single person in the U.S. thinks either one way or another?
The word “centralisation” first entered the French vernacular in 1794, while the word “decentralisation” was coined by Alexis de Tocqueville in the 1820s. Tocqueville wrote that the French Revolution was “a push towards decentralization...[but became,] in the end, an extension of centralization.” Tocqueville famously wrote Democracy in America, where he was contracted by France to write about the prison systems in America, but became enamored with the localized political and governance system of the young nation. He was an advocate for decentralization after his visit to America and further wrote:
“Decentralization has, not only an administrative value but also a civic dimension since it increases the opportunities for citizens to take interest in public affairs; it makes them get accustomed to using freedom. And from the accumulation of these local, active, persnickety freedoms, is born the most efficient counterweight against the claims of the central government, even if it were supported by an impersonal, collective will.”
-Alexis de Tocqueville
Government decentralization would distribute the powers and functions from the federal government back to local governments. Decision-making would be more localized, and therefore people would have more autonomy over their own lives. No longer would one small area with a large population be able to enact decrees and mandates affecting an entire state. No longer could a governor in the city order that guns be taken away from people who live in the rural countryside. No longer could Congress push for legislation that would track every transaction over $600 on a financial services platform.
Lord John Acton famously wrote in an 1887 letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton that “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” While Acton was not the first to introduce this idea into the human mind, his particular phrasing has certainly become the most notable. This has become one of the most known proverbial sayings worldwide, with people understanding the principle of the statement without having ever heard it uttered. In Lord Acton’s day, I have no doubt that this statement rang true to the powers of the time, but the consistency and frequency at which the phrase is proven to be truthful has accelerated at astonishing velocity. Each and every day there is another story about a cop who wrongfully assaults a black man, the IRS wrongfully preys on a lower class family to extort more tax dollars out of because they don’t have the means to fight back, a speaker of the house shown to have profited hundreds of millions of dollars off of insider trading, and even a pharmaceutical company colluding with multiple public health agencies and regulatory agencies to intentionally mislead the public and suppress documents and trials about a rushed vaccine.
I could provide a list of examples for all of this that could stretch to the moon, but this is merely an introduction. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines decentralization (specifically, government) as “the delegation of power from a central authority to regional and local authorities.” The idea of decentralization has become popular among many groups of people as corruption and embezzlement by the government is exposed more frequently. The cryptocurrency community is a huge advocate for decentralization, as one of the principles of cryptocurrency is a decentralized finance structure free from central banks. Libertarians are pushing for the decentralization of the government and removing power from federal authorities over people’s lives in favor of allowing small, local governments to have more influence in the management of their communities. Many people who oppose censorship on the internet would like to see the decentralization of Big Tech, social media, and other platforms, allowing for individuals to live their lives without the fear of being booted from social media, payment platforms, and even Uber.
In the modern world, we are facing increasing pressure from globalist politicians and the elites that fund their campaigns to slowly give up your liberties, so slowly you don’t even notice at first. People only think “wow, now that the government provides this ‘free’ service, I don’t have to ever think about doing that again!” These people fail to realize that the more you rely on an increasingly centralized system to control aspects of your life, that humans will begin to forget how to do those things. Just seventy years ago this nation had nearly 7 million farms and it was more common to grow your own food and raise livestock than to live in a city. Put your average city person on a farm today and they wouldn’t know that chickens lay eggs. I saw an interview recently that I can’t seem to find, but it was a climate protest in Europe in which a young “climate activist” stated that all farms need to be abolished because they emit greenhouse gasses. This is the level of ignorance you must endure with many millennial/GenZ types.
So what would decentralization of the government and various industries look like when it is implemented in real life? A lot would look different if the government and the economy became more decentralized.
Agriculture: A lot of the expensive regulations that place a heavy burden on farmers and producers entering the market would be lifted and it would be easier for small and local businesses to gain a market share. Farmers would have less incentive to plant commodity crops that are subsidized heavily by the government and would be required to adapt to the market and grow crops that people actually want to eat.
In addition, all restrictions on individuals to grow their own gardens would be lifted and people would become more independent with sourcing their food.
Education: The government runs education and it runs it very poorly. Prior to the beginning of the Department of Education in 1974, the United States was number one in the world in public education. In 2022, our country now sits at number (26) in education.
Education should be used to inspire kids, teach them useful skills and knowledge, and meant to turn them into curious, ambitious people. The government running the majority of education in the country has resulted in children being taught to be mindless paperpushers in the system and are thus becoming weakened and less free as human beings.
Aviation: The removal of government intervention and regulation in air travel would be possibly one of the more enjoyable aspects of decentralization. Imagine cities having multiple airports independent of each other that must compete for your business to travel. The TSA would be a thing of the past and no one would again have to wait hours in line and be needlessly accosted for having 4 ounces of liquid in their bag.
Warfare: Obviously a country needs a strong army or at least a strong army of reserves if national defense is ever required. However, a decentralized military would lead to the elimination of the draft for any foreign war, and allow states to vote not to participate in a conflict.
Medical-Industrial Complex: Medicine used to be an industry where you wanted to heal your patients, but it has become a completely top-down system where the supposed “public health experts” recommend mandates and health policy for a nation of 330 million people. The best treatments and cures are suppressed because the medical industry now works towards profit rather than health.
The effective oligopoly of Big Pharma, public health agencies, and insurance companies sees no reason but to make people more unhealthy because it means more “healthcare” for people which keeps their pockets full.
Federal Law Enforcement:
Say goodbye to the ATF. Their agency is useless anyways and it makes no sense that Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms are policed under one authority (or any authority).
Other federal agencies such as the NSA, the DHS, the FBI, and the CIA would have their power severely diminished.
Finance: The Fed would end and a return to a sound monetary system would be achieved. Fiat currency would not be banned outright, but as other forms of currency such as cryptocurrency, gold, or some other method of decentralized finance would become standard. The competition among banks and other institutions to create a valuable currency that people could choose to use or not to use would return. A meritocratic banking system would be restored in which big bank bailouts funded by your stolen tax dollars would no longer exist.
One of the primary goals of decentralization is to remove people’s reliance on the government for their own survival. People could stand to learn to be more self-sufficient and work on better cooperation with their family, friends, neighbors, and other members of their community for their needs. Decentralization can also help to make sure that what few services the government would continue to provide are provided more efficiently, as decisions can be made locally rather than having to cut through bureaucratic red tape to be approved by a central authority.
In summary, decentralization of everything from government to finance to medicine to education would bring an end to countless problems caused by the centralization of power. People would prosper, liberty would be resurrected, and many of the systemic issues facing the nation would be solved. Decentralization would establish relatively autonomous local and regional government offices and delegate more decision-making powers and functions to them. The central government would divest many of its powers to the autonomous local authorities, granting citizens a greater influence over their own lives and limit infringement of individual liberties.
I was recently inspired through a variety of avenues to start a series of essays discussing the decentralization of state and corporate power. In these, I will address a different topic in each essay about a particular industry, alphabet agency, or disruptive technologies and innovations that are advancing ideas and models of decentralization. The top-down authoritarian structure that the United States government has taken on has perpetuated too many wrongdoings against American citizens. In 2021, Elon Musk was asked if the government should take billionaires’ money for redistribution. He responded with "the government is simply the biggest corporation, with a monopoly on violence and where you have no recourse.” Many libertarians have echoed Musk’s ‘monopoly on violence’ sentiment for many years, a truth that becomes self-evident upon further investigation.
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Great post, makes so much sense - so crazy more people don’t understand this