99 Ways to Leave Leviathan
Max Borders, Jeffrey TuckerOver the last century-plus, the Leviathan state has gained the upper hand, sometimes through big periods of upheaval but mostly through a million daily nicks and cuts. What if this process is being reversed in our time? What if the apparatus of control is being undermined with a million acts of entrepreneurship that evade the state's attempt to plan and command? There is a fundamental asymmetry between the structure of government and the structure of a networked people.
In our times, innovation has provided people with more tools. And often they use these tools to get around the barriers that politicians and bureaucrats have erected. Some of us take note of them every day. And while we may revel in their cleverness, we don't take time to look at the big picture. Here is where this phenomenon of small ways to break out from and break down the system — which pop culture often labels "breaking bad" — gets really interesting.