I had the distinct pleasure of representing The Last American Vagabond at the 2nd Annual Anarchapulco conference in Acapulco, Mexico; the world’s largest anarcho-capitalist conference. For some who might not know what anarcho-capitalism means or have a distorted view let’s break it down. It comes from the word anarchy and capitalism. Anarchy simply means “one without rulers” or self-ownership. In this context, Anarchy is against having a centralized state and advocates for freedom through self-governed societies with volunteer institutions. Then there is capitalism, which is largely misunderstood, yet is nothing more than free trade amongst individuals in which they own their own means of production. Combine the two and one has anarcho-capitalism, which is essentially voluntary free trade amongst people without any centralized control over the system. The ability to self-govern and trade freely is seen in this community as the ultimate form of human freedom.
With this idea of freedom in mind, the conference has morphed into the ultimate free-thinker conference merged with Austrian economics, which spans a wide variety of subjects from free market economic analysis, sound money investments, independent media, spiritual transcendence, psychedelics, crypto-currencies, proactive activism, rational physics, personal relationship dynamics, “conspiracy” knowledge (although I would call much of it hidden truths), and independent education, among others. As you can see, it’s pretty hard to encompass the conference into one idea or one belief system other than ideas that promote unity of the world through freedom of markets, the mind, and the soul.
Headlining the conference were some of the brightest independent thinkers of today. Whether its Larken Rose and Mark Skousen debating the philosophical merits of anarchism for minarchism, or independent journalist Luke Rudkowski and Dan Dicks sharing their wealth of knowledge on navigating the independent media and methods in which we can get a microphone up into the face of crony politicians and make them answer the tough questions.
There were also activists Ken O’Keefe, Barry Cooper, and Max Igan calling out the police state and the despicable war crimes happening in the Gaza strip and proposing micro and macro-level ways in which we in the awakened community can come together and start taking united legal steps of action against it. This doesn’t even take into account the spiritual aspects of coming to terms with the awakening process as explained by Zen Gardner or the discussion of wedge issues in libertarian ideology by Walter Block and Marc Victor.
Crypto-currencies were also a highlighted topic with Bitcoin Jesus himself Roger Ver talking about the importance of Bitcoin and how it can change the monetary system. Also, to add some icing on the cake the founder Liberland Vit Jedlicka and the founder of the Pirate Party Rick Faulkvinge were there to talk about their real world political endeavors that are being felt by the mainstream culture. Much love goes out to the many that were not named, your contributions were definitely not lost.
Despite the plethora of prominent guests and great speeches, it was the community that made it. Whether it’s the free spirit hippie with dreads, the man in the sharp business suit, or just your average run-of-the-mill person, this diverse community of all races, genders, and ages really is what made the conference what it was. How often are you surrounded by three hundred people where 9/11 inside-job is standard conversation and weather modification, New World Order, or really any topic can be discussed openly without judgment or bias? Far too often we walk around with a muzzle over our mouths, too afraid to speak out and discuss the many blatantly obvious holes in our current reality. And those who do speak out are often looked back at by confused sheep totally oblivious and naively innocent to how the world really works
It can be lonely for a free-thinker at times, which is why a truly authentic beauty is unleashed at this conference as the chains are removed and the minds are free to roam and bounce off one another. Every conversation is oozing with so much substance, as theories, sources, information and ideas are passed around openly and freely. Going one level deeper, it is even more encouraging to see this movement is not just searching for information, but there is a mass awakening of people who are hungry to find solutions and put them into action. This doesn’t even take into account the incredible beauty of Acapulco, the crazy parties at night, and relaxing getaway the experience entailed.
In an attempt to pass some of the wisdom I took from the conference, here are four things I think we can all implement.
1) The people in the independent media are normal people like the rest of us. They don’t have all the answers and research in the very same way everyone else does. People often get caught up in the belief that everyone who doesn’t cover this or that topic is a shill or controlled opposition when in fact they are human too. While infiltration no doubt exists, we have to be careful not to get caught up in killing our movement from within by discrediting everyone and calling everyone a shill. These people are just like us, they just decided to take action and do something about it.
2) We have to start meeting up in person and taking action. Discussing stuff online is important of course, but if we just remain divided by all sitting independently at home then we will never change anything. Words only go so far. We can’t let this fear get in the way of us linking up in person and turning that into some type of physical action, and when we do we see that there are many more of us out there. This truth game can be lonely at times, but that quickly dissipates once there is a support network around you. One cannot do this alone.
3) Government is the biggest problem we face. As the conference went on, I realized that government has been the constant obstacle throughout history that has led to human suffering and human slavery. I am still not convinced whether a minarchist form of government is more practical than an anarchist form at least as a transition (I know Larken Rose will disagree!), but for the most part government is getting in the way of human operating naturally. I grew up thinking free market was the problem, but as time grew on, and especially after the conference, I realize it is government that is getting in the way of a truly free market of people, freely and voluntarily interacting. Most humans are good people, it is these few bad apples that scare the rest of us into believing we need big government to regulate the market. This inevitably leads to power centralization and becomes an ever-growing entity that takes on a life of its own and is hard to stop.
4) This movement will not be stopped and is going on rapidly in the underground. The peer-to-peer economy, crypto-currencies, agorist actions, and an overall break away from the system is happening way more than many people realize. Although some people might not be aware of what is going on, subconsciously they are aware something is wrong and making agorist decisions outside the system whether they know or not. We are all the earlier adopters of this movement and it is us who are leading it in the underground. It is getting closer and closer each day. The curiosity by the masses has never been higher.
To conclude, there is simply too much love and intellect at this conference that I have no choice but to go back next year along with several new recruits. Let’s just hope this time I don’t arrive back home again with Montezuma’s revenge! I encourage anyone with any curiosity, or who is considering attending, to do so. It is an event that you will not soon forget and most definitely not regret. I have no doubt that same sentiment would be echoed by all else who were in attendance. Everyone I have spoken too not only has high praise for it, but wants to attend again.
Big thanks to Jeff Berwick and Nathan Freeman for putting on such an amazing event and I have no doubt that next year will be even better as more people awaken and inevitably drift towards the message of freedom. This movement is not going away, and in many ways is only just beginning. We are the warriors on the front line and it is with honor that we all carry the torch for the people not yet awake. Much love to all. Peace. Love. Anarchy.
****A special thanks goes out to all those who helped to make this trip possible.****
Jaslynn Ball
Joe Fleming
Brian Zagami
Alisa Dee Daskarolis
As well as many others who wish to remain nameless, Thank you all for your unwavering support!
