In 2009, Honduras found itself in turmoil after a military coup destabilized the country leading to unprecedented levels of violence and repression. Taking a page out of the “shock doctrine” playbook, the elite political actors behind the coup (including narco-dictator Juan Orlando Hernández, now pardoned by Donald Trump after being sentenced to 45 years in prison for drug trafficking and weapons charges) watered down environmental protections on Honduran land and approved illegal contracts to sell Indigenous and protected land to the highest bidder.

Among other corrupt dealings and land grabs, the government approved a law that enabled the creation of Peter Thiel’s Zones for Employment and Economic Development (ZEDEs). ZEDEs derive from the idea of “charter cities.” Proposed by former World Bank executive and economist Paul Romer, these proposed cities are enclaves within lower-income nations that “promote economic growth” through privatization and the disposal of national regulations, while gifting major tax incentives for foreign nations to invest in businesses. Special economic zones in Kenya, Bangladesh, and Ethiopia have faced criticism due to low wages, harsh working conditions, and threats to rights to free association and collective bargaining. Romer, one of the initial proponents of ZEDEs in Honduras, expressed criticism in 2015 regarding the Honduran ZEDEs and their lack of accountability to local laws, and anti-democratic governance.

These ZEDEs are a project of Praxis, a tech billionaire-funded start-up that aims to create libertarian city-states to “restore Western Civilization.” The ZEDEs are allowed to have their own government, police force, courts, laws, and any taxes collected would not be paid to the Honduran government but to the ZEDEs themselves. ZEDEs are a tech billionaire’s dream: unbridled power, tech fantasy, and resource hoarding, where the government is run by AI and cryptocurrency is the main currency.

  • YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.todayEnglish
    8·
    2 days ago

    Words have meaning and right winged ideology and totalitarianism (same thing let’s be honest) are incomparable with the anarcho philosophy.

    Right winged governments started linking it to terrorism and created the far right winged libertarian. Who are so stupid and brainwashed they think they can survive without any societal structure (read a libertarian walks into a bear for a good case study on them getting exactly what they wanted).

    But the anarchists that have more than two braincells to rub together know that society is needed and a blessing. Pre colonial Americans are a good example of what they are after. No threats of state violence, no leaders ruling by edict, and they would band together to defend their sovereignty.

    I was, like I assume you are, thought it was just “everybody do whatever”. But I was educated by an unlikely source Benn Jordan https://youtu.be/W_F4rEaRduk

    Even if you’re not into the tech segments, I highly recommend the video if only for his history of the movement.

    • Basic Glitch@sh.itjust.worksOP
      0·
      2 days ago

      Words have meaning and right winged ideology and totalitarianism (same thing let’s be honest) are incomparable with the anarcho philosophy.

      But the anarchists that have more than two braincells to rub together know that society is needed and a blessing

      These people very much believe in a society, they just support the abolition of government because they believe capitalists (like Peter Thiel) were born to be placed above the rest of society and control society via privatization.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-capitalism

      a political ideology and economic theory that advocates for the abolition of all government-maintained (public sector) institutions and services, including law enforcement, in favour of replacing them with private providers.[3] Anarcho-capitalism argues that a society can function without a state through voluntary exchange and private institutions that provide law and security. This would result in a voluntary society, based on concepts and models such as the non-aggression principle, free markets, and self-ownership. In the absence of statute, private defense agencies and/or insurance companies would operate competitively in a market and fulfill the roles of courts and the police, similar to those performed by a state apparatus.

      They call it a “voluntary” society bc their argument is you could just go somewhere else if you’re not happy with the society they offer.

      But this is the same logic that applies to any capitalist monopoly. If you don’t like the only option being forced on you, you can just go somewhere else… Except realistically it’s your only option (other than potentially a different “voluntary” society run by a different billionaire where democracy has also been abolished) so take it or leave it.

      https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/modern-american-history/article/f-a-hayek-libertarianism-and-the-denationalization-of-money/B17D6B3E276C1007194928373B431E3B

      Amid the inflation crisis of the 1970s, the Austrian School economist F. A. Hayek presented a radical proposal to solve inflation: the denationalization of currency and the introduction of competing currencies into the monetary system. While Hayek’s proposal proved too radical for mainstream economists, Hayek found support within the American libertarian movement. Libertarians realized that Hayek’s radical proposal would limit state control over the monetary system and allow for the free exchange of gold. Even though libertarians were not immediately successful in bringing Hayek’s plan to fruition, their continued activism paved the way for the creation of cryptocurrency in 2009.