"Laughing Ferret" asked me what "Switzerland for libertarians" would look like." This is a rough draft of my answer to that question.
If you're a libertarian, what features would you want that aren't listed below?
**Taxes**
* Taxes set to the lowest rate necessary to maintain national autonomy. Ideally, the state would have no taxes at all.
* No taxes on:
1. income (corporate or individual)
2. capital gains
3. estate
4. sales
5. VAT
* Allowed taxes:
1. Excise tax (gas, oil, etc)
2. Poll tax
3. Pigouvian tax (pollution, etc)
4. Land value tax.
**Bodily autonomy**
* Manufacture/sell/buy any drug (recreational or medical) or medical device without restriction.
* Buy drugs over the counter or by mail.
* No DEA. No FDA.
* No criminal penalties for assisted suicide
* Sex work treated the same as any other profession. Work as a sex worker without fear of police harassment, fines, deportation, imprisonment.
* Purchase medical services from any company or individual. No licensure. No education mandates.
* No scope of practice restrictions.
* No restrictions on fertility services, such as surrogacy, sex selection, IVF, cloning, germ line genetic engineering.
threatening to put you in cage.
* No paternalistic food regulations, such as bans on raw millk, synthetic meat, or sugary drinks.
* No Certificate of Need laws.
**Science and Technology**
* No blanket bans on emerging technologies.
* Liability‑based rules rather than precautionary bans.
* Build a nuclear power plant in 3-4 years.
* No AI bans, surveillance, capacity limits, or licensure.
* No bans, restrictions on GMO foods / organisms.
**Security and self-defense**
* Order any gun by mail.
* No license mandates. Constitutional carry only.
* No import restrictions.
* No NFA tax.
* No registration.
* No silencer restrictions.
* No restrictions on 3d-printed guns.
* Strong stand‑your‑ground, castle doctrine, clear protections for private security).
**Privacy and surveillance**
* Strong statutory limits on state surveillance.
* No warrantless mass surveillance, Stingray use, and location tracking without consent.
* Strong encryption allowed and protected.
* No "paper's please" checkpoints.
* No TSA.
* No state surveillance and tracking of travelers.
* No national ID.
* No spyware (Stingray, Predator, etc).
**Money, Banking, and Finance
* Complete separation of money and state: no state controlled fiat allowed.
* No capital controls.
* No KYC/AML laws.
* No Fincen, Finacial Action Task Force
* No SEC, CFTC
* No currency restrictions. Conduct business in any money of your choice: gold, silver, Monero, etc.
* No money transmitter license. Purchase banking services from any person or company of your choice.
* No deposit insurance or state guarantees for banks.
* Arbitration clauses, non‑compete/NDAs allowed by private agreement.
**Education**
* Complete separation of school and state. No state run, tax subsidized schools allowed.
* No location based restrictions. Send your children to any school of your choice.
* No truancy laws.
* No licensure, accreditation mandates.
* No state loan guarantees, grants, vouchers, or other subsidies.
**Infrastructure***
* No state owned roads, power plants, sewage plants, ports, airports, railways, cable companies, etc.
* All infrastructure privately owned, and funded by fees charged to users.
**Public Goods**
* Only voluntarily funded, private police, fire departments, rescue services allowed.
* No welfare state. All charity provided by private individuals voluntarily.
**Employment**
* Broad freedom of association and contract.
* Private entities free to set membership/rules. No state anti‑discrimination mandates on private actors.
* No licensure requirements. Work as a plumber, physician, electrician, carpenter without being forced to get government permission first.
* No centralized immigration controls. Hire the best employees from anywhere in the world nearly as quickly and easily as you hire a native.
* No minimum wage.
**Speech**
* Absolute freedom of speech, press, and expression.
* No obscenity laws.
* No bans on synthetic child porn.
* No defamation or libel laws.
* No age restrictions on porn websites.
* No identity collection / storage requirements.
* No ITAR restrictions.
**Zoning**
* Strong, enforceable private property rights with market‑based title registries
* Minimal or no zoning; land use decided by owners and private agreements.
* No eminent domain or coercive takings.
* No mandates for parking, minimum lot size, building height, building materials.
**Courts and dispute resoltuion**
* Restitution based justice system with the following priorities:
1. stop crime in the first place.
2. provide restitution to the victims.
3. prevent future recividism.
* Private dispute resolution (arbitration, competing courts) encouraged.
* No asset forfeiture without conviction.
**Trade**
* Full free trade. No tariffs, quotas, export controls, or industrial policy.
If you're a libertarian, what features would you want that aren't listed below?
**Taxes**
* Taxes set to the lowest rate necessary to maintain national autonomy. Ideally, the state would have no taxes at all.
* No taxes on:
1. income (corporate or individual)
2. capital gains
3. estate
4. sales
5. VAT
* Allowed taxes:
1. Excise tax (gas, oil, etc)
2. Poll tax
3. Pigouvian tax (pollution, etc)
4. Land value tax.
**Bodily autonomy**
* Manufacture/sell/buy any drug (recreational or medical) or medical device without restriction.
* Buy drugs over the counter or by mail.
* No DEA. No FDA.
* No criminal penalties for assisted suicide
* Sex work treated the same as any other profession. Work as a sex worker without fear of police harassment, fines, deportation, imprisonment.
* Purchase medical services from any company or individual. No licensure. No education mandates.
* No scope of practice restrictions.
* No restrictions on fertility services, such as surrogacy, sex selection, IVF, cloning, germ line genetic engineering.
threatening to put you in cage.
* No paternalistic food regulations, such as bans on raw millk, synthetic meat, or sugary drinks.
* No Certificate of Need laws.
**Science and Technology**
* No blanket bans on emerging technologies.
* Liability‑based rules rather than precautionary bans.
* Build a nuclear power plant in 3-4 years.
* No AI bans, surveillance, capacity limits, or licensure.
* No bans, restrictions on GMO foods / organisms.
**Security and self-defense**
* Order any gun by mail.
* No license mandates. Constitutional carry only.
* No import restrictions.
* No NFA tax.
* No registration.
* No silencer restrictions.
* No restrictions on 3d-printed guns.
* Strong stand‑your‑ground, castle doctrine, clear protections for private security).
**Privacy and surveillance**
* Strong statutory limits on state surveillance.
* No warrantless mass surveillance, Stingray use, and location tracking without consent.
* Strong encryption allowed and protected.
* No "paper's please" checkpoints.
* No TSA.
* No state surveillance and tracking of travelers.
* No national ID.
* No spyware (Stingray, Predator, etc).
**Money, Banking, and Finance
* Complete separation of money and state: no state controlled fiat allowed.
* No capital controls.
* No KYC/AML laws.
* No Fincen, Finacial Action Task Force
* No SEC, CFTC
* No currency restrictions. Conduct business in any money of your choice: gold, silver, Monero, etc.
* No money transmitter license. Purchase banking services from any person or company of your choice.
* No deposit insurance or state guarantees for banks.
* Arbitration clauses, non‑compete/NDAs allowed by private agreement.
**Education**
* Complete separation of school and state. No state run, tax subsidized schools allowed.
* No location based restrictions. Send your children to any school of your choice.
* No truancy laws.
* No licensure, accreditation mandates.
* No state loan guarantees, grants, vouchers, or other subsidies.
**Infrastructure***
* No state owned roads, power plants, sewage plants, ports, airports, railways, cable companies, etc.
* All infrastructure privately owned, and funded by fees charged to users.
**Public Goods**
* Only voluntarily funded, private police, fire departments, rescue services allowed.
* No welfare state. All charity provided by private individuals voluntarily.
**Employment**
* Broad freedom of association and contract.
* Private entities free to set membership/rules. No state anti‑discrimination mandates on private actors.
* No licensure requirements. Work as a plumber, physician, electrician, carpenter without being forced to get government permission first.
* No centralized immigration controls. Hire the best employees from anywhere in the world nearly as quickly and easily as you hire a native.
* No minimum wage.
**Speech**
* Absolute freedom of speech, press, and expression.
* No obscenity laws.
* No bans on synthetic child porn.
* No defamation or libel laws.
* No age restrictions on porn websites.
* No identity collection / storage requirements.
* No ITAR restrictions.
**Zoning**
* Strong, enforceable private property rights with market‑based title registries
* Minimal or no zoning; land use decided by owners and private agreements.
* No eminent domain or coercive takings.
* No mandates for parking, minimum lot size, building height, building materials.
**Courts and dispute resoltuion**
* Restitution based justice system with the following priorities:
1. stop crime in the first place.
2. provide restitution to the victims.
3. prevent future recividism.
* Private dispute resolution (arbitration, competing courts) encouraged.
* No asset forfeiture without conviction.
**Trade**
* Full free trade. No tariffs, quotas, export controls, or industrial policy.