Article 8 of the “Don’t Repeat History” Series
Few Laws: Order Without Force
The Free Republic of Liberland, founded in 2015 on a 7 km² patch of disputed Danube land between Croatia and Serbia, embodies libertarian ideals: minimal government, voluntary contributions, property rights, and blockchain transparency. By 2025, Liberland has stabilized governance with blockchain elections, launched a $30 million Danube revitalization plan, and has attracted over 700,000 e-residency applicants, poised for global growth from 1,400 citizens. Yet, scaling risks chaos without a cohesive populace grounded in minimal, principled laws. A unified community is essential to prevent fragmentation, as seen in the Iroquois Confederacy’s (c. 1142–1777) collapse due to weak governance and internal divisions. To ensure stability without coercion, Liberland must adopt non-aggression rules with citizen vetoes, supported by civics modules, fostering cohesion across its diverse e-residency. This avoids the Iroquois’ pitfalls, supporting 2025’s infrastructure and diaspora goals while preserving the “To Live and Let Live” ethos.
The Iroquois Confederacy, a union of six Native American nations in what is now the northeastern U.S., thrived on decentralized governance and voluntary alliances, much like Liberland’s vision. Its Great Law of Peace enabled autonomous nations—Mohawk, Seneca, and others—to cooperate without a central authority, balancing trade and diplomacy with European powers through non-binding wampum-belt agreements. This mirrored libertarian principles of voluntary cooperation. However, the Confederacy’s minimal rules lacked robust mechanisms for dispute resolution or unified lawmaking, leading to factionalism. By the 18th century, wealth disparities and competing alliances (e.g., Mohawk with British, Seneca with French) fractured cohesion, weakening resistance to colonial treaties like the 1763 Fort Stanwix agreement, which ceded land without consent. By 1777, the American Revolution split the Confederacy, ending its autonomy. The Iroquois’ lesson warns Liberland: without clear, minimal laws and a cohesive populace, decentralized systems risk fragmentation, especially as e-residency scales and Croatian disruptions could push reliance on diaspora villages like ARK in Serbia.
Liberland’s 2025 context—blockchain elections, the Danube plan, and e-residency surge—demands a legal framework balancing order with freedom. Over-regulation, like the U.S. Constitution’s loopholes (Article 2), risks centralization, while insufficient rules, as in the Iroquois Confederacy, invite disunity. Wealth-driven voting, where citizens with more Liberland Merits (LLM) wield disproportionate influence, could skew lawmaking toward elites, mirroring Iroquois factionalism (Article 6). Non-aggression rules with citizen vetoes offer a voluntary solution: a concise legal code, rooted in the non-aggression principle (NAP), prohibits initiating force against persons or property. Blockchain-based vetoes allow citizens to nullify proposed laws via referenda, ensuring only community-endorsed rules persist. Civics modules which should be mandatory for citizenship, can teach NAP and the Iroquois’ failures, fostering a cohesive populace. Social incentives—prestige or blockchain credits for voting participation—encourage engagement, ensuring unity without coercion. An educated voting body is essential to success to avoid Athen’s mob rule by democracy. The affirmative voting system Liberland uses to enact laws and vetos over congressional actions eg. cabinet appointments are a necessary check on power even if they are rarely exercised.
Non-aggression rules, limited to essentials (e.g., bans on theft, violence, fraud), are codified on Liberland’s blockchain, transparent and immutable. For example, a proposed trade regulation for ARK village could be vetoed if it restricts property rights excessively, preserving libertarian principles. Civics modules, (I am still trying to figure out how exactly it should be done but my idea so far is that it should be structured into four parts (NAP, governance, economy, society.)) The modules should educate e-residents and citizens on the Iroquois’ fragmentation and the need for minimal, unified rules, ensuring informed vetoes. This mirrors my series’ voluntary systems: DAO trusts (Article 3), for inheritance, blockchain registries (Article 4), for IP (Article 6), and DAO-CLTs (Article 5) for diaspora land, all using social incentives to unify without force.
In practice, this system supports Liberland’s 2025 goals. The $30 million Danube plan can fund projects vetted by vetoes, ensuring voluntary contributions align with community will, unlike the Iroquois’ divisive land cessions. As e-residency applications scales to over 700,000, affirmative votes on Legislation and civics modules maintain cohesion across diverse cultures, avoiding Athenian factionalism (Article 7). Croatian blockades necessitate digital governance; blockchain vetoes enable global participation, complementing diaspora outposts (Article 5) and blockchain treaties (Article 6). Sunset clauses on laws—expiring after 5–10 years unless renewed—keep rules adaptable, preventing rigid overreach. Blockchain automation reduces enforcement costs, unlike state bureaucracies, scaling for a global e-citizenry.
Critics may argue vetoes risk paralysis, as in the U.S. Articles’ unanimous consent (Article 2), but equal-access voting and civics education ensure informed decisions, not chaos. Unlike coercive legal systems, this approach preserves freedom by prioritizing consent. Without minimal rules and a cohesive populace, Liberland risks the Iroquois Confederacy’s fate: fragmentation undermining autonomy. By fostering unity through civics and vetoes, Liberland ensures order without force, supporting its crypto-economy and diaspora growth.
By learning from the Iroquois Confederacy’s governance failures, Liberland can build a voluntary legal system. Non-aggression rules with citizen vetoes, backed by civics modules and blockchain transparency, ensure stability, supporting 2025’s elections, Danube plan, and e-residency surge. This makes Liberland a beacon of ordered liberty, not a cautionary tale of division.