Once upon a time there was a beautiful country filled with greenery, right by the river; it was inhabited exclusively by free people, thus it was sensibly named “Liberland”!
Time passed idly for the inhabitants of this little country. They made great effort to build, create, exchange products and services, develop their abilities to their benefit and that of the community they lived in.
No one bothered them in their endless dealings. They alone had set the rules of the game and made sure to follow them to the tee, since that was profitable to all involved.
Common sense dictates that you don’t willfully cause a win-win situation to turn sour…
See, this is what happens between people who respect each other and the decisions mutually made… This_could_happen when there’s no middleman dictating the rules and changing them according to will…
Besides, common sense dictates that no one can decide better for you than you yourself…
Liberland was not an ungoverned country. It was ruled by a visionary leader who spent his days trying to become all the more better for the people that had elected him. He didn’t rule on his own; he had a small team of people who shared his vision and worked under his guidance, but – being the wise man that he was – he made certain to take into consideration every opinion, even the ones opposing his, thus improving his perspective and method.
Common sense dictates that a good leader is a “servant” to the people who chose him; said people reserve the right to dismiss him should the leader not meet expectations, since running a country is not a “steady, permanent job”, but a battle to be won every day…
Like every other land, this small country took effort and funds to continue running and dealing with other, far bigger countries. See, this world is enormous and you cannot live within it without having dealings with others, without being nice to the neighbors, without having laid the strongest groundwork you possibly can. But this was also resolved for the people in this land.
Common sense dictates that, in order to secure good quality of life, one would need to give something back; something decided beforehand to serve a purpose useful to all.
So they first decided on a project and after they all agreed to it, everyone contributed within their means, never beyond. Initially they invested their money, only to get it back after achieving the goal.
What was it they wanted, roads? They paid for roads. Ports? They paid for ports. Were they in need of defense? They paid for defense. Did they wish for education? They paid for it. But it was stipulated that what they agreed upon, that was going to be paid for with their own money: roads, ports, defense, education… No questions, no secrets. In Liberland there were no hollow barrels where the folks’ hard-earned money would slip through… There were no black holes, no bribery while turning a blind eye. You gave something? You took something which had been agreed on _beforehand… Because, let’s face it, money is very expensive and in Liberland, check this out: the only product that the soil was infertile for was the Moneytree…
Common sense dictates that one should respect and value the money one breaks a sweat to make, especially since it doesn’t grow on trees…
No one got mad, nor envied their neighbor for having more. Wealth obtained lawfully was respected by all and this stipulation was a prerequisite in order to reside in this tiny country which gave every inhabitant the opportunity to make their own fortune.
Common sense dictates that the “I haven’t acquired as much as my neighbor has” logic – only because I haven’t tried as hard as he has – cannot bear discussion, especially if provided the opportunity and possibility to do so.
Thus no one ever viewed their own “less of” as an injustice which would make them turn against their neighbor. On the contrary, the neighbor’s “more” worked solely as a motive in a country enabled by peace to grant its people opportunity to evolve. People could focus on creating since troubles such as safety, law abidance and the relations with their neighbors were the government’s responsibility and they had none of that to see to, nor did they linger for years waiting for any dispute to be resolved.
Common sense dictates that the law discriminates not, all is equal before the law and none is more equal than the next.
The citizens of that small country didn’t need to fight any small, daily, personal battle for survival against social, religious or racial prejudice. They could afford to act like their own person and were not interested in proving to anyone why they believed to whichever god or answer for whomever they chose to keep in their bed, man or woman, neither did they have to apologize for the fact nor go on the offence as a form of defense.
In Liberland, the notion of difference didn’t exist because it was redundant; common sense was enough! You could be yourself and do whatever you pleased within your limitations, on condition that you respect other people’s freedom to be themselves and do whatever they pleased within their limitations.
If all this sounds like a fairytale and you are waiting for Alice, the rabbits, the queens and the cards to jump out… I’ve got news for you:
All this can actually happen! Because common sense dictates that it’s a waste of time to chase after utopia when you can build reality with your own hands!
There’s a tiny corner on this earth, so small that no one claims for themselves. There’s a small group of people who has scoured the paths of this entire territory seeking a small area to create a land for Freedom. Strange world, indeed!
How little sense does it make for Freedom to be searching for a small area to make it its home, while that should be the whole world’s home? How sad it is for Freedom to have to go around looking for a streak of land which puts up with it…
But it is what it is. Now what? No matter how sad, it seems extremely positive that some people dispensed with their sorrow and decided to do something more essential than believe in fairytales…
In a small, green piece of land, somewhere between Croatia and Serbia, on the shore of Danube, a small group of youngsters is trying to build a new nation of free people.
Under the guidance of 33 yr old Vít Jedlička and the vision for a “free world” and a country built on free economy and limited administration, which will enable, not hinder people’s development, they established the Free Democracy of Liberland which is currently looking for citizens.
Prerequisites are simple: Common goals and ability to walk a common path for their implementation. Respecting other people’s freedom, fortune and individuality.
Up until now, approximately 400,000 people from around the world have applied to become citizens in the “Land of Freedom”.
There is a sole, self-explanatory restriction: there is to be no acceptance of any kind of extremism or authoritarian ideology, no matter which end of the spectrum they serve. It is easy to understand why: love for Freedom automatically creates the responsibility to protect it.
You might say that this doesn’t sound too liberal or democratic. Indeed, it is true; sometimes one needs to restrict democracy in order to benefit the most from it…
In fact, do you know why Freedom cannot find a place to rest? Why the rulers of this world are afraid of it? They try to break it because they cannot fight it otherwise. Thus this small group of people has been persecuted, imprisoned and disparaged in an effort to stop them from chasing after their dream. But tenaciousness, youth’s strong suit, has not permitted them to stop.
So far there are 70 delegations of this strange Fairyland around the world and more are established daily, since more and more people wish to lend a hand in building a brand new world… and the number keeps growing higher and higher…
A new world… For you and me, those who can do something for it…
A fairytale world, you will say…
The truth is that I don’t know whether Vit and his friends will make it eventually, he is the same age as Jesus and there’s slim chance of him escaping crucifixion by those who have it big and easy in this world. What I do know is that the fact that he tries to accomplish it is already so much more than what has been done by those who only dream about it.
Liberland is a fact, while Fairyland is nothing but a utopia which even Alice, the rabbits and the cards are tired of chasing after…
Yes, it is a fabled world; the difference – which can make it come true somewhere outside our imagination – is that the fairytale does not end with the words “They lived happily ever after”, but “We all lived happily ever after”… Both them… and us…
*Many thanks to Elena Tsaropoulou for the translation of this article.
Time passed idly for the inhabitants of this little country. They made great effort to build, create, exchange products and services, develop their abilities to their benefit and that of the community they lived in.
No one bothered them in their endless dealings. They alone had set the rules of the game and made sure to follow them to the tee, since that was profitable to all involved.
Common sense dictates that you don’t willfully cause a win-win situation to turn sour…
See, this is what happens between people who respect each other and the decisions mutually made… This_could_happen when there’s no middleman dictating the rules and changing them according to will…
Besides, common sense dictates that no one can decide better for you than you yourself…
Liberland was not an ungoverned country. It was ruled by a visionary leader who spent his days trying to become all the more better for the people that had elected him. He didn’t rule on his own; he had a small team of people who shared his vision and worked under his guidance, but – being the wise man that he was – he made certain to take into consideration every opinion, even the ones opposing his, thus improving his perspective and method.
Common sense dictates that a good leader is a “servant” to the people who chose him; said people reserve the right to dismiss him should the leader not meet expectations, since running a country is not a “steady, permanent job”, but a battle to be won every day…
Like every other land, this small country took effort and funds to continue running and dealing with other, far bigger countries. See, this world is enormous and you cannot live within it without having dealings with others, without being nice to the neighbors, without having laid the strongest groundwork you possibly can. But this was also resolved for the people in this land.
Common sense dictates that, in order to secure good quality of life, one would need to give something back; something decided beforehand to serve a purpose useful to all.
So they first decided on a project and after they all agreed to it, everyone contributed within their means, never beyond. Initially they invested their money, only to get it back after achieving the goal.
What was it they wanted, roads? They paid for roads. Ports? They paid for ports. Were they in need of defense? They paid for defense. Did they wish for education? They paid for it. But it was stipulated that what they agreed upon, that was going to be paid for with their own money: roads, ports, defense, education… No questions, no secrets. In Liberland there were no hollow barrels where the folks’ hard-earned money would slip through… There were no black holes, no bribery while turning a blind eye. You gave something? You took something which had been agreed on _beforehand… Because, let’s face it, money is very expensive and in Liberland, check this out: the only product that the soil was infertile for was the Moneytree…
Common sense dictates that one should respect and value the money one breaks a sweat to make, especially since it doesn’t grow on trees…
No one got mad, nor envied their neighbor for having more. Wealth obtained lawfully was respected by all and this stipulation was a prerequisite in order to reside in this tiny country which gave every inhabitant the opportunity to make their own fortune.
Common sense dictates that the “I haven’t acquired as much as my neighbor has” logic – only because I haven’t tried as hard as he has – cannot bear discussion, especially if provided the opportunity and possibility to do so.
Thus no one ever viewed their own “less of” as an injustice which would make them turn against their neighbor. On the contrary, the neighbor’s “more” worked solely as a motive in a country enabled by peace to grant its people opportunity to evolve. People could focus on creating since troubles such as safety, law abidance and the relations with their neighbors were the government’s responsibility and they had none of that to see to, nor did they linger for years waiting for any dispute to be resolved.
Common sense dictates that the law discriminates not, all is equal before the law and none is more equal than the next.
The citizens of that small country didn’t need to fight any small, daily, personal battle for survival against social, religious or racial prejudice. They could afford to act like their own person and were not interested in proving to anyone why they believed to whichever god or answer for whomever they chose to keep in their bed, man or woman, neither did they have to apologize for the fact nor go on the offence as a form of defense.
In Liberland, the notion of difference didn’t exist because it was redundant; common sense was enough! You could be yourself and do whatever you pleased within your limitations, on condition that you respect other people’s freedom to be themselves and do whatever they pleased within their limitations.
If all this sounds like a fairytale and you are waiting for Alice, the rabbits, the queens and the cards to jump out… I’ve got news for you:
All this can actually happen! Because common sense dictates that it’s a waste of time to chase after utopia when you can build reality with your own hands!
There’s a tiny corner on this earth, so small that no one claims for themselves. There’s a small group of people who has scoured the paths of this entire territory seeking a small area to create a land for Freedom. Strange world, indeed!
How little sense does it make for Freedom to be searching for a small area to make it its home, while that should be the whole world’s home? How sad it is for Freedom to have to go around looking for a streak of land which puts up with it…
But it is what it is. Now what? No matter how sad, it seems extremely positive that some people dispensed with their sorrow and decided to do something more essential than believe in fairytales…
In a small, green piece of land, somewhere between Croatia and Serbia, on the shore of Danube, a small group of youngsters is trying to build a new nation of free people.
Under the guidance of 33 yr old Vít Jedlička and the vision for a “free world” and a country built on free economy and limited administration, which will enable, not hinder people’s development, they established the Free Democracy of Liberland which is currently looking for citizens.
Prerequisites are simple: Common goals and ability to walk a common path for their implementation. Respecting other people’s freedom, fortune and individuality.
Up until now, approximately 400,000 people from around the world have applied to become citizens in the “Land of Freedom”.
There is a sole, self-explanatory restriction: there is to be no acceptance of any kind of extremism or authoritarian ideology, no matter which end of the spectrum they serve. It is easy to understand why: love for Freedom automatically creates the responsibility to protect it.
You might say that this doesn’t sound too liberal or democratic. Indeed, it is true; sometimes one needs to restrict democracy in order to benefit the most from it…
In fact, do you know why Freedom cannot find a place to rest? Why the rulers of this world are afraid of it? They try to break it because they cannot fight it otherwise. Thus this small group of people has been persecuted, imprisoned and disparaged in an effort to stop them from chasing after their dream. But tenaciousness, youth’s strong suit, has not permitted them to stop.
So far there are 70 delegations of this strange Fairyland around the world and more are established daily, since more and more people wish to lend a hand in building a brand new world… and the number keeps growing higher and higher…
A new world… For you and me, those who can do something for it…
A fairytale world, you will say…
The truth is that I don’t know whether Vit and his friends will make it eventually, he is the same age as Jesus and there’s slim chance of him escaping crucifixion by those who have it big and easy in this world. What I do know is that the fact that he tries to accomplish it is already so much more than what has been done by those who only dream about it.
Liberland is a fact, while Fairyland is nothing but a utopia which even Alice, the rabbits and the cards are tired of chasing after…
Yes, it is a fabled world; the difference – which can make it come true somewhere outside our imagination – is that the fairytale does not end with the words “They lived happily ever after”, but “We all lived happily ever after”… Both them… and us…
*Many thanks to Elena Tsaropoulou for the translation of this article.