tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144462093297473.post887350800881957105..comments2024-03-26T19:10:00.791-04:00Comments on West Coast Stat Views (on Observational Epidemiology and more): The need for a stateJosephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760453165301871031noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144462093297473.post-38546549905019804442013-09-22T01:47:31.681-04:002013-09-22T01:47:31.681-04:00I like to describe the (modern) Rominchal as a pri...I like to describe the (modern) Rominchal as a primitive version of the ninth century Icelandic system.David Friedmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06543763515095867595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144462093297473.post-57078679698973680192013-09-21T23:59:43.976-04:002013-09-21T23:59:43.976-04:00David: Thank you for the thoughtful reply. I am a...David: Thank you for the thoughtful reply. I am a big fan of the Icelandic sagas (marvelous cultural treasures) and had not previously adapted them to a Libertarian paradigm. but I think you are correct that they are one of the more viable alternative social organizations to the centralized state with an monopoly on force. I am less familiar with the Rominchal Gypsies but the general principle appears to be the same on first glance. <br /><br />Thanks for the link to the book. I have been glancing at it and especially enjoyed the Athenian chapter. Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10760453165301871031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144462093297473.post-14506271443270767062013-09-21T13:13:06.489-04:002013-09-21T13:13:06.489-04:00"In the absence of a state, I don't reall..."In the absence of a state, I don't really see a clear solution to the free rider problem. "<br /><br />In the presence of a state too--consider all the free rider problems created by the state.<br /><br />As it happens, we do have historical examples of societies where damage payments were enforced without state law enforcement. My standard example is saga period Iceland, but there have been a lot of other societies where law enforcement was private and decentralized. <br /><br />The essential logic of such a system is "If you wrong me, I will harm you unless you compensate me." The requirement for it to work is some mechanism such that right makes might, some reason why the threat is more believable when you have been wronged than when you have not. Different historical societies have provided that in different ways, ranging from an explicit law code and court system combined with private enforcement (Iceland) to "everyone knows what he did was wrong, so my friends will back me and his friends won't back him" (Rominchal Gypsies in present day England, as described in a chapter in _Gypsy Law_). <br /><br />Anyone sufficiently interested in the subject may want to look at the draft of the book I'm currently working on, about legal systems very different from ours, webbed for comments at:<br /><br />http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Academic/Course_Pages/Legal_Systems_Very_Different_13/Book_Draft/LegalSystemsDraft.html David Friedmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06543763515095867595noreply@blogger.com