Going For Galt's Gulch
by David MacGregor
Galt's Gulch is a high-tech retreat in Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged—a place where all
the "disappearing" productive people can meet, relax, and recharge.
John Galt, the hero of "Atlas," is a brilliant engineer who has decided he will not support a corrupt
system. He will not allow his mind, his talent, or his efforts to prop it up. He plans a strike like no
other—a strike of all those who are the engine of civilization, the creative producers in every field.
His mission is to persuade each and every one to disappear, to simply remove their support and, thereby,
bring about a collapse of the existing society.
Galt's Gulch is their private hideaway spot—an anarchic, free community hidden in the mountains.
It's protected by a high-tech invisibility screen, designed to prevent the place from being found.
It's a "retreat for the rational," a place to reenergize and spend time with like-minded people.
If you haven't read Atlas Shrugged, then I urge you to do so. It has the power to revolutionize
the way you see the world. And, more importantly, your place in it.
Galt's Gulch portrays what could be possible in a rational society—and, within each new generation
of readers, it inspires hope and shines like a beacon pointing to a different world.
It has also inspired speculation as to how such a society might be created in reality. Usually, this has
lead to ideas like how to create a new country, or sovereign territory. Many such ideas have been
floated and come to naught—the main obstacle being the impossibility of achieving sovereignty
over any existing territory. It's all spoken for. Sure, you can buy land and build a city even, but you cannot
buy the actual sovereignty, or true independence.
The vital ingredient of freedom is apparently not for sale. Every existing nation jealously guards its
existing sovereignty and has managed to seize every piece of real estate on earth.
You could go off-planet, of course—as in Robert Heinlen's novel, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress,
where an Earth colony on the moon rebels, and declares its independence. That is still a possibility, although
probably far off.
This leaves us in a quandary. Freedom-loving individuals would simply love a place to call their "own."
Trouble is, such a place does not exist—and appears to be impossible to create under the existing
notion of national sovereignty.
It could be possible to "lease" sovereignty from some existing nation—say a poor nation in need
of cash. But such a move is very likely to draw the wrath of the nation state club, particularly if it were to
buck the system in other ways. However, this option is also very unlikely, as the only places that may even
consider such an arrangement are probably a bit of a hell hole.
So, where does that leave a motivated freedom-seeker, an individual who is serious about claiming his
birthright and not content to just put up with the status quo?
A clue lies in the physical specifications of Galt's Gulch. Much has been said about the nature of that
private society, but the novel is more properly concerned with the big picture—about transforming
the world as a result of the "strike." However, the nascent free society that is Galt's Gulch is able to exist
because of one essential fact—the privacy shield that lies overhead.
The sky shield creates the illusion that there is nothing in the valley below, so any spying aircraft
flying overhead will not see it. It is designed specifically to hide the existence of the place and to allow
it to survive and achieve its purpose, that of offering a refuge to those who are on strike until it is time
to return to a transformed society.
This is where the Internet comes in. The Internet is like an alternative society, a place outside
the normal societal structures. It's a place that is effectively uncontrolled by governments. In other words,
it's a place that has moved beyond the sovereignty of any individual nation. Sure, some nations try to
control elements of the Internet—like the USA stopping its people from gambling offshore or China
stopping its people from visiting BBC.co.uk—but, at its core, the Internet is free space.
It's also a very public space. But, it has the capacity to be as private as you want it to be.
More importantly, the Internet is the basis of a new type of community. You can see this by understanding
how it has developed. Whereas you used to just read newspapers and get news from the official news channels,
now you can read/create blogs, start your own podcast service, create and sell your own book, start your own
newsletter, etc.
Then there are the buy/sell communities like eBay and others, where vast amounts of private
business are transacted. And, of course, the Internet is littered with every type of interest group—political,
economic, hobbies, sexuality, etc. You name it and there's a group for it. It's also revolutionized how people find
work, arrange travel, book hotels, and do banking. In fact, the Internet has become the global, no barriers, free
market. And, for now, it's not taxed!
It is in this cyber-environment that a private society can be born. Any group of people can create a virtual
community with its own privacy shield. Privacy, on the Internet, is created by technological means. You can
shield your email communications using PGP. You can shield your Internet movements using an anonymization
service. You can shield certain types of financial transactions using alternate value-exchange systems like
e-gold. In other words, you can create a virtual privacy shield.
You can, potentially, move entire chunks of your life into this private space, if you choose. You can
communicate, you can do business, you can play, you can inform and be informed. You can even find love.
The one thing you can't do is live in a physical free space—at least, not yet. However, this in no way
downplays the significance of what can be achieved on the net.
At its root, the Internet is quite subversive to the present order. It provides proof of alternative means of
organization without the use of force. The more people interact with the Internet, the more they are confronted
by self-organizing systems—whether business or private—where order is developing, evolving,
and functioning.
The significance of this "education" should not be minimized because it is allowing individuals to discover
a world that works without the gangster class called government. It is a prime example of what can be achieved
when people work together for their mutual benefit.
This re-education is a crucible for change. It has the power to alter fundamentally the social order—to
cause a mind shift.
Let me give you just one example. The Internet is full of business opportunities. Now, many of these end in tears.
But look at the larger picture. Many of these provide valuable learning experiences—opportunities for people
actually to come to grips with the idea that they, as individuals, can create their own wealth and that they are not
entirely at the mercy of someone else who may or may not want to employ them.
Now, this type of education is NOT available at school or university, but it is available on the Internet. And people
are soaking it up.
Take another example—my own private cyber-community for those seeking more practical
freedom—SovereignLife.com. On the face of it, this may not seem like a revolutionary hotspot but, in fact, it is.
You see, by attracting like-minded individuals, it sets in motion a "meeting of minds" and allows for interchange
between those wishing to expand their life options. Somebody joins up and wants to learn more about how to open
an offshore bank account, or how to get another legal passport, or how to start a business online. At once they are
able to communicate, in private, with others on the same road. This community allows for exchange of ideas,
inspiration, new strategies, advice on common pitfalls—all of which are invaluable and which can shorten
the learning curve that would normally be expected.
In being part of such a community, a member is exposed to a variety of thought-provoking ideas and given the
freedom to respond, ask questions, make suggestions, and take action.
Over time, this type of freedom community builds a commitment to the very idea of personal freedom. It
strengthens the foundations of each participant's desire to lead a freer life. And, each of these people know
other people who talk to other people—and so are ideas are spread.
Of course, to read your average newspaper, you'd think nothing was happening—that the world is as
it has always been. But, that's because the average newspaper, TV channel, and politician are living in a bubble.
You only have to listen to any leader of any nation to realize they're either stupid or ignorant—or both. And,
certainly, they have no idea what is really happening beneath the surface of their perceived world. They may
believe they are the movers and shakers, but the reality is quite different.
Desire for freedom starts in the mind. It then looks for actual expression in the real world. The real world is
much more than what you hear on TV. It is emerging and evolving at the cutting edge of social change—the
Internet.
Like when the Berlin Wall collapsed, bringing to an end the totalitarian monstrosity that was the Soviet Union.
The present order is not nearly as robust as the purveyors of nonsense would have you believe. Change can happen
and it can happen fast. All that is necessary is a catalyst—a sudden event that can shake the foundations of
the present order. If that happens, and you already have alternative social organizational systems in place, then
the resultant social transformation could be sudden and profound.
The Internet provides the type of space for a virtual Galt's Gulch and place of respite from the silliness of
political pontificating—a place to recharge your life battery in the company of like-minded souls and a place
to learn the strategies of making your life as free as you want it to be.
Don't underestimate the power of ideas or the capacity of individuals to self-organise to achieve their goals.
P.S. Why wait for the "big bang?" Get started now, be prepared. Go to: SOVEREIGN LIFE
Copyright 2005 - SovereignLife.com - All Rights Reserved.
SovereignLife Enterprises, 126 Aldersgate St, London, EC1 A4JQ, Great Britain
NOTE: Americans Restoring America is not affiliated with SovereignLife other than perhaps a shared goal to live a free life in community with other free Peoples.
NOTE: Americans Restoring America is not affiliated with The Ayn Rand Institute or any other organization that supports the work of Ayn Rand in any form or fashion.
