Wannabe libertarian homesteaders in Europe are learning about power politics the hard way
Flickr/Eric Kilby
Back in April, Czech politician Vit Jedlicka, along with two other libertarians, started an independent micronation that will be run according to their libertarian values. There's a small patch of land between Serbia and Croatia, which neither seems to have legally claimed after the splitting of the former Yugoslavia. The people of Liberland would like to be homesteaders and take it over.
"All taxes will be voluntary, and the nation's services - such as power, healthcare and waste disposal - will be run either by private enterprises or through crowdfunding campaigns," Bloomberg reports. The nation will likely have 30,000-40,000 citizens.
The problem? They can't get there. "Croatian border police are arresting anyone who sets foot in Liberland. However, this has not deterred members of the Liberland Settlers Association, which attempts to reach it on a daily basis and often clashes with local police in the process," according to Bloomberg.
Technically, Liberland may be a terra nullius - with no country having a good legal claim to the land - but practically, it belongs to the guys with bigger sticks (or guns). Liberland is locked between Croatia and Serbia. Neither seems particularly willing to let these homesteaders claim the land. Croatian police are forcibly keeping people out.
And that's it. End of discussion. Liberland founder Vit Jedlicka can talk about and claim to be president and raise money all he wants, but ultimately the homesteaders have no authority over that land, and therefore they have no power to make it theirs.
If they want in, they are probably going to have to bring their guns (and nobody wants that).
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