About the Zero Government Blog

Why Another Blog?

Actually a better question is, Why aren't there more like this?

This blog has a fixed frame of reference: based on the axiom (undeniable premise) that each human being is his or her own exclusive self-owner, nothing will appear here that favors the institution of government. Not expressly, not by implication. That axiom requires freedom - no exceptions. So articles on this Blog will have to do with what society will be like with zero government, or about how the present political infestation prevents it. For more on this underlying philosophy, see the "Theory" page on The Anarchist Alternative.

Usually (not always) the entries will key off some current item of news, and uncover the principles at work behind it; that's something regular, mainstream, Statist news sources almost never do.

So it will be clear at once that this Blog is very unusual. It's not alone; The Center for a Stateless Society is a good one, and so is Per Bylund's Blog - and there are several other fine web sites like Strike the Root though they may not have the form of a blog. Nonethless, compared to the abundance of Statist sources (blogs and sites that do favor some degree of government) these are very few. Hence: there ought to be more. It's a candle in a dark place; there should be a lot more candles.

My plan is to publish a few fresh entries per week and before long, two or more every day.

The URL is TinyURL.com/ZGBlog and TinyURL is a neat service that redirects an easily memorable URL without the need to set up a separate domain. Bookmark it and pass it around!

Writers Welcome

I'm Jim Davies, and the Zero Government Blog is mine; but other writers are welcome to post. I shall exercise tight Editorial control and reject material that diverges from the policy explained above, so don't give up if at first an offering is not accepted; but provided it adheres to the aim here and is pertinent, well written and reasonably brief (300-500 words is good) the more the merrier. Just type it up and email it to jimdav (at) copper.net with the subject line "Blog Submission"

There's no payment offered directly, but here are two reasons to do so:

  1. If you want to build up an archive of published articles, it helps you establish a reputation
  2. There is the possibility of payment, see "Money" below.
By the way, I don't believe in copyrights. If you want to copyright © your work, that's okay but it will be you, not I, who'll ask government to enforce it. Otherwise, commentaries and articles appearing here are free to be used, though I ask that credit be given to the Zero Government Blog.

Money

ZGBlog is free. Bookmark TinyURL.com/ZGBlog, check it daily, enjoy it.

However, if you like what you read, spare a few cents for the author. Why not? - a zero government society will be one big free market (delicious thought!) so payment for services valued is quite appropriate. And we like eating...

So at the end of each piece is a link for "Your feedback, please!" and that provides an opportunity to donate a little in appreciation. Suggested:

As you'll see on those Feedback pages, don't send such small sums at once - the transaction costs will eat them up (for example the USPS charges 44¢, and Paypal deducts 30¢ plus 2.9%.) Instead, promise a contribution each time. At month-end, I'll remind you and request payment of the total.

If the article was written by a guest author, 80% of those donations will go to him or her. So as above, there is a possibility of payment, for writers.

Advertising

This is welcome, and for the remainder of 2010 it is free! Early in 2011 I'll establish a "rate card" and ask for payment - but since ZGBlog will still be an acorn (from which a great oak will grow) those rates will be very modest. This is a big advantage for those wishing to promote something primarily to market anarchists; there's no wasted spend, in which money is paid to reach the non-responsive.

Another nice feature of advertising here is that the ad is "tied" to each of the blogs to which it first appends, permanently. So, if an ad is run for the month of January but no longer, and 20 blogs appear that month, that ad will be seen for as long as those blogs remain in the ZGBlog archive.

As with guest articles, however, I shall monitor ads quite strictly because having them appear on this Blog implies a degree of endorsement, and I'll not accommodate material which favors government in some degree. To request the appearance of an ad, send it with an email to jimdav (a) copper.net under the subject "Blog Advertisement".

To the Current Blog