If The Ussr Was An Example Of Socialism Is Somalia An Example Of Libertarianism

Does Somalia refute libertarianism?

No. More often than not the people who point to Somalia as an example of libertarian values have never even studied libertarian philosophy and are simply engaging in appeals to ridicule.Those who do this are usually alluding to the decades long lack of a recognized government and social disorder caused by the civil war as if these were either the desired outcome or the inevitable outcome of libertarian ideals. This is a ridiculous claim of course.Ironically, many who make this claim fail to appreciate that the Somali civil war was the result of a 21 year experiment in “scientific socialism”. Yes, far from being a libertarian paradise, Somalia is yet another example of the failures of state socialism.On the Somali Civil WarAnyone who gives a serious look at the history of the Somali civil war would be hard pressed to find a single libertarian ideal being pursued by either the Federal Government of Somalia (yes, it has a government), it’s two short-lived predecessors or the various factions that continue to vy for control over the region.Yet despite, the bloodshed and social turmoil, when compared to the previous conditions under Siad Barre, the collapse of the state was in many ways an improvement. From 1990 to 2005Life expectancy increasedImmunizations increasedPhysicians per capita increasedAccess to sanitation increasedAccess to radios, telephones and TVs all increasedCattle exports doubledInfant mortality rate decreasedMaternal mortality rate decreased.% of population in extreme poverty decreasedWhat’s more, in many of these measures, Somalia fared better than its neighbors over the same time period.On AnarchyYes, there is a minority of libertarians who advocate for anarchy. I happen to be one. But while statelessness may be a necessary condition of anarchism, it is not a sufficient condition. Libertarian anarchists don’t merely advocate for statelessness, they advocate for a society in which individuals consciously reject the idea of a legitimate monopoly on coercion and instead opt for a society based on voluntary consent. Use of force is reserved as a last resort for defense, retrieval of stolen property and possibly enforcement of civil dispute resolution verdicts.A half-dozen or so rival factions warring against one another for domination of an entire region isn’t even remotely similar to an intentionally stateless society based on voluntary cooperation.