Permaculture Meets (Legal?) Agorism

Disclosure 1: I never recommend anybody do anything illegal ever.
Disclosure 2: I am not a lawyer, I don't know always know what is illegal.

In case anybody did not know: agorism is a libertarian social philosophy that advocates for creating a society based on voluntary exchanges by using counter-economics (peaceful black and grey markets) to bypass state control and taxation.

Google insists this is always illegal. By the absolute definition I suppose it is. But, could you essentially practice agorism, without breaking the law?

This 26 minute video got me thinking:
Permaculture Meets Agorism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GHB56fMfQU

1. What if you kept your income under the poverty level?
The people at Twin Oaks Ecovillage have their own water well, grow their own food, generate their own electricity. For income, they grow soy beans and make and sell: tofu, soy milk, and hammocks. Their individual income is probably well under $20K each, which, I think, means they pay no income tax. They have everything they need. What if there were a network of such places that networked with one another?

2. What if you were part of a 501(c)(3)?
As a non-profit, such as a religious or education organization, you might not only avoid income taxes, but property taxes, and maybe other taxes and government regulation. I think Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage makes a good percentage of it's income by teaching. Could it be a 501(c)(3)? I would think that religious communities, such as the Bruderhof, may avoid some taxes.

3. What about a gift economy?
As I understand it, you can get quite a lot of gift income before you have to report it. Maybe a partial gift economy could keep you below the poverty line?

I would be interested in any thoughts on this.

Exciting topic brother Byrd! I love it. A big part of my dream over the years has been to be apart of a network of communities which all have specific interests that produce exchangeable goods for the network as a whole to achieve a sustainable system.

For those of us in the wage laborer category it's becoming more clear that trading goods or services directly for your needs is a much better deal than paying for them.
I've lived on multiple farms with options to work trade for housing. The last farm I worked at paid $20/hr and work trade for housing was 8hr per week. If I didn't have time or was away from the farm instead of working 8hr a week I could instead pay the equivalent of (8hr x $20) = $160 per week. If I chose to pay instead I'm actually being taxed on those dollars. I make $20 before tax, after tax is closer to $16. So instead of 8hrs per week I'm working closer to 10hrs for that rent.

When permaculture oriented people connect I think agorism is a natural part of the relationship. For example I help out an older friend who has trouble keeping up with old basket willow shrubs and blackberry brambles so every winter I help prune back and weed her garden and in return I get basket making material. I make baskets and trade them with others for all kinds of stuff. With these connections the exchanges change naturally with the growing season, fruit ripening, help with building projects, canning party etc. All kinds of stuff.

Instead of questioning the legality of this natural system I think there is more merit to the question: are we are being taxed without representation? Not to get political but from my perspective there is more wrong in the act of following immoral legalities than in breaking laws of this immoral system.



“I do not particularly like the word 'work.' Human beings are the only animals who have to work, and I think that is the most ridiculous thing in the world. Other animals make their livings by living, but people work like crazy, thinking that they have to in order to stay alive. The bigger the job, the greater the challenge, the more wonderful they think it is. It would be good to give up that way of thinking and live an easy, comfortable life with plenty of free time. I think that the way animals live in the tropics, stepping outside in the morning and evening to see if there is something to eat, and taking a long nap in the afternoon, must be a wonderful life. For human beings, a life of such simplicity would be possible if one worked to produce directly his daily necessities. In such a life, work is not work as people generally think of it, but simply doing what needs to be done.”
― Masanobu Fukuoka, The One-Straw Revolution

A big part of my dream over the years has been to be apart of a network of communities which all have specific interests that produce exchangeable goods for the network as a whole to achieve a sustainable system.

Byrds of a feather, I guess. I have long liked the idea of a parallel society. Just walk away from the failing mainstream, and join something more functional.

The Parallel Society vs Totalitarianism | How to Create a Free World
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJr7awWGWAo&t=48s