To Be or Not To Be
Carl Watner

By institutionalizing their monopolistic controls over all geographic areas on this planet, governments have transformed the world into a vast prison system from which there is no escape.

This article was prompted by thoughts of a trip abroad and by my perusal of the "Application For A U.S. Passport", Department of State Form DS-11.  On page one of that form, the applicant is asked to "declare under penalty of perjury" that "I am a citizen ... of the United States ...."
Can I, as a voluntaryist, make that declaration?  Can you?
First of all, what does it mean to be a citizen?  What are the pros and cons of citizenship?  Are they of any consequence?
The word 'citizen' is of Anglo-Norman and Old French origin and in the context of this article means "a member of the State."  From the perspective of the United States government, every person born within the United States has these basic duties:

•

To serve in the military, if drafted;

•

To pay taxes on his or her worldwide income;

•

To serve as a juror and appear as a witness when subpoenaed by a court;

•

To obey all the legislation promulgated by local, state, and federal governments.

In return, the United States government's primary duty towards its citizens is that of providing 'protection' from domestic criminals and foreign enemies.  Federal, state, and local governments also provide courts, roads, postal delivery, social services, and numerous other entitlements to those living within their jurisdictions.  They generally do a poor job of providing such 'services' and assume no responsibility for their failures.
The main problem with government, as voluntaryists see it, is that the State is a criminal organization.  It claims sovereignty over a certain geographical area.  Within that zone, it wants everyone to become at least partially responsible for its crimes by making them citizens.  It enforces a compulsory monopoly on defense (police, legislation and courts, and the armed forces), such that individual property owners may not decline its services or employ other agencies to provide the defense services they would prefer.  To fund these monopolies, it collects compulsory levies known as taxes and operates a fiat money system with a central bank and legal tender legislation.  According to the government, a person may not decline to fulfill his or her obligations to the State.  Such a person will be fined, arrested, and/or jailed, and probably held in "contempt" if government agents discover that he or she is not satisfactorily doing what is required in fulfilling the government's mandates.  In short, the State is an invasive institution because its existence rests on the initiation of coercion.
One of the 'services' provided by the United States government is that of issuing passports and providing consular protection to those traveling outside of the United States.  Voluntaryists also object to the whole concept of government passports.  To wit,

•

They are government documents.

•

They are generally required as a prerequisite to leaving the country.

•

They are generally required as a prerequisite to re-entering the country.

•

They allow the government to track where you have been.

•

They are unnecessary.

For much of American history, with the exceptions of the War Between the States and the First and Second World Wars, no passport requirements existed.  It was not until 1978 that it was made "illegal [for a U.S. citizen] to enter or depart the United States without" a passport.¹
This is not to deny that there might be travel documents issued by private organizations in a free society.  Some travelers might consider passports to be an essential part of life, but providing them need not be done by a government agency.  As I discussed in my article,