Reading notes on Quinn Slobodian's book, "Apocalypse Capitalism" (2023, translated by Seuil in 2025). ---- Constantly hampered by state regulations and Western-style bourgeois democracy, businesses could do without them. Billionaires also want to get rid of the state. Their solution is to create "free enterprise zones" where money is king, private property is sacred, unions are an evil to be banned, and public services are a waste of money. They offer investors enormous financial and tax incentives. Although affiliated with the states in which they are established, the legislation is always special and wages are very low. They are springing up like mushrooms. There were approximately 5,400 of them on the planet in 2023. For libertarians, this fragmentation is a source of inspiration for a political reorganization of society as a whole.
Hong Kong has long been the model for wealth accumulation without the state. Since the late 1950s, London has allowed Hong Kong to define its own trade and tax policies. No income tax, no elections, and complete freedom to fire employees. If voting is necessary, "rather than one person, one vote, one dollar, one vote is better." Communist China readily embraced the "One Country, Two Systems" principle (Deng Xiaoping), first for Taiwan and then for Hong Kong. It would later dot its coastline with "mini-Hong Kongs." The "zone fever," sometimes initiated by Hong Kongers, quickly spread throughout China as it became capitalist. Naturally, aspirations for democracy are growing among the people of Hong Kong. But giving the poor the right to vote would be detrimental to policies that favor free enterprise.
The example of Hong Kong appealed to British capitalists. Rather than distant offshore islands, they could use dilapidated neighborhoods within London. Various projects emerged, such as the Racket project on the Isle of Dogs. The Canary Wharf district became covered with immense towers, and, as in Hong Kong, decisions were made by officials appointed by large corporations without ordinary residents having any say. The area was gradually bought up by the world's wealthiest sovereign wealth funds, particularly Chinese ones. This neoliberal zone is now deserted.
Singapore's solution is quite different, since there the role of the state is considerable. The government builds industrial zones and finances major infrastructure projects. The largest companies are state-owned. Foreign workers, a key to the country's success, make up 40% of the population, but these non-citizens do not have the same rights as citizens: no savings accounts for retirement or healthcare (mandatory for citizens), no access to healthcare, and no right to build. They are more easily dismissed or even deported if companies so choose. Democracy is severely limited, with few and far from free elections. The same party has been in power since the state's inception. There is no right to protest, political figures are imprisoned, and the press is restricted, closely monitored, and prevented from opposing the system under threat of closure. The country is run like a business, combining economic openness directly linked to globalization with political control. Growth must take precedence over sharing. Customs duties and taxes are very low. Income inequality is the second highest in the world, just after Hong Kong. Chinese delegations frequently travel to Singapore and copy its methods for their own free trade zones.
As unrest grew in South Africa against apartheid, a number of wealthy individuals sought solutions to both profit from dismantling bourgeois democracy and resolve the racial problem. Advised by figures such as Milton Friedman, who was well-versed in Hong Kong, the central idea was to partition the country. This marked the beginning of the Bantustans, small free-trade zones without democracy and governed solely by whites. Black people lost their South African citizenship and were deported to these mini-states, where they had never set foot, becoming citizens of a "new homeland." The initial experiments collapsed with the end of apartheid. Today, South Africa is dotted with them, often along ethno-racial lines, with zones for whites and others for blacks. This status as a private entity has been very popular with libertarians worldwide, who see it as a haven for white civilization in the heart of Africa. In 2019, Australian far-right groups came there to conduct military training in preparation for a future race war.
From the 1990s onward, following the fall of the Berlin Wall, we observe the emergence of the fragmentation of former large entities into new, smaller countries, particularly in Eastern Europe. This greatly interests libertarians, as these countries are sometimes small enough to be considered "free trade zones," and they refer to this as anarcho-capitalism. Areas like Hong Kong and Singapore clearly demonstrate that "it is not essential to cultivate the land to be rich," and small countries like Andorra, Monaco, and Luxembourg are among the wealthiest in Europe. In the USA, the ideas of fragmenting sovereignty are further developing with the exploitation of shale gas on land formerly used collectively as pastureland. Groups are organizing to divide these spaces into private properties. Wealthy white people are finding another way to organize themselves in a purely racial manner with "gated communities." These are particularly numerous around the cities of Los Angeles, Phoenix, Houston, Miami, Chicago, and New York, but are currently multiplying very rapidly.
Liechtenstein also provides a compelling example for libertarians. It covers 161 km²; its largest city (Schaan) has 6,000 inhabitants; the capital (Vaduz) has around 4,000, but it boasts many more businesses (over 75,000 at the beginning of the 21st century). All the world's largest companies have bank accounts there. Becoming a 'citizen of Liechtenstein' requires a considerable sum of money; many Swiss workers are not citizens.
Franchised nations: Dubai, a small country and one of the richest in the world, is ruled with an iron fist by an emir. It is capitalism without democracy: no popular elections, no freedom of expression, no rights for 'non-citizens' who represent 97% of the country's population, arbitrary use of police violence, and forced labor.
"Ideology is disqualified because it is irrelevant to business." The sheikh is often called the "CEO of Dubai." An executive board composed of unelected business leaders. It's the dream of the American right: an oasis of free enterprise without taxes, unions, or opposition parties. Currently, the emirate, represented by DPWord (Dubai Ports World), has acquired numerous ports, companies, and even shipping lanes worldwide. Unique operating agreements have been developed for each district.
Silicon Valley is also colonizing. Starting in 1976, Honduras established free trade zones with tax breaks for foreign companies. Following a coup, "private cities" were created, their legislation entrusted to a foreign country. Then, libertarian private investors joined forces to build "anarcho-capitalist paradises" in which the city is a business and the inhabitants are customers. Prospera was inaugurated in 2021 on a 23-hectare site on an island off the coast of Honduras. Following numerous popular uprisings against these zones and US interference, democracy, restored through elections at the end of 2021, will eliminate them; there were several dozen in Honduras, and the country will not be completely rid of them by 2025.
It is in the clouds of the metaverse that Meta develops games in which people are willing to spend "real money" to acquire accessories or buildings. Anarcho-capitalists are building virtual states in their own way, without democracy. The concept of private property must also apply in the metaverse. The web allows the creation of "cloud countries" with "net citizens" who can have strong ties without knowing each other, and are voluntary members, meaning they can leave if they are not satisfied. Bitcoin then facilitates real acquisitions.
Zones of "capitalism without democracy" are proliferating rapidly worldwide. China has several hundred of them, fragmenting the country. In recent years, it has also established them in various locations around the world, purchasing pieces of territory or ports, not only along the "Silk Road." Since 2017, Saudi Arabia has been developing the $500 billion NEOM mega-project, managed by its shareholders with "an autonomous government whose laws will be approved by investors." While these zones are developing globally, they are not, in fact, entirely free from the state. The "good capitalists" know that it is more advantageous to seize control of the existing state. One problem remains: there are inhabitants who may rebel. The case of Hong Kong, whose population is in a state of revolt and ongoing demonstrations demanding the return of democracy, is quite instructive.
The "techno-fascism" solution described by Nastasia Hadjadji and Olivier Tesquet in their book 'Apocalypse Nerds' may also have a future.
Gilles - Tours
http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4620
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Link: (en) France, OCL CA #356 - Democracy is the plague, long live the zone! (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]
Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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