5.  THE LESSONS TO BE LEARNT FROM SWITZERLAND
    by Manuel Miles, aka Kapt Kanada 
    Special to TLE      http://www.webleyweb.com/tle/>     Issue 224

There is a lot of discussion among various anti-Statist elements about The
Ideal Society and how to bring it about. I suggest that it is already
present, albeit in an imperfect form. The Swiss created their country
entirely to ensure their own Liberty and neutrality in the continually
warring atmosphere of post-Carolingian Europe. It would be wise if we
looked closely at their example, both for ways in which to emulate it and
for ways in which it can be improved.

The Swiss Confederation was born in 1291 when three adjacent valley
communities gathered at the Rutli Meadow and swore to cooperatively defend
themselves from the depredations of the surrounding national powers. The
principles upon which they agreed were simple: non-interference in one
another's internal affairs and mutual aid against all those who sought to
interfere with any of the three allied cantons.

As the rampaging Austrian, Prussian, French and Italian nation-states grew
and quarrelled around them, more and more of the neighbouring Alpine valley
communities applied for membership in the "Helvetic
Confederation". By 1815, Switzerland had achieved its current size,
and it had done so entirely by voluntary applications to
join for mutual defence and mutual
benefits.

Unlike the failed United States model, which quickly saw the "free and
independent States" become de facto provinces of the powerful federal
government, the Swiss have (so far) managed to maintain a confederation
which has been entirely free of coercion, either from outside or within.
Libertarians would do well to study and, in most cases, attempt to emulate
this example.

The keys to Swiss Liberty:

1. The Confederation is entirely voluntary. Even in my lifetime, an
internal "secession" has taken place (the establishment of the
Jura Canton from part of the old Bern Canton) without so much as a whisper
of violence.

2. Linguistic independence combined with mutual recognition of cantons'
rights to establish their own official language. The Swiss have
four official languages: German,
French, Italian and Romansch. Train travellers have noted that as their
voyage crosses cantonal boundaries, the language spoken by the conductors
changes accordingly. The average Swiss is bilingual, and many, many are at
least tri-lingual. [Compare that with
the United States in which many people cannot even read and write
one language.] The Swiss, unlike the
Belgians, the Canadians and many others, have no major problems about
language, religion, et cetera. They cannot be manipulated and divided over
those issues, since they already have and guard their rights.

3. The Swiss federal government is kept
weak and limited. This is made
possible by the rights of referenda and recall, as well as severely
limiting federal powers. The individual Swiss cantons have more power than
the federales, and the half-cantons are more powerful still. As one
historian noted, "The nearer one approaches to the individual Swiss
citizen, the stronger becomes the power to govern." In other words,
the Swiss have tended to govern themselves, and consult and work
cooperatively on those things which
they find to be in their common interests.

The Swiss still carry swords to political meetings, in order to remind
politicians that the ultimate power resides with the individual citizens.
If they don't like what they hear a politician say, they can fall upon him
and cut him to pieces. That may not be comforting to the politicos, but I
bet it is to the citizens. It would certainly change the nature of public
speeches in Canada.

4. The Swiss are armed to the teeth. The Swiss have a citizen soldiery;
they are, themselves, the army. Every able-bodied Swiss male serves in the
army at the age of twenty, then remains armed with his full military kit
(all of which is kept in his home) until the age of forty. For several
weeks every year he is excused from his employment for training. This,
combined with the preparations made at the border passes and tunnels, has
kept Switzerland free from all foreign invaders but Napoleon for over 700
years.

The Swiss can effectively mobilise in a matter of hours, which gives them
an enormous advantage over any potential invader. During the Second World
War, the Swiss maintained their armed neutrality even when completely
surrounded by the Axis powers. They even showed Nazi generals their
defences in order to both taunt and daunt them! One such, touring a border
fortress, said to a Swiss soldier, "You know, when we come, we will
have you outnumbered two-to-one. What will you do then?" The Swiss
citizen calmly replied, "We will shoot twice, then go home." The
Nazis never dared invade.

The Swiss national sport is shooting, and they are likely the best shots in
the world. On holidays it is common to see people walking about with the
latest in military rifles, on their way to or from a shooting competition.
In this way, the Swiss keep themselves safe from outside invaders as well
as the various minions of the State, minimal `though it is.

With all those guns available in every Swiss household, what is the violent
crime rate like? It is considerably less than Hong Kong's (where firearms
are illegal), and even less than Canada's very low murder rate. Further,
the Swiss government has not rounded up and murdered any of its citizens,
or anyone else, for that matter.

I suggest that all of the above are instructive for those who long for
self-government and ... Peace and Liberty.
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NB: An exciting new feature! The Kaptain's mini-movie-reviews! This week:
"The Phone Booth", starring Kiefer Sutherland as 'The State'. See
this movie for a fine lesson in How The State Functions. Kiefer does an
excellent job as 'The State', complete with voiced "regrets"
about the "necessity" of collateral damage, etc. You will likely
never see 'The State' so clearly and honestly (albeit metaphorically)
depicted as in "The Phone Booth". The Kaptain gives it nine
anchors (of a possible ten).

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