Recently, I shared an article about treating citizens as customers rather than subjects. That sparked a thoughtful exchange with a reader who raised an important question: Can a system built on voluntary cooperation really work without traditional oversight? Doesn’t freedom still require “real governance”?

What followed wasn’t a clash but a philosophical dialogue — the kind Free Cities must encourage if they’re to grow from vision to reality.

The Reader’s Challenge

The reader’s concerns echo what many first ask about the Free Cities model:

• Governance should connect with people, not just treat them as customers.

• Corruption won’t disappear just because systems are voluntary.

• Some form of oversight will always be necessary, or self-interest may spiral into abuse.

• Freedom must involve responsibility for others, not just ourselves.

These are profound questions. If people are fallible, how can we prevent the common good from being cannibalized by private gain?

The Free Cities Response

My answer began with a distinction: coercive government versus voluntary governance. A coercive government provides services regardless of demand. Voluntary governance must earn trust — because people can walk away, with their money or their feet.

Why assume politicians are less corruptible than entrepreneurs? Politicians seek votes and campaign funds; entrepreneurs risk their own investments. Much of what we call “corporate corruption” is only possible because corporations buy favors from governments. Remove that machinery, and choice keeps power in check.

Oversight from above doesn’t cure corruption; it breeds it. In a voluntary system, accountability flows bottom-up: every purchase is a vote, every exit a referendum.

The Philosophical Turn

The dialogue deepened when the reader suggested that freedom exists only if we secure it for others. I disagreed. Freedom and responsibility are inseparable — but you can only be responsible for your own life. To assume responsibility for others is to control them, and control is the opposite of freedom.

Compassion matters, but compulsion undermines dignity. Viktor Frankl taught that freedom exists even in the harshest conditions — but only when we claim responsibility for our own lives.

Why It Matters

Free Cities are not about slogans but about working through questions like these. No system is perfect, but when governance is rooted in choice rather than coercion, it aligns incentives with human flourishing.

That’s the experiment Free Cities invite us to try.

Read the full article on Free Cities Substack.

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