Yours is a good question and one I have been considering for a long time.
In my opinion, the only Austrain like economies would be the PURE Tax Havens: Bermuda; Caymen Islands, the Bahamas, and one or two others. . They are tiny, but a huge proportion of the world’s wealth resides in such places. They are difficult to get into, but very pleasant places to live. Incidentally, these places are sometimes referred to as “No Tax” Havens. Some other places are also Tax Havens but they levy sales taxes or income taxes on their own nationals.
I live in the UK and would not recommend it to a libertarian. The Welfare State is huge, and most worryingly, is supported by the vast majority of the population.
Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, United States, Ireland have the most economic freedom IMO
Personally, I think the U.S. (depending on which state) has the best trade-off between economic and political freedom. I choose to live in Arizona but have thought about Alaska and New Hamspire. One the other hand, each of these places are far from ideal but I believe the world is slowly heading in the dfirection of more freedom even though at times it doesn’t seem that way.
" I’m going off to University in the UK in half a year, hopefully to do economics all the way to a PhD."
Fred
If you are a libertarian and have found this web site, why are you going to the UK to study economics!!! There is only one private university in the UK, Buckingham University; all the rest are state funded. In the UK you will only get one flavour of Keynesian Voodoo economics or another.
So, cancel your plans for the UK, Fred, and go and study at the Mises Institute instead!
The role of the government is only to insure that no-one is applying any violence against anyone else, and that private property is protected.
Also, it needs to certify the units, including monetary ones.
Common exmples of “free” countries, typically lack in vital government functions as described above, yet, have some form of welfare state.
Typically, a government prescribed example here is us, would point at some gang-infested land-hole. As a rule, governments will point out at absence of private property and security when asked of their usefulness, and if it is ever about shrinking their budgets, policemen and teachers along with firefighters are to be fired first, with first shunk dollar. However, if given an additional dollar, some bureaucratic commission or post will be instituted, or a welfare program, at the expence of bettering their essential services.
I am seeking for a LF state myself. So, far, I am inclined to think that TAX heavens are perhaps the best examples of such in modern times.
Thanks for the advice Remnant but I have quite a few reasons to go to a UK university, despite it being most likely very keynesian. Don’t worry though, i’m certainly considering doing one of those summer study periods at the Mises institute.
As to “Austrian” countries, thanks to everyone for the replies. So far i’m mostly interested in Hong Kong, Lichtenstein, and Switzerland (in which I’ve already worked). I’m going to do some research on northern Italy too, and maybe Paraguay. Certainly several countries I never considered. You’re right about the people’s sentiments. If they don’t value their freedom they won’t have it for long.
I would also go for Hong-Kong. If you ned a ‘big’ country, maybe Japan. In the next 50 years or so, I would expect former UK colonies (or the UK itself) to lead an ‘austrian’ worldwide comeback movement. Why not?
I’m surprised they are not more interested into that country. Wouldn’t it be useful to investigate it more?
Thanks, yes, I would be interested into the guides about the Congo as well, since I have dealings with that country.
… Lack of government control is a problem (?) in many African countries. But I don’t see how these societies are actually more free. What that usually means is that those “governments” just focus on controlling what is the most lucrative. That includes diamond trade, ports, major trade routes etc. Outside the big City centers, you can get away with almost everything - at least as far as goverment is concerned.
Damn, I didn’t know that about Hong Kong. I’ve been told that they’re the closest thing to free market capitalism in existence (with the possible exception of Somalia or the Free State Project).
I thought again about the issue and I must submit that the smallest the country the freest it is. Thus, the freest countries must be the likes of Lichtenstein, Andorra, San Marino, the seven United Arab Emirates, Monaco, Brunei, Qatar (all incidentally the richest countries on this earth on a per capita basis) and finally, by far the only state on this earth that is totally voluntary: The Holy bloody See! Never imprisoned anyone (since 1929 that is), never killed anyone and gains all of its revenue form voluntary donations (from foolish Catholics I must submit, but than again, that’s what Eminem also does[:)]). And surely, if it did anything else it would go bankrupted in a mater of months. Long live to secession!
I’m reasonably sure the individual Arab emirates aren’t countries, just parts of a larger one. It is interesting, though, how the smallest and richest nations on Earth tend to be the freest.
It’s truly terrifying to see people from Europe and it’s ilk (by which I mean the modern European governments, not the people per se or the culture) complaining the US allows too much freedom to it’s citizens and isn’t socialist enough, when you look at how heavily regulated US society already is and how powerful their federal government is.
I would rather hold the emirates to be countries as each is allowed to have its own laws, while the law-making (i.e. regulating-taxing) authority of the Central Emirati Government is almost inexistent and relegated to foreign policy and defense (still too much as long as it is not a Switzerland-style neutral country). As long as each can largely have its own law, they can compete against each-other, thus need to be free. Switzerland used to be like this before its actual federal structure was created (inspired by the US).
About Europe…get over it, we (Europeans) are lost. Over-taxed, over-religious, over-regulated, over-ideological, over-civil-law-ed, over-socialist, over integrated. Europe will need to actually join with Russia, North America and Japan to survive (a nice repetition of history according to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoUJI07a6GI )or else break away just like Yugoslavia did. I truly don’t know which scenario to fear most.
Not quite. Trust me I know, I can tell the difference between a non-religious people (i.e. my own Albanians, the Danes) and a dogmaticly religious one (i.e. the Italians, Spanish, French, etc.). The rise of Islam in europe is mostly an idea fed on to the public to scare it into war. But you know such russes, I need not explain them.
Western-European nations are not really religious at all, at least not anymore. The religious nations of Europe can be found in the east, such as Poland, Croatia, Serbia, ect.