I flew Thursday morning to Guatemala for a major conference of reformers sponsored by the Francisco Marroquin University (it was brilliantly run and very eye-opening) and then on Sunday from Guatemala to Lahore, Pakistan. Got in some hours ago; meetings and lectures today!

I got back today from Manhattan, where I met up with my good friend and colleague Professor Mohammad Abul Ahrar Ramizpoor, director of the Afghanistan Economic and Legal Studies Organization, for his first visit to the US. We had some very good meetings. He’s off to visit the Acton Institute and the Mackinac Center (with a weekend in Colorado), and then to Washington for more meetings with libertarian think tankers and researchers. I’m leaving in a few hours for Guatemala, to observe the Antigua Forum, which brings together practitioners of classical liberal reforms, then from there to Pakistan (not, unfortunately, a direct flight) for lectures and meetings sponsored by the Economic Freedom Network in Lahore, Islamabad, and Karachi, then by car to India to take part in the Freedom Caravan.

I’m in Prishtina, Kosovo, for the Liberal Weekend. Before that I was in Nigeria for the Students and Young Professionals African Liberty Academy (sponsored by AfricanLiberty.org, with IMANI and the Atlas Network) and held at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria before that. (I also gave a lecture/seminar with my friend and colleague Adedayo Thomas at Lagos State University, sponsored by the Lagos State University Students for Liberty and AfricanLiberty.org.) What great and inspiring champions of liberty!

After Kosovo, I’m off to France for the Summer University of the New Economics and then to Sicily for an International Society for Individual Liberty meeting.

From the offices of the Center for the Philosophy of Freedom: Директор Cato University Том Палмер рассуждает о взаимоотношениях России и США,военном конфликте между Россией и Грузией и причинах международного финансового кризиса. (It’s dubbed in Russian.)

From my interview on Polish television (CNBC) on global capitalism and the danger of new forms of "global economic governance"

You can find the link (helpful if you know Polish [I do not; my remarks were dubbed over]) at: http://www.tvncnbc.pl/, search through the archives (see the bottom) for “Dylematy globalnej gospodarki”.

I’m in Cairo at a conference right now (in a country in great turmoil at the moment; there are huge numbers gathering in Tahrir Square to demonstrate against the military’s consolidation of power) listening to Dr Nouh El Harmouzi criticizing “social justice” as a foundation for economic development, in contrast to simple “justice.”

In the meantime, the hard work of promoting liberty is going on all around the world. I just got a really great new prospectus describing their work from the Tajikistan Free Market Institute. If you’d like a copy, write to freemarket.tj@gmail.com or info@freemarket.tj.

I need to get back and post pics, etc. (I have more on my personal FB page…easier to upload, especially when others do it!)

Here’s an interview I recently had in Kyiv (note: it’s in Russian): Томас Палмер: «Развиваться Украине могут помочь идеи федерализма»

I’ve been on the road a great deal lately, and often in places with very limited access to internet (for me, at least), so I’ve not been online a lot (other than to try to keep up with very heavy email responsibilities). I’ve been since the end of January in Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan (with meetings also with colleagues from Kazakhstan and Tajikistan), Nepal, India, Bangladesh, the US and A, Russia (Altai Region of Siberia), Ukraine, Austria, Slovakia, and Poland, with generally very heavy schedules of meetings and lectures. (I’ve posted a few pics on Facebook and will put some up here.)

The Herat Literary Association

Children's Water Park in Herat, Afghanistan

Packing Biscuits (for Americans: cookies) in a bakery in Herat, Afghanistan

The remains of a Soviet tank (the turret is half off, the barrel stuck in the dirt)

(Having difficulty uploading more photos…will try….here’s one, though! I also find the software very buggy…and I can’t understand why some photos upload twice!)

I

The Drive from Kabul to the Panjshir Valley

Along the Road to the Panjshir

Wrecked Soviet Military Armor

More to come….the internet in my guest house is very slow….

Where we had breakfast along the Panjshir River

A caged bird at the restaurant.

Another wrecked Soviet tank.

Had a day of very fruitful planning meetings with Afghan libertarians. Off tomorrow to drive to a part of the country I’ve always wanted to visit. More meetings. (If I get interesting pics from the drive, I’ll try to post them.)

I’m enjoying some excellent fresh pomegranate juice in my favorite cafe in Kabul. I love pomegranates, and the juice is great fresh, or concentrated and put on various foods that are popular in the region (Azerbaijan, Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia, etc.).

And here is a very helpful video from my friend Peshwaz on the best technique to open and consume a pomegranate:

Lots and lots of work to do, and then off to Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, India, and Bangladesh. I’ll meet with promoters of liberty from those countries and a number of others in the region, including Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Pakistan. Soooo much to do before, though.

I’m referring to the shocking display (ABC News clip here) of the so-called “Fourth Amendment” to the so-called “Constitution of the United States of America” being written by a man on what he evidently considers his “own chest.”* How sick can you get? Next it’ll be the so-called “First Amendment” to defend his filthy “right” to express his ideas. Not in this country!

*Scholar’s note: On the relationship between self-proprietorship and freedom of conscience, see the discussion of Overton and other Levellers, as well as of John Locke and James Madison, in George H. Smith, “Philosophies of Toleration,” in George H. Smith (“Philosophies of Toleration,” in George H. Smith, Atheism, Ayn Rand, and Other Heresies [Buffalo: Prometheus Books, 1991]). Such “self-propriety” serves as the philosophical justification for the resister’s strategy of “going limp” when arrested by state agents, as Overton argued in refusing to walk to prison when ordered to do so: “My Leggs were borne as free as the rest of my Body, and therefore I scorne that Leggs, or Armes, or hands of mine should do them any villeine-Service, for as I am a Freeman by birth, so I am resolved to live and dye, both in heart word and deed, in substance and in shew.” Overton was quite cruelly dragged by the hair from prison as a consequence. His remarks on this experience remind us of the clear relationship of self-propriety and moral agency: “But in case you object, that I knew well enough, that if I would not go, they would carrie me, therefore it had been better for me to have gone, then to have exposed my selfe to their cruelty, I answer, 1. If I had known they would have hanged me, must I therefore have hanged my selfe? 2. A good conscience had rather run the hazard of cruelty then to abate an hairesbreadth of contestation and opposition against illegality, injustice, and tyranny. 3. If they had had any legall jurisdiction over my leggs, then at their Commands my leggs were bound to obey: And then, (in that case) I confesse it had been better to obey, then to have exposed my person to the cruelty of threatening mercilesse Gaolers: But being free from their Jurisdiction from the Crowne of my head to the Soale of my foote, I know no reason, why I should foote it for them, or in any the least dance any attendance to their Arbitrary Warrants; their Lordships may put up their pipes, except they will play to the good old tune of the Law of the Land, otherwise their Orders and Warrants are never like to have the service of my leggs or feet, for they were never bred to tread in their Arbitrary Steps, but I shall leave their Orders and their execution to themselves. And therefore, Sir, concerning that action of mine, I shall continue in the said esteeme thereof, till my defense be made voide, and it be legally proved, that by the Law of the Land, I was bound to set one legge before another in attendance to that Order.” [Overton, Richard "The Commoner's Complaint," in Overton, Richard, “The Commoner’s Complaint,” Tracts on Liberty in the Puritan Revolution, 1638-1647, Vol. III, W. Haller, ed. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1943), pp. 381-382. James Madison (“Property,” National Gazette, March 27, 1792, The Papers of James Madison, R. A. Rutland and others, eds. [Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1983]) expressed the basis of property in conscience when he wrote, of every individual, that “He has a property of peculiar value in his religious opinions and the free communication of them.” (p. 266)

Some countries don’t allow it internally; almost no country allows true freedom of movement externally (passports are required). Most people don’t think about it, but the US has essentially required the internal passport over the past few years, as you can now be required to provide identification whenever it is demanded by a state official and in order to get on an airplane or a train you are now required to show, or be prepared to show, a “government-issued ID.” A good book to read to understand the positive benefits and the overuse of identification is Identity Crisis: How Identification is Overused and Misunderstood, by James Harper.

The Central Asian Free Market Institute, based in Bishkek, but active throughout Central Asia, has called for elimination of the propiska, or internal passport and residency permit. (China still has the same system, known as the hukou system, and Chinese libertarians are working to eliminate that, as well. It has been described as “China’s own apartheid system.”)

Text follows: link to English text here.

Elimination of Propiska for freedom of movement in Kyrgyzstan

Central Asian Free Market Institute offers its recommendations on reforming Kyrgyztan’s policy on internal migration. The current article is part of “Kyrgyzstan’s Reform Program” that was prepared by CAFMI. For all questions on this chapter and the reform program please contact the Institute.

VISION: Right of a person to free movement and choice of place of residence within a country is defined not only in natural rights of person, but also in the Constitution of Kyrgyz Republic.

PROBLEM: The registration regime, known as propiska in Kyrgyzstan and other post-Soviet countries, exposes Kyrgyzstan’s population, in particular the poor segment, to myriad difficulties. The propiska was introduced in the USSR in 1932 for the following reasons, “Accounting for population of cities, worker settlements and new buildings and unloading cities from persons not engaged in socially useful labor, as well as removal of kulaks, criminals and other antisocial elements in order to strengthen dictatorship of proletariat”.

Although Kyrgyzstan has been an independent country for 19 years now, the propiska still exists, and the political leadership seems uninterested in revisiting one of the sorest problems facing the country. According to propiska’s requirements a citizen who changed his place of residence, shall, within 10 working days from date of arrival to a new residence register with government authorities. For this purpose, one has to present:

1. passport or equivalent document proving one’s identity;
2. accommodation document, which is the basis for accommodation of a citizen (such as an order, rent contract or a statement of landlord or other document), or a certified copy of the document;
3. reference from chairman of local housing district, confirming place of residence with a street and house number;
4. proof of change of residence, in case of prior disposal of registration;
5. certificate, proving release from prison;
6. for male youth- military card (certificate of registration in draft office) with a note about removal from military account

Losses from propiska are hard to calculate in monetary terms, however, they are high and can be grouped in the following two categories:

I. Visible costs of citizen

1.1. Fiscal losses. Costs from state budget for the administration and enforcement of the propiska. These costs also includes expenses for police conducting raids named “illegal” with the aim of detention of people without a local propiska.

1.2. Individual losses. To change place of propiska one must incur real costs- the cost of a trip to home village / town and back and the time and cost of un-registering and then re-registering. This entire process requires up to six documents and.

II. Invisible costs of a citizen

2.1. Missed opportunities for citizens for a better life by making public services inaccessible without a propiska: legal system, education, health care, opportunities to register a company and to acquire and dispose of real estate.

2.2. Losses from detention:. Each detained person for lack of a local propiska incurred the following types of losses- the loss of time during the detention, the amount of fines or bribes one had to pay in order to be released, and other associated risks, such as beating and harassment.

2.3. Propiska has become a hotbed of corruption, which thrives on the despair of the poorest of the poor. According to research 56% of those arrested, get away with bribes. At the same time, 26% of those arrested, were physically attacked. According to research by Social Research Center at the American University of Central Asia, migrants with lower income are also more likely to have their documents checked and detained.

2.4. Not everyone is ready to pay the expenses to obtain a propiska and those without it experience lower quality of life, social stability and increased illiteracy, thus, pushing them to criminal activities.

SOLUTION

The system of registration like that in Kyrgyzstan is not only outdated but not used anywhere, except in some post-communist and communist states. In countries such as England, France, Germany, Italy, USA and Brazil propiska does not exist. Russia and China do have a propiska but are looking at abolishing it. Georgia, Latvia and Estonia have long ago understood the economic and moral benefits of free movement of citizens and eliminated propiska.

In some countries utility bills are used for confirming people’s residence. In Greece residence is determined by the workplace, while in Italy according to the individual’s own will. In Brazil, the state is interested in the citizens place of residence only at the time of tax collection or at the point of opening of their business. The United States operates an electronic system of registration of citizens, where each citizen has the right to receive information stored on him/her and has the right to correct it.

Kyrgyzstan should not repeat the mistakes of Russia and Belarus, in which registration system was replaced with a bit more simplified registration system but the problems arising from root cause remain intact. It is necessary to follow in the footsteps of developed countries, which remain true to the cause of freedom of movement and abolish propiska.

RESULT

By abolishing the propiska, Kyrgyzstan’s government would ensure:

* => Fulfillment of all international and constitutional norms that call for respect of the rights of citizens to freedom of movement within the country;
* => Labor mobility, which is an essential tool of modern economics;
* => Stopping discrimination of immigrants in regards to private and public services;
* => Maximum integration of citizens across regions;

Save citizens’ time and money that can be directed to other activities that bring concrete value to their living standard.

Author: Central Asian Free Market Institute

I was giving a talk on Hayek’s book The Fatal Conceit; I had edited a special edition of the Humane Studies Review on the book, and was in the process of commissioning a Russian translation by Rustislav Kapelushnikov, which came out in 1991.

It has been a long time since I could bear to look at my blog without being overcome by sadness and grief, as I miss my friend a great deal. I could not bear to write anything and let the note I had posted the day after she died in my arms slide down the page like just another ephemeral comment on politics. My friendly webmaster and his colleagues have created a place where I can keep my thoughts on her on the page. (See the upper right.)

I have worked a great deal since losing her, despite having been both very sad and quite ill for some time from pertussis (aka whooping cough), parasites, and a thankfully brief viral liver infection. During that time I have traveled and worked in thirteen countries (plus various cities in the US) and gotten some things done, in addition to reading several stacks of books. I’ll report on some of the books later, including my readings on the rather surprising intellectual roots of neoconservatism, on economic history, on the philosophical case for “redistribution,” on ancient and contemporary Chinese history, on Central European literature, and on various other topics. I’ll also try to find the time to organize the notes I have been setting aside for a short essay on friendship occasioned by some of the things I learned from the best friend I have ever had. This year has been a very bad year for me, but I will try to make the next one better.

…to Crete, then Athens, for lectures and meetings. I’m looking forward to meeting some of the Greek libertarians with whom I’ve corresponded over the years.

I’m in Beijing….hoping to get some sleep before some morning meetings and then a trip to the airport for some long flights to the US and A. In the meantime, here are a few pics from some lectures I gave on this trip. (The last three pictures are from the Northeastern University in Shanyang, China.)

Meeting at Japanese for Tax Reform, Tokyo

Alumni Meeting of International Academy of Freedom in Manila

University of the Philippines

Introducing the Ideas of the Levellers at the University of the Philippines