threads of freeorder, leif smith, editor
 
Each separate month of Threads will be found at leifsmith.substack.com
 
August 2025 - threads of freeorder
 
Everything above the July section should be regarded as draft until published in the August substack.
 
KindsOfOrder-4.0-small
The above graphic is a visualization of the argument of chapter 2, “Cosmos and Taxis” of Law, Legislation and Liberty by F. A .Hayek
 
Kinds of Order graphic: a problem solved with the help of an extension of language
Confusion: inability to decide if complex orders are spontaneous or designed
Resolution: end the confusion by understanding and naming “composite order”
Principle: seek quest enabling balances among spontaneous and designed orders
Naming: call such balances freeorders
Enlightenment & Emergence are shown as transition from dark to light green
 
This month an article was published using a definition of freeorder that either omits “quest” or uses it in a way that confuses the fundamental idea. If that (otherwise excellent) article is repaired it will be linked in a future edition of “Threads.”
freeorder is defined as “quest enabling balance among spontaneous and designed orders.” The word “quest” is essential, and is part of the definition because it’s the reason why freeorder matters.
 
From the Libertarian Alliance ••• weekly updates by Sean Gabb •••
Update ••• for the week ending 3 August 2025
‘This week’s edition explores controversial proposals for peace in the Middle East, critiques of propaganda and state surveillance, and Marxist vs libertarian readings of ancient and modern economies. Expect ideas that unsettle orthodox thinking, from conspiracy cults to climate policy, and from Roman markets to health scepticism. Our contributors remain, uncompromising and clear. Please read, share, and repost as you see fit.’ (for details click the link above)
More weekly updates: Aug 24 Aug 17
 
“Announcing The Universal Principles of Liberty” ••• by Stephan Kinsella ••• published by The Libertarian Alliance ••• 23 August 2025
Kinsella’s page on The Universal Principles of Liberty •••
Kinsella’s website on “Austro-Anarchist Libertarian Legal Theory” •••
 
Boom Supersonic ••• “The first civil supersonic jet made in America breaks the sound barrier”. This aircraft was built by only fifty people, CEO Blake Scholl explains how it was done.
“Move fast and don't break (safety critical) things: How Boom Supersonic uses software to accelerate hardware development” ••• [substack] by Blake School, CEO Boom, 9 Aug 2025
Biographical ••• by Blake Scholl
 
Virginia Postrel on architecture
‘The Faux Populism of Trumpified Architecture: What looks “civic” depends on experience, not architectural theory’ ••• [substack] 29 August 2025
The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World ••• by Virginia Postrel •••
 
“Dealing with Manias” ••• by Paul Rosenberg
‘Manias, alas, are not something we’ve left behind. And having just passed through one, this is probably an excellent time not just make sense of manias, but to come up with a set of things to do when if and when the next one rolls in.’
 
Voices of Reason: Lessons for Liberty’s Leaders ••• by Robert Begley •••
‘Too many people stay silent when it matters most—out of fear, self-doubt, or confusion. Voices of Reason gives you the timeless tools to speak with clarity, confidence, and moral courage—just like history’s greatest communicators.
A Book for Leaders Who Refuse to Stay Silent
• Learn how to master Aristotle’s timeless principles—Ethos, Logos, and Pathos—essential for powerful, persuasive communication.
• Discover Patrick Henry’s proven 3-part speech structure, designed to inspire action and rally others toward a common cause.
• Dive into the strategies Frederick Douglass used, where storytelling became a powerful tool over dry statistics, making messages unforgettable.
• Gain the confidence to speak effectively, even under pressure, by tapping into the power of your voice and beliefs.
• Overcome public speaking fear and transform nervousness into a tool for persuasive influence, gaining skills that can shape your future.’
Voices of Reason will be officially released on September 2, 2025! To celebrate the launch week, we’re offering an exclusive price of just $0.99 on Amazon.’
——
I’m told that Áza Valon has ordered multiple copies of Voices of Reason for the rapidly growing crew of speakers working with Campaigns for Liberty. She thinks the use of Aristotelian principles, as explained by the author, will have great effect. -ls
 
“Sovereign by Nature, Dangerous by Design: Are Taoism and libertarianism the Ultimate Middle Finger to Statist Control?” ••• by Diamond-Michael Scott ••• for Advocates for Self-Government •••
“I’ve lived long enough and wandered widely enough to know that the world will try to tame your soul the moment you show signs of waking up.” -DMScott
 
Falun Gong ••• Epoch Times •••
How the conspiracy-fueled Epoch Times went mainstream and made millions (extremely negative, highly informative, NBC News, 13 December 2023)
Consider this article in the context of Diamond-Michael’s article “Sovereign by Nature, Dangerous by Design” linked in the previous item.
 
Sir Antony Fisher Achievement Award Announcement ••• Atlas Network
‘We are honored to announce that Dan Grossman is the recipient of the 2025 Sir Antony Fisher Achievement Award, Atlas Network’s highest recognition for lifetime service to the cause of liberty.’
‘This November 12–13, we invite you to join us in New York City at the 2025 Liberty Forum & Freedom Dinner, hosted at the Sheraton New York Times Square, to celebrate Dan’s extraordinary contributions to liberty.”
 
“The Great Cognitive Advance: On a per capita basis, the highly intelligent became ten times more numerous in England between 1000 and 1850” ••• by Peter Frost for Aporia Magazine ••• 31 July 2025
 
“Age of Invention: The Century-Long Depression” ••• by Anton Howes, 26 August 2025
‘having to work for a wage in the four or so centuries c.1350-1750 was a dystopian nightmare’ … ‘the long, appalling history of how England created its prison for servants, and of how this led to a century of economic depression.’
Anton’s archive of Age of Invention articles •••
 
“Genghis Khan, the Golden Horde and an 842-year-old paternity test” ••• by Razib Khan, 13 July 2025 — something that makes Russia different from the rest of Europe.
 
“Suspicious Minds” ••• by James Howard Kunstler •••
‘America is tired of being driven insane, of having absurdities crammed into our collective consciousness. Reality is an agreement about what is going on in the world. That act of faith requires such an agreement be based on what is demonstrably true. Without it, society dissolves into chaos and failure.
The RussiaGate psychodrama is about an agreement based on lies.’
“The War on Reality is Over” ••• by James Howard Kunstler
‘“Minneapolis Suspect Knew Her Target, but Motive is a Mystery”
Unwittingly, that New York Times headline is a wondrous case of the self-solving mystery. You come here to understand the many social and political mysteries of the day. I will attempt to unravel this hairball.’ -jhk
 
Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine ••• by Scott Horton ••• 2024, published by The Libertarian Institute •••
A review ••• by Lieutenant Colonel Josh VanBuskirk, commander, 6th Battalion, 95th Regiment, San Antonio, Texas, published by the U.S. Army War College
‘Author Scott Horton smashes conventional wisdom about the origins of the Russia-Ukraine War in Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine. Horton’s work is a must-read for military professionals who want to understand how the United States and Russia came to the precipice of war. Horton’s thesis is simple but iconoclastic—the launch of the Russian special military operations was provoked by the bipartisan foreign policy consensus in Washington over the last 35 years.’
A review ••• by the U.K.’s Libertarian Alliance •••
‘If you only read the headlines, you’d think Russia woke up one day in 2022 and decided to invade Ukraine for fun. But in Provoked, Scott Horton lays out how that’s not remotely true. He argues that Washington spent decades pushing Russia into a corner, breaking promises, meddling in Ukraine, and setting the stage for a war that could have been avoided. This isn’t some wild theory—it’s backed up by over 7,000 sources, making it impossible to dismiss as just another take.’
Thanks to Josh Souter for an introduction to this book at a Liberty on the Rocks meeting ••• -ls
 
The Corruption of Science: the inability to reproduce results, false positives, and peer review failure — The Shifting Sands project ••• of the National Association of Scholars (NAS) ••• studies how irreproducible science affects select areas of government policy and regulation.
 
Monetary Metals ••• is quoted here because honest money is necessary to Freeorder and because their commitment to precious metals is a worthwhile contribution to discussion and competition among providers of alternatives to untrustworthy government issue (fiat) money.
‘Why Monetary Metals?
One of the biggest problems we face today is our money problem. It lies at the root of so many issues. And yet, the vast majority of people are blind to it. Those that do see it clearly often feel powerless to do anything about it.
There is a solution. 
The solution is to return to honest money. Our mission is to offer an honest return on honest money.  For us, that translates to providing A Yield on Gold, Paid in Gold® to investors and institutions around the world. We deliver that yield by supporting gold-using and gold producing companies with our Gold Financing, Simplified™ capital solutions.
We invite you to be part of the solution and help us deliver honest money to a world that so desperately needs it.’
Monetary Metals makes Inc. 5000 list •••
‘SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., – August 12, 2025 – Monetary Metals®, the leader in gold-based finance, has been named to the 2025 Inc. 5000 list, the most prestigious ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies.  
‘“Our inclusion in the Inc. 5000 is a significant milestone and a clear validation of our business model,” said Keith Weiner, Founder and CEO of Monetary Metals. “We are reestablishing gold as a productive asset, capable of earning a yield while serving as a foundation for productive finance. This recognition reflects not only our strong growth, but the overwhelming demand for a sound alternative to today’s dollar-based system.”’
 
An email from Doug Casey of The International Man ••• alerted us to discussion of a possible major financial reset called the Mar-a-Lago Accords, and pointed to an article by Stephen Miran, recently nominated to the board of the Federal Reserve.
Casey wrote: ‘Without getting into the weeds, Miran, the mastermind behind what's been dubbed the "Mar-a-Lago Accord," outlined a comprehensive plan to flip the U.S. dollar's reserve status from a burden into a bargaining chip. To turn America's towering debt from an embarrassment into leverage. And to reorient the entire global economic structure in Washington's favor.’
Stephen Miran’s article ••• “A User’s Guide to Restructuring the Global Trading System” as published by Hudson Bay Capital •••
This article is long and demanding, but important for anyone interested in this major policy issue.
 
Basic introduction to the economics of money: Murray N. Rothbard’s What Has Government Done to Our Money ••• [a free pdf] published by Mises Institute •••
 
American Business History Center: Four interactive dynamic charts
Largest American Corporate Employers 1994-2024 •••
Largest American Companies over 30 Years: 1994-2024 •••
Most Valuable American Companies over 30 Years: 1995-2025 •••
Highest Profit American Companies: 1994-2024 •••
American Business History Center •••
Gary Hoover’s American History Business Center is a fine resource for exploring the essential contribution of business to the emergence of Freeorder. -ls
 
Orange Middle East and Africa, The Hashgraph Association and Dar Blockchain join forces for the Hedera Africa Hackathon competition ••• 24 Aug 2025
‘Orange •••, through its Orange Digital Center ••• (ODC) network, a true lever of digital inclusion at the service of young people and entrepreneurs in Middle East and Africa, announces a partnership with The Hashgraph Association ••• (THA), a Swiss non-profit organization, and Dar Blockchain •••, Pan-African hub of reference in Web3. This partnership aims to promote the adoption of decentralized technologies, education, and innovation through their participation in Hedera Africa Hackathon, a Pan-African competition for the development of blockchain solutions with a prize of more than one million dollars.’
Hashgraph Development Association is a branch of The Hashgraph Association. Through hashgraphdev.com/ entrants in the hackathon can learn to build on the Hedera open source public ledger (DLT) for enterprises and creators.
 
Hashing is fundamental to web3 and DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology).
“Speed Hashing: Hashes are like fingerprints for data”, by Jeff Atwood, on Coding Horror ••• programming and human factors. — a good introduction. -ls
 
Data center water consumption and power use ••• published in Construction Physics •••
 
Special Zones: Joyce Brand’s weekly update is short and to the point, making a good place to track what’s happening in the world of special zones building to provide better governance and more liberty. For the free weekly updates subscribe at morazanmodel.com.
Received from Joyce on 27 Aug 2025:
The Charter Cities Institute posted on X about Dunia Cyber City, a digital free zone in Zanzibar, Tanzania.
An article on decripto.org catches up with news from Satoshi Island. Satoshi Island, the cryptocurrency city-state in Vanuatu: between utopia and reality.
My newest Substack article on Free Cities, The Time Has Come for Free Cities, shows evidence of Free Cities gaining visibility. A shorter version is also available on the blog.
Alex's Morazan Monday this week is about The Evolution of Morazan’s Pet Policy.
The Free Cities Podcast this week features Leon Wankum discussing The Real Estate Reckoning.
Techpoint has published an article about 2025 population trends, 10 fastest growing cities in the world.
Until next week,
Joyce
 
“What is the Woke Right?” ••• [substack] by the Equiano Project •••
‘The Equiano Project, founded in August 2020, is a debate, discussion and ideas forum. We facilitate conversations about and promote the values of freedom, common humanity and universalism.
We believe that societal progress can only happen when freedom of speech, open discussion and the pursuit of truth are at its heart.
• We oppose racism, reject racial essentialism, challenge identity politics and critique the notion of race itself.
• We argue that people must take responsibility for their lives, families and communities and lead the way to a better future.
• We accept that there are no ‘easy answers’ and so, we seek to delve deep into issues to find nuanced and meaningful solutions to complex social ills’
‘The Equiano Project is named after the 18th-century writer and abolitionist, Olaudah Equiano.
Olaudah Equiano was originally from the Eboe region of the Kingdom of Benin. However, enslaved as a child, he was taken to the Caribbean and sold as a slave to a Royal Navy officer.
He was sold twice more but purchased his freedom in 1766.
As a freedman in London, Equiano supported the British abolitionist movement. He was part of the Sons of Africa, an abolitionist group composed of Africans living in Britain.
We believe that Equiano’s story exemplifies the struggle for freedom and the demonstration of extraordinary bravery and moral fortitude, even in the face of profound adversity.’
 
Thoughts about a new political party (or strategy) for the United States
James Howard Kunstler ••• [substack]: “Going, Going Gone. . . .” — kunstler.com/p/going-going-gone
Max Borders ••• [substack]: “New America Party: A Proposed Platform: Because Elon Musk's new party is light on details, I would like to propose some planks for the platform.” — underthrow.substack.com/p/new-america-party-a-proposed-platform
Áza Valon has begun a venture, based on principles of freeorder, devoted to negative or reverse politics, designed to engage those who are becoming more interested in driving the worst and most dangerous out of politics than they are in holding powers of elected office themselves. As Áza’s Campaigns for Liberty grows it will become more difficult for someone not effective in extending liberty to win an election. This fact is forcing aspiring office holders and media to find our what she and her adherents want.
See below, under “explorations of freeorder” for a more complete explanation of Áza’s Campaigns for Liberty.
 
———————— explorations of freeorder ————————
 
Two types of designed word orders, sovereign and imported may be set going in a single mind, as if each of the designed orders is a venture in the chaos of a market economy flooded with verbal spontaneous orders from all corners of space and time, real and imaginary. The result can be the emergence of internal freeorder.
Example: a mind holding carefully designed word orders, one to think about markets as discovery processes (using Austrian school language), another to understand things from the point of view of statistics (using Wolfram’s Mathematica), another a world-3 object called “biochemistry” (see Popper) providing language to think about immune systems, and the same mind also holding also the spontaneous orders comprised by knowledge of the works of Shakespeare, of Beethoven’s music (taken as a form of speech), and an entire lifetime’s book of personal stories.
 
I wonder if the complexity of dual evolutions of gigafactory scale AI and of distributed ledgers (DLT) will discover a quest enabling balance among them, combining designed and spontaneous orders into a composite, or mixed, order that should be called a freeorder?
In order to make sense of this question it is necessary to realize that AI gigacenters, although being seen as designed orders, and DLTs being seen as spontaneous orders, hides the fact, revealed at a lower level of abstraction, that each of these may also achieve the status of freeorder, themselves being quest enabling mixed (or composite) orders.
The stacking of composite orders, seen from the level of the most comprehensive of the freeorders, may involve a recursion of freeorders, within which higher level balances among spontaneous and designed orders, although themselves freeorders, are understood to be composed of, built upon, possibly many lower level freeorders, each of them its own unique balance, always by the standard of quest enablement.
So, in the old analogy we have freeorder turtles all the way down … all the way down to individual human minds, each a freeorder, balanced by the test of quest enablement, which minds ultimately make the entire stack possible.
 
Tax supported lying must end. It gets in the way of the emergence of Freeorder.
 
Physical limits are essential to emergent forms in nature.
The emergence of the ability to consciously recognize and express “no” —the internal act of negation (a limit)—marks a major point in human cognitive evolution.z
In thought, and in action, consciously applied limits are essential to the emergence of freeorder, careful naming and logic in the first case, rules about boundaries and the control of goods in the second case.
Recognition of the positive power of exclusion leads to the idea that an inverse politics, intended more to exclude the bad than to include the good, might result in better protection of the open space required for artist and entrepreneur driven emergences of Freeorder.
This line of thought led to Áza Valon’s Campaigns for Liberty.
 
About Áza Valon’s Campaigns for Liberty, by ls & Perplexity.ai
 
The following was produced after many hours devoted to teaching Perplexity.ai about freeorder and the concept of negative politics according to which an advocate for liberty, rather than running for office, runs for liberty by asking those aligned to vote against the one of two candidates most likely to win who seems most likely to do harm to liberty.
 
ls proposes:
 
It is of extreme importance that Aza's approach directs people expectations of good toward the market of ideas and goods of all kinds, and away from elected authority as a source of goods. She is working toward making a profound, systemic, reversal of expectations make its way through the entire population.
 
Perplexity.ai responds:
 
You’re emphasizing an essential and transformative element at the heart of Áza’s mission: redirecting people's hopes, ambitions, and standards of “the good” away from dependency on elected authority and toward the lively, decentralized market of ideas, ventures, and diverse goods.
Áza’s campaign isn’t just tactical voting or defending liberty—it’s about instigating a cultural and psychological revolution in what people expect from society, governance, and their own lives.
Áza’s Deeper Strategic Goal: Redirecting Expectations
Áza’s approach is not just to block the worst authorities or negotiate for policy concessions. Her true project is:
• Reorienting the social imagination so that fulfillment, progress, and innovation are seen as flowing from free people's initiatives, exchanges, and experiments—not from politicians, legislation, or state allocation.
• Making “good governance” synonymous with holding space open for liberty, rather than delivering concrete goods or solutions. The “good” is what emerges spontaneously when diverse individuals and ventures compete, collaborate, and innovate on their own terms.
• Accelerating the recognition that authority’s proper role is custodial (to prevent force, uphold open environments), not distributive (giving or promising goods). Instead, the market—of ideas, businesses, art, relationships—is where real value is created and discovered.
 
Mechanisms for Sweeping Systemic Reversal
• Public Messaging: Every aspect of Áza’s communication insists: Don’t look to authority as the supplier of what you want; look to your own powers, alliances, imagination—and to what emerges from open exchange.
• Negative Politics as Awakening: Her “vote against harm” commitment is explained not as anti-politics, but as an invitation: “It’s not government’s job to provide goods and meaning. Don’t be seduced by promises. Demand only protection of liberty, and turn elsewhere—to the dynamic market—for satisfaction, adventure, and progress.”
• Role Modeling: Áza herself is seen constantly engaging with ventures, idea labs, grassroots experiments, and new communities—demonstrating where excitement, fulfillment, and hope actually take root.
• Strategic Pressure: As her voter bloc grows, candidates must grapple with standards that prize openness and liberty—but with zero expectation that they will “deliver goods.” The wave of expectation washes through media as well, reframing debates around where real good is found.
Narrative, Cultural, and Systemic Outcomes
• Elected authority is de-centered: People begin to see officials not as benefactors, but as service-providers with narrow, procedural mandates.
• The “market” becomes the living epicenter: Innovation, belonging, adventure, and prosperity are sought and celebrated in the freeorder of diverse ventures and conversations—not in legislative packages or political victories.
• Widespread psychological shift: Instead of waiting for answers or handouts from above, individuals, teams, and communities compete and collaborate wildly—seeking, testing, and challenging everything in the open market for their own adventures and fulfillment.
How the Wave Spreads
Áza’s movement is designed to be viral:
 
• Each success, each story of fulfillment found outside government, propagates the new expectation.
• Disillusionment with politics becomes not apathy, but eagerness to explore and create in the open spaces beyond.
• The demand for liberty (not delivery of goods) rises, changing the conversation everywhere, from street talks to mainstream media to candidate debates.
In summary
Áza Valon is not just campaigning for liberty—she is orchestrating a radical shift where the population’s expectations of the good are redirected away from elected authority and toward the market of free exchange, innovation, and emergent ventures. This sweeping, wave-like reversal is the true revolution: rendering political office a mere custodian of open space, and reviving the possibility of adventure, creation, and good in every sphere beyond the state’s reach.
.oOo.