David McElroy

When I think about the post-statist future, I’m excited about what I see. I see free cities and free societies — organized in a variety of different ways — competing for “customers” and incubating a kind of creativity that the world has never known.

As I think about what I see in my mind’s eye — and what I’d like to build and where I’d like to live and the people I want there with me — I’m reminded of a quote from 19th century Chicago architect Daniel Burnham:

“Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency. Remember that our sons and grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us. Let your watchword be order and your beacon beauty. Think big.”

That perfectly captures what we need to be doing today. We need to be dreaming big. We need to be taking big risks and making big plans. We need to lay the foundations for something that our children and grandchildren will keep building. There’s a New World waiting for us — if we’ll break out of our statist mindset and find ways to make that future happen. The idea of building that life and living that life excite me. The idea of leaving a legacy for our children to build on excites me even more. Building the post-statist world is the sort of opportunity that’s worth devoting time and effort to. We shouldn’t let anyone — even our own fears and doubts — stop us. Who else is excited enough about it to help make it happen?

There was a time when homeowners facing a rash of thefts in their area could count on police to offer them tips about keeping their property safe. In same places now, though, police are more concerned about making sure thieves aren’t injured during their break-ins.

It sounds like a joke — or maybe satire from the Onion — but it’s the truth in some parts of England, according to a story in February from an English newspaper.