{"id":25580,"date":"2019-06-10T11:16:00","date_gmt":"2019-06-10T15:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/?p=25580"},"modified":"2020-07-22T03:30:16","modified_gmt":"2020-07-22T07:30:16","slug":"legal-obligation-as-determinants-of-the-individual-identity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/blog\/legal-obligation-as-determinants-of-the-individual-identity\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal Obligation as Determinants of The Individual Identity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Legal Obligation as Determinants of The Individual Identity<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Sometimes, when I\u2019m thinking about flag theory<\/a><\/span> and the concept of the perpetual traveller, or as many like to use; Permanent tourist or prior taxpayer, I start wondering how and why labels are formed that refer to our identities as individuals. The thing is, no label comes without its expectations and once you become associated with one, it opens a can of worms that is really hard to get away from. Something like this, I feel, also happens when you think of nationalities or the legal obligations that come with being a citizen of the state. Hence, the topic for today, Legal Obligation as Determinants of The Individual Identity.<\/span><\/p>\n

That insight is <\/span>one of the most compelling points of the flag theory<\/a><\/span> and the idea of Financial Libertarianism where your individual associations as members of a community force you into potentially compromising situations. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are certain advantages to being a member of a community, but the idea that you have to take the bad with the good is problematic in the ways that it isn\u2019t necessarily true. There is no profundity to be found in the struggle that comes with being part of a society when these struggles can be done away with.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

The Problems of Identity and Individual Freedom<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Lawrence Stone, a professor at Princeton, <\/span>delivered a lectur on the relation between nationalistic identity<\/span><\/a> and individual identity. Although his context was a little different; but what he essentially pointed out was how different circumstances and backgrounds determined one\u2019s identity. <\/span><\/p>\n

Whether it was based on some religious doctrine, a tribal one or even a political doctrine, people used to act and behave in line with a broader set of beliefs regarding their relation to other people <\/span>and as part of a group. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Now I don\u2019t think that any social identity comes separate from certain beliefs and ideas about how one should live their lives. In many ways, the actions that we think to be appropriate determine how we are perceived as individuals, but also at a personal level our actions are also determined by the labels that we have attached. <\/span><\/p>\n

Someone who identifies as a socialist or a Marxist would probably think that it’s great for governments to control the financial resources in an entire economy because that creates a much more equitable society. <\/span><\/p>\n

They will act in ways that are typical of a socialist and until someone looks at how they\u2019re managing their economic affairs, they won\u2019t really be able to tell which particular school of thought they belong to. <\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, when it comes to national identities, <\/span>occupying certain land doesn\u2019t really determine what your identity is<\/span>. After all, you could very well be an American residing on Chinese lands without having to give up the identity altogether. I think it has more to do with the ways in which you consider the laws of a certain constitution of a state applicable to you.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"perpetual<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Flag Theory<\/strong><\/h2>\n

What is Flag Theory anyways?\u00a0 We talk about it in depth but do you understand what it is?<\/p>\n

The perpetual traveller or prior-taxpayer idea has been presented in terms of flag theory, wherein each flag represents one of the legal jurisdictions under which the perpetual traveller operates. The Three Flags Theory<\/a> is credited to investment pundit Harry D. Schultz<\/a>, who proposed that everyone should have a second passport<\/a> and an address in a tax haven and that their assets should be kept outside their home country.<\/p>\n

The idea was later expanded to Five Flags to include a place where money was earned and a place for recreation.<\/p>\n

Whether to minimize governmental interference (via taxes or otherwise) or to maximize privacy, the theory proposes that each of the following should be in a separate country:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Passport<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0citizenship<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 in a country that does not tax money earned outside the country or control actions.<\/li>\n
  2. Legal<\/a>\u00a0residence<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 in a\u00a0tax haven<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  3. Business base \u2013 where one earns one’s money, ideally somewhere with low\u00a0corporate tax<\/a>\u00a0rates.<\/li>\n
  4. Asset\u00a0haven<\/a> – where one keeps one’s money, ideally somewhere with low taxation of passive income and capital gains.<\/li>\n
  5. Playgrounds – where one spends one’s money, ideally somewhere with low\u00a0consumption taxes<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In 1995, financial commentator\u00a0Bob Beckman<\/a>\u00a0commented about his residence in\u00a0Monaco<\/a>: “A long time ago, I was told that the most efficient way for an individual to handle his affairs was to work one place, keep his money in a second place and live in a third place. I live in Monaco. I don’t work here, my money is placed elsewhere, but managed from here.”[3]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Your Citizenship’s Impact on Individual Identity<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    You are a citizen of the United States of America, not because you were born there, but rather you are a citizen because you allow these laws to apply to you. You have chosen a way of living your life that is in line with the principles outlined in the constitution of the state and you would comply with those rules. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Even though this makes a fair bit of sense to me, I still wonder what really comes first. For one thing, your choice as an individual seems central to this discussion. Unless we\u2019re going to go with the idea that state identities are inescapable because we were born in a certain place; that\u2019s just a very oppressive thing to say. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Ultimately we choose an identity for ourselves, based on what we find agreeable about any specific set of beliefs. A lot of us don\u2019t really question it, but I feel that\u2019s because they aren\u2019t aware of how limiting such self-identification can be. In fact, since legality ultimately defines what the appropriate ways to act are, it seems like legality is the determinant of our identities. This is very strange to be honest because an act of free-will (The choice of an identity) is ultimately forcing you to live in very restrictive ways that aren\u2019t exactly in-line with your freedom. <\/span><\/p>\n

    The way that such a choice affects you is it subjects you to tax laws, financial penalties, social payments and any number of financial responsibilities that you might not want to take on. The <\/span>Libertarian state (or whatever you want to call it) was supposed<\/span><\/a> to undo these restrictions imposed on the individual. The more I think about it, the less I think states do justice to individual freedom.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"Individual<\/p>\n

    <\/h2>\n

    The Primacy of Individual Identity and Its Role In Economic Agency<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Assuming that you feel (and rightly so) that the burdens of your nationalistic identities have become too heavy to bear, and then I would imagine it\u2019s also absolutely justified to let those burdens go. Your associations with a certain state system, subject you to rules and regulation which may not only be internally inconsistent; such as that of many \u201cLiberal\u201d states but also stifling for you.<\/span><\/p>\n

    In this process, the part of your identities that are being determined by the actions sanctioned by a certain state system will be swept away and you will truly become an individual in the truest sense of the word.<\/span><\/p>\n

    When you\u2019ve spent an entire lifetime accumulating wealth and stabilizing your financial conditions, the state system would take your hard earned money to use it for social means, which it really should be financing itself. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Economic freedom forms a very integral part of the entirety of the freedoms you can enjoy and it seems like these legalities that form the core of your identity as a citizen of the state is contrary to the idea of freedom. So you see, the Flag Theory<\/a> and the concept of a perpetual traveller aren\u2019t just about preserving your wealth. In many ways, it allows you to let go of all the compulsions that come with your associations with a certain state system and fully enjoy your life as free as anyone can possibly be.<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Related Articles & Podcasts<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Here is a fantastic podcast episode with Bobby Casey<\/a> on anarchy and blockchain from The Expat Money Show<\/a>. Enjoy!<\/p>\n

    Here is a really interesting article about Libertarianism and Financial Agency<\/a> by Mikkel Thorup<\/p>\n

    I hope you got value from this article: Legal Obligation as Determinants of The Individual Identity. If you would like to discuss Flag Theory with our office, please reach out HERE.<\/a><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Legal Obligation as Determinants of The Individual Identity. We discuss Flag Theory, perpetual traveller, prior taxpayer, the problems of identity and individual freedom and how having a second passport can shape you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":678,"featured_media":25589,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[9409],"tags":[1700,3633],"yst_prominent_words":[3444,3443,3447,27013,27011,2114,3442,3623,3624,2133,3448,27015,27012,3632,27014,3631,2158,3625,3445,3446],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/29.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25580"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/678"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25580"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25580\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37704,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25580\/revisions\/37704"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25580"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=25580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}