Is Liechtenstein a Libertarian Utopia?

Liechtenstein isn’t just one of the world’s smallest countries, it’s one of the most prosperous.
Despite having just 37,000 citizens and covering just 61 square miles in central Europe, the microstate has a per capita income of about $100,000, a corporate flat tax of 12.5 percent, and an income tax of just 1.2 percent.
Now well-known as a banking and financial hub, the principality wasn’t always so flush. In fact, in 1967 the royal family had to sell a prized possession-Leonardo da Vinci’s first known portrait-just to keep the country afloat.
Reason's Nick Gillespie talked with the country’s leader, Prince Hans-Adams II, at the International Students for Liberty Conference in Washington, D.C. about how Liechtenstein turned itself around while becoming world famous for its banking privacy and openness to immigrants.
And he talked with Hans-Adams' about his new book, The State in the Third Millennium, which outlines the reforms he brought to Liechtenstein and argues that modern government should treat citizens as customers who have the option to live elsewhere.
About 8 minutes. Produced by Joshua Swain.
For links, downloadable versions, and more videos, go to reason.com/reasontv/2016/03/21...

[@MariannaKatz17]

I wonder if Liechtenstein would consider Libertarians a refugee class and allow us in?

[@DeepRuffian]

that doesn't matter they have a lax immigration policy

[@seanisthebomb117]

They're so Libertarian...you don't need to be a refugee to get in.

[@bloodaxe5028]

White immigrants only !!

[@noahgann3471]

they have probably the strictest immigration policy in the world

[@kodan7879]

They only allow 56 YES FIFTY SIX work visas a year. So I wouldn't say it is very liberal.

[@MichaelNaness]

This country is legit one medium sized town and a mountain

[@sxwitch1184]

and one of he richest

[@anitapretorius4124]

And?

[@senorpoodles1755]

Singapore is a single city.

[@zwiebelface185]

@@senorpoodles1755 that's bigger

[@hagbard72]

Okay, packing my bags.

[@informationbubble2844]

Robert Drake k

[@informationbubble2844]

K

[@JackAD]

k

[@InkDropFalls]

good luck its around 52 people a year they let into live there ..

[@mirzaahmed6589]

For naturalization, they put every candidate to a vote. A majority of people would have to agree to admit you and give you citizenship.

[@TheNavalAviator]

Such an irony that it is a bloody royal, who pushes for this liberty.

[@TiloHalvorsen]

John Wayne the people want him -citizen

[@walperstyle]

Beats the hell of people storming the Bastille and removing your head.

[@screamtoasigh9984]

They actually have been voted to have more power. The royalty is popular there. kzbin.info/www/bejne/q5CmdXV8gqZob5o

[@kmtforchina8916]

they say if the country becomes a republic, the royal family would win elections for ten terms strait

[@bighands69]

+John Wayne The royals of Liechtenstein are not a ruling class nor are they like the crown of the UK.

[@thesoundofthesuburbs]

"openness to immigrants"? It is next to impossible to settle in Liechtenstein.

[@WorgenGrrl]

There's a 5% Muslim population in the country if that tells you anything.

[@Ghruul]

@@WorgenGrrl thats incredibly big considering Liechtenstein's geographical position and history

[@etrice25]

@@WorgenGrrl but that's like 2000 people. on a small scale assimilation is more possible.

[@austinalmanza7394]

You have to be fluent in german and I think live there for like 10 years i believe

[@jaminunit]

@@Ghruul thats like 10 people man.

[@CarlyleA999]

So this whole country is a swiss bank?

[@ahumandoing6813]

SarChasm sounds like heaven for rich people. no fucking poor people to vote for socialism. The best country

[@Heligoland360]

Well the native population wasn't always rich, it used to be a poor country, but because they didn't implement socialism they are now rich so they find no need. Sure they have barriers up for lower income peoples like myself, but it seems to me that they are reeping the rewards of long term economic growth over short term government subsidies. I see no issue.

[@issstari954]

No Switzerland is has since got rid of the privacy in there banking and is no longer a tax haven whall the kept it way longer and are still a tax haven

[@edchaos2679]

Adam Collins sounds to me they keep poor people out

[@einarabelc5]

Jewish, according to the prince.

[@behrouz6625]

This should be the future of humanity. Tiny countries, limited governments, small military spendings, no intimidation by superpowers or mad totallitarians

[@AYVYN]

Yes, do this with all countries. I want to play Pac-Man hehe

[@viorelurs]

I think we have more homeless in CA then they entire population 🤔😂

[@Pheluv]

The great American dream 🤔

[@thatsaboat2882]

California has like 1000x the population of Liechtenstein so probably

[@reygalaxee6128]

All Libertarian Purists: You can't get everything what you want, even though it would obviously work. But you can get closer like Liechtenstein and show people that more freedom is good, and perhaps slowly convince them to the libertarian way.

[@michaelgirgis9019]

Rey Galaxee I love how this video picked a country with universal healthcare to praise as a libertarian utopia. Shameless. Libertarianism has, is, and always will be an absurd, privileged, and elitist philosophy.

[@oxmcginnes6253]

Michael Girgis, Did you miss the part were Lichtenstein was poor, and then worked itself up to todays standart...??? With libertarian policies!!! They may not implement all hardline libertarian policies, but many, while other countries immediately start failing when the socialist revolution starts appropriating privat property.

[@michaelgirgis9019]

Ox McGinnes The libertarian policies you fail to specify resulted in the creation of a tax haven. This requires significant government regulation to shelter assets from international regulators and creditors. Do you believe that this is libertarianism or that it resembles a free market? Or do you only seek to focus on the libertarian side of the equation in deregulating their domestic banking sector? Also, universal healthcare and “hardline libertarian policies” are mutually exclusive. There is no middle ground where you could rationally reconcile universal healthcare coverage with libertarianism. This is not a small concession you are making. P.S. I hear American libertarians mocking the social democratic policies of Nordic countries all of the time. They often rationalize their robust welfare state system as a product of their small population (i.e. “Of course Norway can afford free healthcare, there’s like only 3 people there. It could never work in a country the size of America”). While this line of reasoning is false, and is not indicative of how successful social democratic policies could be in America, does it not apply in Lichtenstein’s case? Can a country the size of America sustainably implement these “libertarian policies”, become a tax haven, and thrive? The argument put forward in this video actually weakens the libertarian ideology, it does not do any favours for American libertarians.

[@lucasriddle5538]

Michael Girgis how is libertarianism absurd, privileged, and elitist?

[@anindividual4916]

@@michaelgirgis9019 most rich people are democrats or left leaning. Most libertarian minded individuals come from lower middle class or middle class families. The libertarian mindset was birthed from a realization that high taxes make us poor and dependent. Bullshit dude, sorry you're full of shit.

[@newweaponsdc]

When people talk about Somalia being the Libertarian paradise, I always tell them "you're thinking of Liechtenstein there, bub!" Prince Hans-Adam is the most intelligent world leader, he's an intellectual powerhouse.

[@immaculatesquid]

@That Dude Any system can function given that a vast majority consent to the terms of the system. By definition the larger the population, the more difficult and exclusive that task becomes and you have to disenfranchise more and more people as it expands

[@princevesperal]

That's a great thing with smaller countries: they can serve as political laboratories. When one system works very well, others will copy it. Look at the city-States of classical Greece, or those of the Italian Renaissance! Small countries, easy to keep cohesive, free to innovate, and pushed to compete against each others! Democracies, tyrannies, oligarchies, monarchies, republics, theocracies... flourishing political experiences which fed our modern conceptions!

[@Commander034]

@@princevesperal Or you know, what the states of the United States are supposed to be.

[@princevesperal]

@@Commander034 Except they are not. Or only superficially. US states all have more or less the same regime. They can make different laws, but they all have about the same political system, and all the States even share the same two parties. On that account, Europe is a better example of political diversity.

[@Commander034]

@@princevesperal Please compare Nevada where Marijuana and prostitution is legal to its neighbor Utah, which is basically a Mormon theocracy, and tell me they are more or less the same. New Hampshire is slowly becoming Ancapistan while California is becoming China but gay. Texas meanwhile is totally independent of the Federal government and puts a great deal of effort into what Federal governments around the world do, ie energy and border patrol. The states are insanely different.

[@ruzzelladrian907]

Integrating immigrants in Liechtenstein from countries that are western, democratic, capitalist, and secular is easy. But if said immigrants are from Sharia Law countries, that's a different story.

[@Mobin92]

The good thing is that it's small though, so you don't really have enough people to start radical communities. I.e. if you are a radical Muslim there, chances are that most of your friends are not. because you just can't easily find other people that share your specific interests. Unfortunately that goes both ways, so there are also no real interesting communities about other good topics... and most activities boil down to playing football and/or getting drunk.

[@tnerbtnerb5136]

Just going to point this out: the Prince freely admits his system only works as well as it does, and the government is capable of being so hands off, because of Lichtenstein's extremely small size. Furthermore, he recommends parsing larger countries into many smaller subsets and having local municipalities providing their OWN taxes to deal with social issues like welfare. So in the Prince's mind, the larger the Nation, the higher the taxes overall. And furthermore this raises an interesting point about Lichtenstein directly. This 1.4 percent tax rate...does that include *all* possible taxes? Or just what the National Government will take? Perhaps local groups cover additional considerations like healthcare (and consequencial tax hikes).

[@TedSchoenling]

indeed, large countries are a liability and lead to power hungry authoritarians and dictators.

[@diegotobaski9801]

@Kylem Not necessarily. A NATO sized initiative could help prevent that. Of course the funding would be better distributed

[@diegotobaski9801]

@Wesly Stanton No, it wouldn't. Why the hell would it need extreme amounts of power? I can't even think of a city in USA to compare to Lichtenstein, but that little size implies it would require little to protect it. If they are so easily crushed, then it's more than likely that they have very little that is valuable anyway. Also, I really have no idea what that last comparison is. There is virtually no country in the world that exists "all on its own". Maybe Madagascar, but even they don't live anything like cavemen. So that analogy doesn't even work.

[@princevesperal]

All countries are dependent on other countries to maintain their level of wealth! It has little to do with size. Almost any country that would try to live in autarchy would be miserable. Just look at North Korea. Liechtenstein is rich because it enriches its trading partners with goods and services. Did you know that the principality in a world leader in the manufacturing of dentistry equipment, for example?

[@princevesperal]

@Wesly Stanton No need to use such colorful language. I'm not saying that globalisation comes without risks; and of course, on a balance of interests, sometimes it will be preferable to limit free trade in order to preserve sovereignty. But in the big picture, the more trade partners an economic agent has, the better the trades can be, thus raising the standards of living in that country. Of course, autarchy is always a possibility, especially in a large county with abundant resources, but that would still mean sacrificing your current standards of living. Some countries are better than others to produce certains goods or services. The US is large, but where are it's coffee plantations? Coffee only grows in the tropics. Are Americans ready to live without coffee? If coffee raises your standard of living, then you require trade to import it. You're absolutely right that planet Earth can be considered one big autarchy. But that is directly reflected on our standards of living as well. Perhaps in five hundred years, people will look back at us with pity, thinking of just how poor Earthlings were before the solar system was colonized. The same way that most people were extremely poor in 1520. The United States used to be protectionist. It's economy boomed after it opened itself to trade. Again, I'm not saying that globalisation is wonderful in all its aspects, and you are right to point out that some elites are benefiting a lot more from it than the average Joe. But that is more of a domestic concern. Perhaps the best way to test the impact of international trade on your own life would be to experiment it for yourself. How about next month, you only buy goods and services produced in your home country. Nothing imported. See how much spending power you have when you are limited by those contraints. If you scorn "cheap stuff", you're basically telling the poorest people in your country that they should not be able to eat three meals a day, or have more than one or two sets of clothes.

[@MT-gk4yq]

I love how half the "aerial shots" are basically Mr. Rogers' model neighborhood.

[@tmsupreme7763]

It's a tax haven, that is how microstates operate. Look at Monaco or Luxembourgh

[@mooners544]

Oy vey, muh tax haven.

[@freedom_aint_free]

So, they are smaller than the District of Columbia?!

[@ezekielcashmanlegg4099]

baianoise lol my country is the same size of Indiana

[@PointnShootMovies]

Much, much smaller.

[@maxhydekyle2425]

They're smaller than most of the suburbs of DC

[@freedom_aint_free]

@@maxhydekyle2425 Geez, they are minuscule then! According to Wikipedia they have an aerea of aprox. 160 km2 what makes then basically the size of Brooklyn in NYC! But Brooklyn has a population of roughly 2.5 million, Liechtenstein has a population of little less than 40 thousand ! Everybody there could fit in a townhouse block in Brooklyn !

[@maxhydekyle2425]

@@freedom_aint_free Oh ya, my college has more people. They're a very odd country.

[@rplindeman2058]

Dude! You spoke to a Prince!

[@matthewbartke4424]

+Sleep Baby! The Prince of a country that has a population about the size of the suburb that I live in. lol

[@hexa3389]

I never thought anyone who's not a 5 year old girl would say that they were excited about a prince. Much less on a video about fucken libertarianism.

[@mr.giraffe7076]

He spoke to an absolute monarch!

[@junichiroyamashita]

@@matthewbartke4424 well,how many princes did you speak to?

[@austinbyrd1703]

@@matthewbartke4424 ...with the wealth of a nation

[@BrotherWoody1]

Liechtenstein is the only specifically Catholic nation left in Europe. That plus their size gives them a distinction that's otherwise unchallenged as far as "utopias" go.

[@Pheluv]

You’re forgetting the Vatican

[@CatholicNeil]

God bless them! I would live there if I can

[@maten146]

Others nation are Officially Catholic too (Vatican, Monaco or Andorre for exemple)

[@inmemoryofjstark7893]

@@Pheluv I mean if somehow the Vatican falls as a catholic country them the world's ending lmao

[@lonelyhetaliafangirl4936]

Liechtenstein protects unborn babies from abortion 🙏🏻

[@SapientSpaceApe]

In my experience, most Irish people don't give a shit about Polish immigration to Ireland. For the most part, the Poles have been very well received here. They're our friends, neighbours, and co-workers.

[@HotVoodooWitch]

I suspect the fact that most Polish people are Roman Catholic doesn't hurt.

[@ArnoldDarkshner99]

@@HotVoodooWitch Well the power of the Catholic Church has diminished massively in Ireland over the last 20-30 years, but Catholic Poles certainly have an easier time integrating than people from non-Catholic, non European countries.

[@roadhouse6999]

@@HotVoodooWitch OF COURSE I SUPPORT THE POLES COMIN' HERE! THEY'RE DILUTING THE PROTESTANT POPULATION, KATHLEEN!"

[@mallardofmodernia8092]

@@roadhouse6999 there are no protestants in ireland kathleen!

[@dogguy8603]

And of the Somali migrants?

[@jimwerther]

Liechtenstein: 61.5 sq miles, 39k people. Brooklyn (one of NYC's five boroughs): 69.5 sq miles, 2.6m people.

[@empirestate8791]

To be fair, Lichtenstein is incredibly small and mountainous. It has more registered companies than people. The country is used as a tax haven and offshore banking site. Small countries like Lichtenstein and Singapore can become wealthy like that, but large countries like the U.S. and India need to produce goods, not just offer banking services. After all, there's only a limited amount of money that people can put into banks!

[@Mobin92]

There's quite a lot of industry here too tbh.

[@Stewiehleba]

@@nowayjose668 Lichtenstein is so small that even with one relatively small productive compaty, they would be more industrializaed as a % than Germany.

[@austinbyrd1703]

Not an argument. Private industry is best at production. Money circulates. It doesn't magically vanish. It almost always funnels through the financial sector.

[@legendre007]

Very interesting! Just the other day I learned that the city of Gurgaon in India has a private firefighting service and that it even privatized wastewater management. And now you introduce me to Liechtenstein and its prince. I am definitely going to look further into this. Thank you. ^_^

[@legendre007]

+Qwerty Bastard Actually, that was covered in nineteenth-century England. What happened was that when fires spread, there was strict liability. What this means is that if your house was next door to me, and if a fire spread from my home to yours, you could sue me for property damage. That incentivized everyone to purchase fire insurance. Because insurance companies did want to pay out insurance money for fire damage, the insurance companies started private firefighting services. If you bought insurance from the company and then your house caught on fire, the insurance company would save money by putting out the fire rather have to pay for all the damage. The situation changed when legislators changed the law so that if a fire spread from my house to yours, I was not strictly liable. That reduced everyone's incentive for purchasing fire insurance. That's when fires spread everywhere and people falsely assumed the only solution was to "socialize" the institution of firefighting.

[@hagbard72]

+Terry Chatterton Friedman was a pinko.

[@kingmatt2563DABEST]

Oh cool the Libertarian movement is taking off in India.

[@chegadesuade]

+Robert Drake nice, race for the bottom, your movement is already small and you want it microscopic.

[@matray94]

legendre007 Actually a lot of volunteer fire departments are independent. They will actually make deals, like insurance, with towns near them. The only thing they get from the government is a tax free status.

[@patbateman2088]

Why didn't you ask him about moving to the gold standard? There are so many more questions you could ask someone who believes in libertarian ideas

[@oscargj2364]

No,because the gold Standard must to be international if arent the currency its apreciate and the exportations decrease

[@austinbyrd1703]

They should privatize currency as america did from 1870 to 1913, which subsequently led to the greatest & fastest rate of growth in living standards. In not only american history, but human history. A gold standard though a central bank still has its own huge issues dealing with exchange rates, ious, interest rates, inflation, bad loans, etc. Let the market choose the best currency for world & domestic trade, especially under the current climate if the dollar monopoly. Don't wanna get invaded & have huge sanctions placed on us lol.

[@bidhandahal8462]

Liechtenstein has an excellent standard of compulsory state funded healthcare with well trained Medical staff. The healthcare system in Liechtenstein is available to all citizens and registered residents. Private healthcare is also available here. All employed citizens and their employers contribute to the system. The Office of Public Health oversees the health service. All resident citizens are entitled by law to equal access to healthcare.

[@Mobin92]

The healthcare insurance is not public though, everyone is just forced by law to get basic insurance from a handful of private insurance companies. Only insurance for children under 18 is really free (the state pays your insurance premiums).

[@EmilNicolaiePerhinschi]

Lichtenstein is a tax haven

[@libertopaeurekananarch7562]

And probably one of the few good countries in Europe to live in!

[@Lroshardt]

And taxes are theft, I don’t see the problem

[@DominionWolf]

And guess what? That's a huge reason they're so successful comparatively. When the level of success is inversely proportional to your ideals, then your ideals are the problem.

[@EmilNicolaiePerhinschi]

@Gold yes, but they lobby all over Europe for higher taxes, so who's stealing ?

[@wclifton968gameplaystutorials]

Liechtenstien is just a tax haven for people storing money inside the country but I believe that theres a large wealth tax in the small country

[@zfan2591]

Technically the crown prince is referred to as "His/Your Serene Highness," but I think Prince Hans-Adam will let that slide. lol Great interview though.

[@yvesgomes]

Is the place like England, or is it hardcore monarchy?

[@LordDim1]

Yves Gomes it is a constitutional monarchy like the UK, but the princely family holds a lot more political power than the monarch in the UK. in fact, a few years ago the people of Liechtenstein voted in a referendum to give the Prince even more power.

[@yvesgomes]

Interesting! Thanks!

[@kmtforchina8916]

middle, think of vice president

[@josephkelarjian232]

Like the great Jim Thorpe, Olympic Champion said when introduced to the host head of state, the King of Norway, “Hiya, King!”

[@TheBrianp1]

Sometimes using strange women lying in ponds distributing swords as a basis of government works out pretty well.

[@counterstrifekid]

without better gun laws, I wouldn't call them a Utopia, but I really like where they are going.

[@MrRooibos123]

@Wesly Stanton yeah but the taxes to pay for that are still really low. I think income tax is at 1.2% or something and corporation tax is a flat rate of 12.5%.

[@ItsParker]

For Europe their pretty good ngl

[@dr.lyleevans6915]

Are they super relaxed on firearm legislation (laws? Since they are a monarchy, not sure if it is technically “legislation”), or very strict?

[@ItsParker]

@@dr.lyleevans6915 it's a semi-direct democracy as well in terms of gun laws it's basically california

[@princevesperal]

@@MrRooibos123 Liechtenstein also has a... (gasp!) *wealth tax* ! But the Constitution also provides that any of the 11 communes can legally secede at any time. So if living in an even smaller country does not phase you, there's always the path of creating whatever version of your utopia you dream of in a newly independent slice of Liechtenstein. Good luck beating the princely family in popularity or influence during the referendum, though! The sovereign commands a great deal of affection and loyalty from the citizens.

[@dogguy8603]

I just find it funny how, Lichtenstein, which is currently the closest thing to an absolute monarchy that is in Europe (the power of the price is quite far reaching) is also the most libertarian, it seems he passed it on to his kids. While he is the current price until his death, he is more or less retired and his son has taken responsibilities of the prince

[@elisabethandersen1102]

Dude just casually calls him prince. its His Royal Highness

[@Schnitz13]

If he's a citizen of Liechtenstein, he should call him Your serene highness" or whatever, but as a foreigner it makes no difference. It's like calling Elton John or Paul McCartney "Sir" in the US and Canada when those titles have no meaning outside of the UK.

[@Skateboardfreakist]

Some days ago I was biking in the forest near vaduz. Saw the prince of Liechtenstein there. And like half a year ago I saw him drink a coffee with his wife at a fast food place :)

[@adrian-4767]

@@Skateboardfreakist do you live in Liechtenstein? 😮 Were you born there?

[@tmsupreme7763]

Liechtenstein: The only european nation with a monarch that has political power. Reasontv: Is Liechtenstein a libetarian utopia?

[@swedishancap3672]

Shit, I guess hoppe was right. Private government is better than public government

[@theincrediblehulk2865]

Vatican City

[@rossn646]

It's funny because even the most prominent libertarians don't understand what libertarianism is.

[@matheuspinho4987]

The monarchy in the U.K still has political power, the Royal Army swears loyalty to the Queen, not the Parlament

[@rossn646]

@@matheuspinho4987 actually the Royal Navy and Royal air force swear to the Queen. The Army is just the British army and swears to parliament.

[@BooksBooks-oo9lz]

Wow, I learned so much from this video on Liechtenstein! It's amazing how such a small country has such a rich and complex history. If you're interested in learning more about Liechtenstein, I highly recommend the book 'A Journey Through Liechtenstein's Fascinating History' by Lea Marie Nigg. It's a beautiful and informative book that offers a unique perspective on Liechtenstein's history!

[@skeletonkeysproductionskp]

Fascinating video, 2nd time watching it, love it! Great inspiration for my own channel, I'd love to be as big as ReasonTV one day!

[@roadhouse6999]

Holy shit, Liechtenstein is actually an anarcho-monarchist country. Having worked in logistics both in the private sector and for the government, though, I am 1000% positive that smaller countries have an enormous advantage when it comes to internal economic prosperity - they're drastically easier to manage and don't get weighed down by bureaucracy as easily. The entire reason why the United States is so "backwards" in comparison to other Western countries is because it's the biggest Western country in population and one of the largest in land. The cost of providing services doesn't increase linearly as a country gets bigger, it increases exponentially.

[@j.fernandes6585]

Not Libertarian Enough.

[@andyreginald6272]

Libertarian Monarchy 👌

[@florcandela]

Thank you, ReasonTV, for a good interview with the Prince.

[@hegestratos2387]

Other ancaps referenced liechtenstein as the most libertarian place on earth (except liberland, but it's not really independent and recognized as liechtenstein).

[@ArtyCraftZ]

Onaj moron koji je stvorio Liberland ne zna ni ko je Rothbard.

[@hegestratos2387]

Captain Capitalism (Anarchist) Stvarno?

[@ArtyCraftZ]

WorldNPolitics Da. Skoro sam gledao njegov intervju sa Jeff Berwickom.

[@hegestratos2387]

Captain Capitalism (Anarchist) I sta je rekao?

[@ArtyCraftZ]

WorldNPolitics​ Nisam odgledao ni cetvrtinu videa jer nisam mogao da podnesem njegov akcenat. 

[@highontaiwan]

I'm thinking a monarchy, while not the best, is still better than a democracy. The monarch has an interest in his kingdom being prosperous for when he passes it down to the next generation. Politicians know that they are only in power for a limited time and do their best to loot the coffers as much as possible while they can. Some monarchs will be good, some bad, but politicians are almost always bad.

[@brentgordon3801]

You might want to read about monarchy in depth before claiming democracy is worse than monarchy

[@ArandomNutter]

Great talk, this place has a leader that leads by example.

[@HeilLoki]

It is almost impossible to become a citizen of Liechtenstein, if you're not rich. It's easy to have 40 % foreigners (many of them not living in Liechtenstein), if almost all of them are millionaires. Yeah, Liechtenstein is great and I like them (I live in a neighbouring country), but it is impossible to view them as an example for how the world should run. Ca. 100 refugees came to Liechtenstein (population 37.000) in 2015. Austria took in (at least) 80.000 refugees and has a population of (8 million). Liechtenstein doesn't take in nearly as much as my country. Sure, I'd love to have the same policies when it comes to refugees (well, 70 % are immigrants wanting to get social security money and full health care coverage from day 1, because I live in a deeply stupid socialist country.), but it is very easy to behave like Liechtenstein, if you're a tiny country. In short: 40 % foreigners: Yes, but only millinaires. Refugees: Yes, but not even close to other nations around Liechtenstein.

[@SuperFinGuy]

+BambisMother You've nailed it.

[@moosepwn]

+BambisMother Pick the cream of the crop.

[@hagbard72]

+BambisMother Damn, okay, unpacking my bags. Guess I'll look at Argentina or Uruguay then.

[@HeilLoki]

Guys, the devil is in the detail, right? I just don't like half truths and I especially don't like them, if they are coming from the political spectrum I like to associate myself with. Socialists and all the other morons can lie and tell half truths as much as they want, but "my guys" should be honest and don't distort reality. "My guys" shouldn't need dishonest tactics, because their world view shouldn't fear reality (unlike socialists) .

[@PatrickWiens82]

+Robert Drake don't do it. maybe Argentina now, or Chile, or Peru, but definitely not Uruguay.

[@JustineBrownsBookshelf]

I’m hearing conflicting things about Liechtenstein’s immigration policy. I heard one expert on the Tom Woods show state that it is extremely restricted, and that it takes about 30 years to gain citizenship. He’s actually in the process now (the expert, not Tom Woods)

[@Mobin92]

It's just restrictive because you need to get a job in a small job market, BUT you also can't already live near the border in Switzerland or Austria.

[@rogernevez5187]

Is there an official currency (legal tender) or citizens can decide which currency to use?? (ex: gold/silver)

[@christophercowherd8626]

Swiss Franc is the official currency

[@RawUndergroundMusic]

i'm just here to read the immature comments.

[@jaafit]

Fine

[@rubyhoney6177]

+Raw Underground Music If you want to read immature comments Go to a young earth creationist posts Or any feminist channel

[@RawUndergroundMusic]

+Ruby Honey I don't care about that stuff. I do consider myself libertarian.

[@nipal1234]

Hoppe's utopia.

[@breezyx976]

Do a vid on Lichtenstein vs San Marino, which is better/freeer!

[@jerlstif]

I have a few questions I would like to see and asked: number one, how easy is it to gain citizenship in his country? number two, how does he feel about personal firearm ownership? number three, what other rights are recognized by his government? and number four, what is his stance on financial systems and / or gold and silver as money?

[@maxhess3151]

Europe: _His Royal Highness the Prince Regnant of Liechtenstein._ Nick: _Prince._

[@goonholiday656]

Is Liechtenstein a Libertarian Utopia? Starts off with how much you’ll be taxed*

[@stevemarlow2232]

Liechtenstein is the Switzerland of Switzerland

[@Me-by8qi]

I'm thinking I might want to move there, but uprooting my life, away from my family, my friends...

[@aescubed]

I cannot square a monarchy with libertarian ethos. But stranger things have happened.

[@antigovernment9476]

But do they respect the Right to have Firearms

[@AlphaChimpEnergy]

Nick looks like a younger John B. Wells.

[@JonathanBartlesSWBGaming]

Mostly Libertarian myself, but your claim about the Republican party being hostile to ALL immigrants isn't factual. Hostile to illegal immigrants yes, but supportive of legal immigrants.

[@ronaldfrechette2045]

Hail to Liechtenstein! Hail to Liechtenstein! Business friendly country you are!

[@NT-fo3me]

3:45 And in comes the lie.

[@vicentegambini8907]

I was the 3k like btw (;;

[@josephreagan9545]

Why did they give up their banking secrecy? How were they pressured into doing so? And how could an aspiring seastead make itself immune to such pressure?

[@drmadjdsadjadi]

With the proposed 15% min corporate tax that seems to have a lot of traction and may be imposed on every country whether they like it or not by the OECD, can Liechtenstein eliminate its personal income tax?

[@generalsalami8875]

They don't have to oblige

[@drmadjdsadjadi]

@@generalsalami8875 Thanks! Glad to hear!

[@juliankonkani]

It's the Middle Eastern kingdoms that have the the highest percentage of foreign-born population. At No. 1 is Bahrain, followed by the UAE. Lichtenstein's only 40%. That might be lower than Saudi Arabia and every Gulf state.

[@emZee1994]

Constitutional Monarchies work so much better for liberty than Democracies ever could. Just ask Hans Herman Hoppe

[@sweetb0yz]

Monaco also

[@mabelheinzle2275]

So proud of our Prince

[@crystalitsasecrete917]

Cost of living in Liechtenstein is about 40% higher than in the states.

[@TOAOM123]

Dont they have an income tax rate of 15%+?

[@TD-lk6ge]

See the light!

[@mirzaahmed6589]

"Fine"

[@joshuastorlie6006]

...argues that modern government should treat citizens as customers who have the option to live elsewhere. It's funny, cuz as a person who has been all over the place, I guess I've always thought this. Problem is, in the US we generally don't actually consider that. To the typical 'Murican, moving out of the country is a punishment above most others. To me, it's just about what makes you personally happy, that's where you should live, not just living in a place cuz you were born there.

[@libertopaeurekananarch7562]

I definitely think that membership to a government should be voluntary, just like club membership!

[@JMJ1219]

Interesting how one of the most free and prosperous nations is one of the only nations to still have the closest thing to an old school Catholic monarchy. 🤔😏🇱🇮

[@modestchimp3124]

They have a lot of regulations on firearm ownership

[@thesaturdaytechchannelwith553]

Royal Republic of Liechtenstein?

[@calumcooper5190]

As an Irish person, I can safely say that we don't fucjing care what country you're from, just be a sound person. Most polish people are as sound as any given Irish person, so we don't have a problem

[@jeffkaplentm]

If only other countries would follow suit.

[@AnishBhethanabotla]

"the republican party is very hostile to immigration" shows picture of someone holding a sign that says "immigration=yes"

[@dredoc1]

Open-free-market economy, low taxes and responsible immigration policies. Less government power; more people power. It works.

[@Barca25644]

Someone send this video to Bernie Sanders quick

[@dr-sy1fs]

The EU is gradually turning into a USSR bureaucracy, if Lichtenstein becomes part of the EU they will be chained to the Titanic.

[@963hz]

37,000 people. This is about as big or smaller than Redondo Beach. The scale of how “well” they integrate refugees, percentage of foreign born people is minuscule, microscopic even, compared to a large country. So any program or policy they have will “be great” because the number of participants is so low.

[@upthereds1892]

Hoppeanism *Intensifies*

[@michaelmichael2382]

@Electro_blob 2 what woukd you prefer?

[@X3N4_pro]

I'd love to become a Liechtensteiner

[@harvelein]

hahaha so ein richtiger Liechtensteiner xD

[@ruzzelladrian907]

A royal pushing for liberty. The irony. But very impressive. Bravo.

[@notlance5795]

looks like master ugway

[@nilslindqvist8825]

Taking/hiding other people’s money works for a small country, not for others. If taxes where drastically cut, and regulations mostly gone, elsewhere they would need foreign aid.

[@TobiasWachter_07]

Hi Reason TV. You don't care about copyrights?

[@spywriter007]

It's not libertarian. It's got social security for old people and the state provides healthcare for its citizens.

[@yeahyeah9856]

Time to travel

[@MrYourcoffin]

Ok, but scale it up. Would it work for 300 million people.

[@danieldeburgh8437]

Polish are very welcome here in Ireland, granted there is some racism but they face little discrimination in schools, amd the workplace from what i have seen

[@jekyllhirsi1009]

As a Swiss, i would not mind if Liechtenstein conquered us

[@dennisjensen206]

Fürstentum Liechtenstein, found the holy spirit in troubel in Denmark. They should have helped the young King

[@edchaos2679]

I tried to start a Libertarian country but no one wanted to pay for it.

[@Fieldoak]

Just so every libertarian is aware. Lichtenstein has universal healthcare

[@ANONYMOUS__USER__]

Yes, but that doesn't take away from the fact that they are one of the most libertarian nations on earth, both in terms of economic and political freedom. Nations are always in a spectrum, there is no 100% libertarian nation on earth just as there are no 100% conservative or social democrat nations on earth.

[@generalsalami8875]

Minor exception. Overall libertarian

[@historyhongkong7521]

What's a cleaner's salary and living environment please? Do the cleaner own a house over there without any poor people?

[@shawndoe3806]

If they get less gun laws ill move there

[@jamesmorris9130]

Isn't a libertarian prince a contradiction in terms? I understand that most royalty in these countries are just figureheads, but the irony is still striking.

[@jeacoronel]

Does Liechtensten need a hardworking libertarian? Ill save up for a plane ticket!

[@user-rh3pe7um8d]

Do you speak German though?

[@kayedal-haddad]

Is it not classed as the wealthiest country per capita in the world?

[@jeronimotamayolopera4834]

DISMANTLE THE E.U.

[@kelper205]

Very bad idea. But you are welcome to leave

[@jeronimotamayolopera4834]

THERE ARE NOT UTOPIAS... THERE WON'T BE UTOPIAS.

[@nationalconservatismball7779]

Yeah yeah that's all fine and dandy, but can I carry a gun?