Moral Libertarians Factbook (Closed)

[Moral Libertarians]

OOC: Please don't post anything here; any questions etc. should be TGed to me, thanks.

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Factbook of the Republic of Moral Libertarians

Produced for general consumption by DWG Publishing House Ltd.

Contents
1. Geography
2. People
3. History
4. Method Of Governance
5. Economy
6. Military
7. Communications

[Moral Libertarians]

Geography


Basic Geography

The Republic of Moral Libertarians occupies a small island in the Pacific Ocean. The island is situated in the northern hemisphere, and enjoys a temperate climate with winter temperatures rarely dropping below -9*C (15.9*F) and summer temperatures peaking at around 34*C (93.2*F). The island's coastline is 1,912 km long, and its area is 23,615 sq km. The country claims territorial waters of, at maximum, 22km (14mi) from and economic rights to any mineral, oil, natural gas etc. discoveries that lie wholly or partially within 350km (217.5mi) of its coastline. The highest elevation is Mount Rayn at 613m (2,011ft), part of the Raynian hill range, and the lowest elevation is the bottom of the Timberus Valley, 1.5m below sea level.

Land Use

Moral Libertarian's only major resource so far discovered is its forest cover; over 70% of the island is woodland. These forests are mostly comprised of ash and silver birch trees. Ash makes good firewood, and many poorer households use it for heating purposes rather than expensive imported natural gas. Birch also makes good firewood; it is prized by furniture makers for its quality, and its chemical extracts have many industrial uses. The exploitation of these trees provides a substantial amount of material for export, as well as ensuring low construction costs. 12% of the island's area is given over to farming, mostly of basic food crops like wheat. 5% of land is settled, and the remainder is mostly grassland with some lakes in the island's interior.

Environmental Hazards

The island benefits from a stable environment: it is tectonically inactive, and climatic extremes are rare. Recently, there has been concern over the use of pesticides and their possible effects on the forests; in response, many farmers have been adopting genetically-modified crops. Some groups have also called for conservation of the forests to prevent rapid deforestation. Their concerns have largely been ignored, with society generally agreeing to put economic growth before environmentalism.

[Moral Libertarians]

People


Population: 1,567,000 (March 2011 est.)

Age Structure:
0-18: 158,630
19-70: 1,291,590
71 and over: 116,780

Median age:
Total: 36.8
Male: 36.4
Female: 37.1

Population Growth Rate: 0.45% (2011 est.)

Birth Rate: 9.04/1000 population
Death Rate: 8.35/1000 population
Net Migration Rate: 0.51/1000 population

Urbanisation: 91%
Urbanisation Growth: 0.2% (2010)

Major City Population:
Alecedon: 397,000
Silva: 312,000
Presterley: 201,000
Arberus: 107,000
Worthington: 96,000
Lexley: 78,000

Sex Ratio (male/female):
At birth: 1.11
0-18: 1.1
16-70: 0.9
71 and over: 0.82

Life Expectancy at Birth:
Total population: 76.8 years
Male: 74.2 years
Female: 79.7 years

Fertility Rate: 1.54 children/woman

Ethnic Groups: Caucasian - 90%; Black - 5%; Asian - 3%; Other - 2%

Religious Affiliation: Christian - 63%; Muslim - 5%; Other - 2%; Atheist/Non-religious - 30%

Languages: English

Literacy: 98%

[Moral Libertarians]

History

Moral Libertarians is a young nation, originally founded by an informal alliance of multinational corporations, the Libertarian Societal Initiative (LSI), in the mid-20th century. The catalyst of the chain of events that led to the country's founding occurred in the year 1923. The LSI's representatives had been active in an authoritarian county, working to promote economic and civil freedoms in order to gain access to the country's markets. Later that year, protests erupted in several major cities against the government.The tyrannical national authority deployed troops across the nation to regain control, and tens of thousands died. It promptly proceeded to accuse the LSI of promoting 'dissent' and 'unrest', and arrested several key corporate liaisons. What remained of the LSI's branch in that country pulled out. The events convinced the corporations that the anarchist society they desired would be impossible to achieve in an existing country, and they effectively ceased all projects worldwide. Over the next few decades, the LSI's members concentrated on expanding their businesses. Through the next two decades, the corporations grew rich and powerful. Eventually, the 'core' of the Initiative was composed of dozens of multinational corporations spanning a variety of industries.

It was at this point that a suggestion emerged that, rather than attempt to transform existing societies, the LSI should found their own nation, one which would be free from government interference and a testament to the free market. A vote took place among the representatives of its constituent companies on 23rd March, 1949 - of the thirty-eight corporations, thirty-two gave assent. The vote was accompanied by fierce debate, but eventually the decision was made. The LSI commenced a search for a suitable location, preferably far from other countries, and three months later, they found what they were looking for - a small, temperate, heavily forested island in the Pacific ocean. The only activity was that of a logging outfit, the Pacifica Forestry Company, which effectively owned the island. In October 1950, the LSI began a three-month period of negotiations to buy out the PFC, which culminated in a multibillion-dollar deal that handed control of the island to the LSI. Having acquired this ownership, the Libertarian Societal Initiative was dismantled and the few assets it directly controlled transferred to the government of the newly declared nation, the Republic of Moral Libertarians. Most of the member firms moved their corporate headquarters to the new country.

Over the next decade, the various companies began to develop the country. Their task was complicated by the island's relative lack of mineral or oil & gas deposits; its primary resource was (and still is today) its forests. Still, they were able to establish the capital city, Alecedon, on the site of the Pacifica Forestry Company's administrative facility.

The Immigration Years

1967-1972: The first wave of immigrants began to arrive. These were largely employees and managers of the former LSI's corporations and their families, and one hundred thousand moved into the capital over a five-year period. They commanded enough skills and manpower to start fully developing the capital, greatly expanding its capacity.
1974-1985: The stateless free market society of the fledgling nation encouraged a second wave of immigration which swelled Moral Libertarians' population to 800,000. Silva was founded in June 1977, and Presterley in July 1984. The new immigrants came from a hugely diverse range of nations, but interestingly, the large majority were Christians of Caucasian ethnicity. The sprawling multinationals continued to dominate various market segments, contrary to the predictions of many economists.
1986-1999: This decade saw a rapid expansion of the country's population and economy, with new towns and cities springing up all over the island. Arberus, Worthington and Lexley were founded within three years of each other (1989-1992). However, from 1994 onward, the pace of expansion began to slow, primarily due to the limiting factor of a lack of natural resources. The port at Alecedon alone expanded its capacity by a factor of nearly forty from its 1965 level, but there was, and still is, a finite limit on the volume of goods which can be imported. Another factor, though, was the accelerating decrease in the size and power of the multinationals as the island's infrastructure advanced enough to support open competition. This meant that it was harder for them to muster up huge financial resources to continue the economic expansion, and the wave of new businesses did not yet have the ability to expand abroad and benefit from economies of scale. As these factors grew more significant, the influx of new immigrants began to tail off; nevertheless, Moral Libertarians finished the millennium with a population of just over 1,600,000.

In recent years, GDP growth has slowed: thus, the population has shrunk slightly in the last decade as some who could no longer afford Moral Libertarians' high cost of living migrated. As a result, the country's population stood at 1,567,000 in 2010. The economy has recently shown signs of recovery, however; small business ownership is on the rise across the nation. This merely continues a trend, observed over the last two decades, of the shrinking median size of businesses, as free competition begins to erode the power of the huge multinationals that founded the country.

[Moral Libertarians]

Method of Governance

Country Name:
Long form: The Republic of Moral Libertarians
Short form: Moral Libertarians
Common form: Moral Libs, ML
Nationality: N/A
Government Type: None/Anarchist
Capital City: Alecedon, pop. 397,000
Date founded: 28th February 1951
National Holiday: Founding Day (28th February)

The founding ideology of Moral Libertarians was to create a nation entirely free from coercive state control, one that would allow the free market to work unfettered. All the corporations that founded the country did was to publish a 'constitution' that stated their opposition to the concept of a state and established a sovereign territory in which they could base themselves. There is no taxation, or indeed a national government; the market forces operate freely without regulation or restriction.

Law Enforcement

Law in the country is produced privately and openly on the market. Each private court forms its own unique brand of law, tailored to certain consumers. They sell this package to the various private law agencies, who sell it on to the consumer. Any crimes against that consumer are judged by the law package they have selected. This system allows every individual to select a legal code that best matches their ethics and/or needs.
In the event of a crime against an individual or company, the victim's private security firm will attempt to bring the perpetrator to justice. Whether the victim can pay for the service immediately is not usually a concern; if enough evidence exists to form a compelling case, the firm will pursue the criminal as they can share in the compensation awarded. An additional deterrent exists in the form of a 'multiplier'. The financial penalty imposed on the criminal is composed of the estimated value of the harm to the victim, divided by the average probability of that type of crime being successfully resolved. The effect of this is that the potential perpetrator of a crime for which he faces a low probability of retribution will now be confronted, if he is caught, with a penalty that outweighs the benefit he expects to receive (assuming the cost to the victim is fully transferred to the criminal as gain). This calculation will deter him from carrying out the deed.
So-called "victimless crimes" do not exist in Moral Libertarians, as to convict someone for them would be a violation of their individual rights.

[Moral Libertarians]

Economy

Currency: NationStates Dollar (NS$)

All GDP and trade figures are for fiscal 2010; all employment figures are from May 2011.
GDP: $80,418,440,000
GDP per Capita: $51,320
Exports (annual): $23,154,930,000
Imports (annual): $24,211,007,000
Population in Poverty (<$2 per day): 3,290 (0.21%)

Population: 1,567,000
Labour Force: 1,291,600
Employment: 1,213,680 (94.0%)
Unemployment: 77,920 (6.0%)
Rate of Inflation: 4.0% (CPI), 5.3% (RPI)
Marginal Propensity to Consume (Spending-Income Ratio): 0.75
Fiscal Year: 1st July - 30th June

Moral Libertarians' economy is entirely composed of private sector activity.
The largest individual industries, in terms of employment and contribution to GDP, are the logging, construction, retail and technology sectors. As almost all raw materials must be imported, the various firms that deal in the distribution of goods hold a large sway over the economy, but manufacturers and technology exporters are major economic contributors as well.
Unions and other worker protection organisations are fairly uncommon in Moral Libertarians. Labour disputes between individual workers and employers are largely settled in court; companies therefore have an incentive to avoid disputes.
There are many consumer organisations that bring lawsuits against businesses deemed to be monopolising a particular good or service, or providing products that are too highly-priced or low quality.

[Moral Libertarians]

Military

Moral Libertarians' isolated location and lack of domestic resources greatly reduces the threat of foreign aggression, but there is a general agreement that an element of defence capability is required. Thus, in 1972, the Moral Libertarians Defence Force (MLDF) was established following negotiations between twenty smaller multinationals and domestic corporations. It encouraged firms, and even wealthy citizens, unable to afford sufficient private security for asset protection in wartime to contribute to funding the MLDF, in return for the promise of defence of key personnel and facilities in the event of hostilities.
It is organised as a limited company - MLDF Holdings Ltd - whose shares are held by firms that are signatories of the Defence Charter, the force's founding document. As the force expanded its capabilities, more and more firms saw its security benefits; today, over 85% of firms with market capitalisations of $1 million or greater are members. The MLDF procures a small proportion its weapons from domestic manufacturers, but most armaments are imported from foreign nations. The forces' budget - entirely funded by annual contributions from signatories - was $985m in fiscal 2010.
The MLDF is divided into three main branches: the Ground Combat Division (GCD), the Aerial Combat Division (ACD), and the Coastal Defence and Security Division (CDSD). Together, the three forces are tiny in comparison with other nations' militaries, totalling just 3,000 active members. These are all employees of MLDF Holdings Ltd.

Manpower (active): 3,000
Manpower (fit for military service): 1,132,000
Citizens reaching Military Age (2010): 31,450

Ground Combat Division
The GCD comprises four tank platoons, collectively designated the Armoured Troop, with nine mobile howitzers for artillery support; and the 1st Infantry Battalion, which comprises 1,500 soldiers. The Armoured Troop is equipped with sixteen advanced foreign-built main battle tanks, nine armoured howitzers, and ten armoured personal carriers equipped with anti-tank missiles. The 1st Infantry equips its troops with assault rifles, powerful handguns and thermobaric grenades, while each squad is armed with a grenade rifle. For transport, the Battalion employs 50 APCs.

Aerial Combat Division
Moral Libertarians' air force is based out of Manwell Airfield, 10km from Silva, with a reserve airstrip on the northern coast. The ACD possesses over forty propellor-engined warplanes dating from the 1940s; these are stored in the reserve airstrip. Manwell hosts 4 highly advanced air superiority fighters to act as interceptors. Both airfields are protected by sophisticated anti-air systems.

Coastal Defence and Security Division
More of a coast guard than a navy, the CDSD is responsible for patrolling Moral Libertarian's territory and preventing unwanted naval incursions. The fleet currently consists of ten Daly-class patrol vessels, tasked with preventing piracy and other violence against its clients' vessels.

[Moral Libertarians]

Communications

Telephones (April 2011):
Landline: 870,621
Mobile Cellular: 1,742,000

Telephone System: Some buried lines, but the domestic network is largely composed of microwave relays. High investment by the multinationals has resulted in a rapidly growing sophisticated fibre-optic cable network. International connectivity is mostly handled by satellite uplinks and submarine cables.

Broadcast Media: Several commercial broadcast networks compete for market share, offering a mixture of cable and satellite TV packages. Some firms lease channels from these providers in order to provide advertising and information about their services. There are a plethora of radio stations which constantly buy and sell rights to different frequencies.

Internet Hosts: 114,100 (February 2011)
Internet Users: 1,354,890 (February 2011)
Internet Country Code: .ml