First published in 1979, J. Neil Schulman’s Alongside Night was referred to by the great Milton Friedman as “A cautionary tale with a disturbing resemblance to past history and future possibilities.” Thirty years later those “future possibilities” may be upon us. With ever-increasing governmental oversight of our lives and wallets Schulman’s fiction may soon be housed among non-fiction titles.

Wiki’s overview of the book notes that “The story is set in United States on the brink of economic collapse, where inflation is spiraling out of control and the government struggles to keep hold of its power.” Sound familiar? (page 173):

We’re told we have a government by popular consent. At least in one sense that’s true. Every government always exercises the  maximum amount of power its rulers feel the people will stand for without revolting. If this government — or an element within it — is drastically increasing its use of power, than the leaders either feel they have the popular support — or apathy — to get away with it, or they’re taking desperate chances because they’re being pressed to the wall. . .the government has been increasingly ‘pressed to the wall’ for the past quarter century by fiscal responsibilities. And if you can judge by last week’s demonstrations, there’s little popular support.

And, relying heavily on smarter minds from the Austrian School, I’d argue that those fiscal responsibilities were created and exacerbated by the government. After the conclusion of the book (don’t worry, not a plot spoiler) Schulman wrote (pg. 266):

. . . the libertarians in my story aren’t libertarians because they spout all the theories, and demonstrate . . . They’re libertarians because they’re living their lives in accordance with libertarian principles. They have something concrete to offer: safe area, free trade zones, communication and transportation immune from the State, ways to beat the system. Not words, but action. Not promises, but results. And that’s precisely what will have to happen before we can deal with this nightmare that we’re “alongside.”

He continues (page 269):

My intent with Alongside Night was to show, by dramatic example, the major preconditions for the achievement of the free society. My theme: freedom works. My context: the political economic mess that the theories of Austrian economics say must end in collapse . . . My plot: the events leading up to and culminating in the collapse of the American economy, and the arising of the underground economy given conscious identity by libertarian revolutionaries.

Let’s get started.

For more, check out the Agora!, Austrian Economics and End the Fed groups on Bureaucrash Social.

And thanks to my bud Jason Talley for lending me this book. Check out just one of his projects: Fr33 Agents.