An attempt at an analysis from the perspective of a free Swiss individual
What you’re about to read is the abridged and condensed English translation of a speech I gave in Munich in November 2023. You can find the full speech, in German with English subtitles, here.
It tackles the very difficult, but also very crucial, subject of individual freedom, or what is left of it these days, and it seeks to offer a constructive analysis from a Swiss perspective.
It is also focused on identifying the roots of the problems and challenges that liberty-minded individuals face today, and most importantly, it seeks to provide practical solutions to them and perhaps, hopefully shine a light on a way out and a way forward.
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I believe that what awaits us in the future is a revolution at the level of the individual. People will break away from the current system, seeking refuge in mountainous regions and countryside settings, where they can connect with like-minded individuals. They’ll opt out of traditional banking systems, choosing instead to invest in real assets with no counterparty risk, like physical gold and silver, and to prepare themselves for the uncertain times ahead.
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In the interest of clarity and transparency, I feel compelled to answer the question posed in the title, just so you know where I stand right off the bat.
Are we on the road to serfdom? Yes, I believe we are and we have been for a long time. A simple glance at the history of our monetary system confirms this. Gold has been the currency of kings, silver has been the currency of the bourgeoisie, barter is the money of the peasants, and “paper”, or debt, is the money of the servants.
This realization (and its fascinating implications) has fueled my passion for physical precious metals for over two decades, leading me to dedicate more than a decade of my professional life to this field. I’ve had the privilege of working with people who command themselves and who are certainly no servants — successful entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals, who think and act independently and who know the principles of a free and enlightened society.
My dear friends and esteemed colleagues who are also speaking at this event will outline their own investment cases, and they’ll explain the rationale, the angles and the fundamentals backing their positions. We all have different investing styles, strategic approaches, selection processes and specializations. We don’t agree on everything, far from it, but we do all recognize that today it makes sense to invest in real assets, to trade in commodities, and particularly in physical precious metals that you can store outside the banking system. Commodities are definitely undervalued and as has been said before: “Gold is money, everything else is credit”.
The investment case for physical gold is quite obviously self explanatory by now and I have nothing new or interesting to add to it.
So here, I’ll discuss some personal observations and I’ll share a few thoughts and ideas that led me to conclude that we have indeed been living as serfs for quite some time now. Before I jump in at that deep end though, it’s important to understand my background: my roots are Rhaetian, a people known for their resilience and defiance, nestled in the Swiss Alps region of Graubünden. These roots tie me to a heritage steeped in tradition that shapes my perspective on freedom and autonomy.
My origins therefore lie with the mountain tribes, which were organized in loose alliances together with other communities and municipalities from central Switzerland. We were also known as the “Cow-Swiss”, with the symbol of the cow posing a threat to aristocratic structures. Basically, we we were all anarchist mountain dwellers, challenging European nobility for two centuries. We were fiercely independent and we resisted any and all encroachment on our freedom.
The Alpine farmers of Graubünden and the inner Swiss thus form the origin of Switzerland as a nation born in freedom, bound by free will and united by self-determination. Plainly put, I come from the cultural sphere in Europe that has enjoyed freedom for the longest time. The Swiss fought for this freedom for 200 years and because of our success in doing so, we became the best paid mercenaries abroad thereafter.
This is ingrained in the DNA of Swiss culture. Self-sufficiency and autarky, bottom up, decentralized, autonomous structures and communes that voluntarily came together and cooperated. Each individual had a voice, each canton had a delegate and decisions required unanimous consent from all cantons. This is the origin of Switzerland’s system of direct democracy.
Our core principles of subsidiarity and of decentralization clearly echo the Aristotelian concept of Democracy; i.e. with the “Demos”, which is Greek for “the populace”, having the “Kratia”, meaning the rule. This is the recipe for success! Decentralization of power. That’s why we have seven presidents and not just one. Anarchy literally means “without a ruler.” The Swiss recognized only God above them, and their society was governed by principles and laws derived from this philosophy. “Anomie”, on the other hand, is a condition that the Left mistakenly equates with anarchy, though it couldn’t be more different: it stands for total chaos; no rules, no ethical values, no moral compass, not even basic human decency.
In the year 2000, I personally came to the realization that I had no idea what was happening in this world, much less why and how it was happening. Thus, I embarked on a journey of self-education, seeking clarity by delving into the works of Röpke, Hayek, Mises, Rothbard, as well as those of the great German Enlightenment thinkers such as Kant, Goethe, Schiller, and Hegel. My perspective is therefore rooted in the principles of freedom and I try to examine all important questions through an enlightened, dispassionate and rational lens. So, what follows is an honest, unfiltered discourse on freedom and personal responsibility.
Of course, I don’t profess to know the absolute truth, nor do I pretend that the following views and ideas should be accepted as axiomatic. To the contrary, I genuinely hope they’ll be questioned, challenged and freely debated. After all, it’s ideas that change the world and now, more than ever, we need an open competition of said ideas – to foster diversity of viewpoints, to encourage dialogue and to appreciate nuance, rather than resorting to oversimplification, tribalism and polarization. Let’s face it: the current system is a muppet show, it’s an absurdity that insults the intellect of any independent thinker, and offends any enlightened and free person.
But what does “enlightened and free” actually mean? Well, to begin with, it implies the existence of unshackled, critical thinkers who exercise reason autonomously, free from external influences. Reason alone guides us toward ethical, moral and decent choices. It simply makes sense to refrain from theft, deceit, and murder. The non-aggression principle forms the bedrock of any enlightened society; coercion and unprovoked violence can never serve as a solution.
Human beings are not a means to an end, they’re not mere tools and they most definitely are not statistical points; each individual is unique and has absolute sovereignty over their own body and mind, a right that no state can ever strip away. This right extends to the fruits of one’s labors which is why all rightfully acquired private property must be sacrosanct; it is untenable for the state to dictate who is essential or not, who can work or provide for their family.
Freedom of speech is also paramount. Enlightenment can only take root and spread when individuals are free to voice their ideas without fear of retribution for their thoughts, no matter how ridiculous, abhorrent or offensive the majority might deem them. The only way to defeat bad ideas is by openly exposing them and defeating them through better ones. We always have a choice—we can discern for ourselves what is morally right or wrong. Personal responsibility is key: I am accountable for myself, just as you are for yourself. It is preposterous for any individual to be to suddenly be deemed responsible for your health, as was suggested during the “plandemic”.
These are the fundamental pillars of a free society. However, as we’ve witnessed, these values have been trampled upon and egregiously violated, particularly over the past four years, with governments and state institutions treading on constitutional rights and overstepping their bounds. No government should wield authority over the body and mind of the individual; for without self-ownership, private property becomes meaningless. Borders delineate property; without them, the very concept of ownership disintegrates.
I refuse to be treated as a servant, and I trust you share this sentiment. What we are currently experiencing is a regression towards barbarism and savagery — a terrifying and absurd resurgence of Marxism and communism. History serves as a grim testament to the countless lives lost and the immense suffering inflicted by these toxic, misanthropic and truly evil ideologies. This is why I fiercely oppose, loudly object to and refuse to participate in this twisted, depraved and inhumane farce any longer.
Our society is fractured, with idealists pitted against materialists. The materialist view of humanity reduces individuals to mere automatons, bereft of free will or self-determination, susceptible to conditioning, indistinguishable from animals. This manipulation operates on a cycle: create a problem, provoke a reaction, offer a solution—an insidious method developed and employed by the Frankfurt School, aimed at homogenizing human behavior. After all, total conformity and uniformity is the goal of this sordid and vile ideology – according to this doctrine, idiosyncratic characteristics, personal, individual thoughts and independent, original ideas are either nonexistent or inconsequential; we are merely products of society.
The family unit is regarded by Marxists as the breeding ground of fascism and authoritarianism. In this worldview, there is no room for God; in fact there is no room for anything and anyone that can threaten the absolute authority of the State. This is what I call “the cult of reason” – if there is no God, everyone and anyone can claim divine status and absolute authority. Marxism argues that ideas are not independent constructs of the human mind, but rather reflections, or perhaps better described as “symptoms”, of materialism, underscoring their disdain for humanity’s capacity for critical thinking.
According to Marxists, humans are incapable of distinguishing right from wrong without guidance and they are nothing more than slabs of meat, to be cynically exploited like any other natural resource, brutally misused like any beast of burden or sadistically subjugated and objectified like cattle. The idea of the “centrally administered economy”, as Walter Eucken called it, is still very much alive and well, as the collective is once again above the individual, who is the smallest and most vulnerable minority, the only one that merits protection.
Language itself is once again under siege too, with notions like ‘hate speech’, that we already know from communism – policing and manipulating words is a crude but effective way to police and manipulate thoughts and ideas too. To wit, 81 percent of Germans do not dare express their opinions freely at home in front of own family. That says a lot about the society we live in.
Think for example of the current LGBT debate and the especially the “trans issues” that have polarized our societies in the West, with lobbying campaigns and activist efforts pushing for legislation that is perceived by so many citizens as a distortion of logic. How can a child that’s deemed too young to choose their bedtime be allowed, if not encouraged, to undergo “gender affirming” treatments, ranging from hormone therapy and “puberty blockers” to actual surgical procedures, most of which are widely considered high-risk and are known to cause irreversible, permanent changes to their body ? It’s utter nonsense, it’s blatantly absurd!
Yet somehow it still works. Look, for instance, at Trier, where a Karl Marx statue was erected in 2018. Former President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, held a speech to honor the occasion in which he hailed Karl Marx as a “forward-thinking philosopher” and he exhaled his ideas and his legacy. This was the intellectual he and thousands, if not millions, of others celebrated – and still do. Not Kant, not Hegel, not Schiller, not Goethe. “Divide and conquer” is the oldest trick in the book, along with fear-mongering, propaganda and “shock and awe” tactics, all of which we’ve been seeing in the West since the covid crisis- There is nothing new under the sun.
Let us also examine the phenomenon of “woke” culture and “critical race theory”, that has been gaining traction in the US for years and that has arguably already captured vital political and social institutions and state authorities. It’s essentially Marxism repackaged, perpetuating a two-class system that divides the people and defines them as either oppressors and oppressed. Today’s “oppressors” are defined as white, heterosexual, and Christian — these are the “bad guys”, a politically convenient scapegoat and a popular blame-shifting ploy to avoid accountability for governmental failures, incompetence, corruption and abuses by the powers that be and the resulting economic and societal woes.
The covid crisis is a great example. I firmly believe the State overstepped a red line and so did countless others, including distinguished scientists and acclaimed academics who are much more qualified than any of us “civilians” to weigh in on this matter. This “common sense consensus” became clear to me early on, from the interviews I conducted in April 2020 with experts from various fields, who all opposed the disproportionate, mostly unconstitutional and shockingly authoritarian measures imposed by governments worldwide. (For the ones interested in the interviews: www.planetlockdownfilm.com)
We talked to virologists, epidemiologists, statesmen, economics professors, private company owners and entrepreneurs – and according to the Washington Post and Forbes, we reached twenty million people before the movie was even published. But we got canceled and censored everywhere, because the interviews were apparently politically incorrect.
I remember one scene, where I interviewed Václav Klaus in Prague– it was the first weekend of curfew at 6 o’clock in the evening. I asked him about the quarantines and the social distancing rules. He instantly and astutely highlighted the parallels between these restrictions to human interaction and the tactics of communism; destroying horizontal relationships to facilitate totalitarian control.
Another memory which comes to mind is the surreal and chilling walk I had through this city of millions that looked like a ghost town or some kind of post-apocalyptic wasteland after 6 o’clock in the evening. It looked, sounded, smelled and felt so unnatural, so wrong, so disconcerting and so terminally and irrevocably lifeless. I said to myself: I don’t really care about those in power, those who give the orders and who seek to dominate their fellow humans. They are a minority, they are transparent in their intentions, they are purposeless and feeble and they are to be pitied rather than feared. But all those ordinary citizens, who believed they were free, independent and freethinking individuals, those who gave in to primal fear and instantly traded their freedom for the illusion of security and who blindly followed and obeyed every command, no matter how ludicrous or irrational…. That’s what’s truly terrifying.
In my opinion, the pandemic served as a testing ground to push the boundaries of individual freedom and compliance. I also see it as a symbolic “coronation” of sorts, marking the culmination of a prolonged assault on Western civilization and its Enlightenment values. The devastating impact it had on small and medium-sized enterprises broke the backbone of a healthy society. Lockdowns, curfews, travel restrictions, and self-isolation orders all evoked wartime, or perhaps prison, conditions. Even some of the most liberal-minded people I knew (or I thought I knew) before this crisis, abandoned their values and principles in the blink of an eye, and turned to the State for protection and reassurance.
At the same time, this crisis facilitated a significant wealth redistribution, favoring large corporations that were seen as “too big to fail” while decimating the productive capacity of smaller businesses. However, any centralized economy is inherently flawed, as it lacks the efficiency of market-driven pricing mechanisms. The inescapable misallocation of resources, the disastrous malinvestments and the subsequent impoverishment of the populace are the inevitable consequences of centralized planning.
Moreover, “mass migration policies”, driven by political agendas, exacerbate societal alienation by uprooting individuals from their cultural and ancestral origins. This deliberate erosion of cultural identity contributes to the broader agenda of societal homogenization. The clash of civilizations, as predicted by Samuel P. Huntington, looms on the horizon, as is particularly evident in the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East. War is the health of the state and the state is the only one benefiting.
Let us now shift our focus to the Green Agenda. Germany is being de-industrialized, as the ambitious energy transition plan, relying heavily on wind and solar energy, has (predictably) proven to be unrealistic and impractical, given the significant proportion of energy derived from conventional sources such as coal, oil, gas, and nuclear power. All the overly optimistic claims and promises of the past few years that renewable sources could fully replace conventional energy sources have been discredited as unfounded and unrealistic. The whole idea of energy transition will only take us back to the Stone Ages. Attempting to cover 95 percent of our energy demand through wind turbines and solar panels, in order to replace our current supply which is predominantly derived from coal, oil, gas, and nuclear power, is simply absurd.
While we’re still on the “green economy” issue, it is also worth noting that CO2 is a natural fertilizer for our planet and it currently stands at the lowest levels it’s ever been. The more CO2 we have in the atmosphere, the greener this planet is. However, certain so-called “intellectuals” and self-proclaimed “experts” are peddling the idea that it is CO2 that is actually destroying our world, conveniently overlooking the artificial climate manipulation and geo-engineering conducted by governments.
Turning our attention to the current monetary system, it’s clear that it only serves as a cozy alliance between Big Business and Big Government. In 2017, global debt stood at $233 trillion. Today we are at $313 trillion. A number like that is near-impossible to fully comprehend and practically appreciate for most humans. So I always try to explain it like this: Think of a trillion seconds – could you guess how many years that is? It doesn’t sound like much, intuitively, it’s just seconds after all. However, one trillion seconds actually translates to 31’709 years.
Fiat money has been a useful and effective tool for government and their central banks for decades, but the levels of debt accumulated, the recklessness of the “print and spend” policies and the heavy handed manipulation of the markets and the economy have all pushed the entire system to its limits. The house of cards is collapsing, and as Lenin said, “to destroy the bourgeois society, one has to destroy its monetary system”. And that’s exactly what’s happening today.
When it comes to politics, a quote by Shakespeare comes to mind; “‘Tis the time’s plague when madmen lead the blind.” It’s a competition of crooks, where those who can’t make it elsewhere flock to politics, where they can be shielded from the consequences of their actions. Their self-righteous attitudes allow them to dictate our lives, thoughts, and behaviors — it’s a sociopathic power trip and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
On the geopolitical front, the mid- to long term outlook looks equally grim. In the 90s, the world seemed to be coming together, but now it’s splintering apart once more. The divide between East and West, the old geopolitical strategies like Mackinder’s Heartland theory, all come into play. Europe and Asia were historically kept apart to prevent a single market spanning from Vladivostok to Lisbon. The international division of labor which we had set up, the global supply chains which we have built up, have all been systematically destroyed in recent years. Corruption, deception, self-interest and dishonesty best describe the world politics of our day.
Mainstream and social media, more often than not, serve as the State’s propagandists. They embrace the “divide and conquer” mantra, limiting public discourse to a single, simple and “approved” narrative. No deviations are permitted and any dissenting views, doubts or objections are automatically labeled “misinformation”, “hate speech”, “policy violations”, or they are assigned whatever other tag that allows the suppression of such unwelcome ideas or even the digital excommunication of the individual who formed and expressed them.
Aristotle wrote, “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” These days however, such curious, agile and liberated minds seem to be nearly extinct. It’s as ironic as it is tragic, as these are the very same minds that we need to course-correct and to find our way back to a free, healthy and productive society.
After discussing everything that’s wrong with the world today and outlining all the terrible problems and challenges we’re faced with, It is now time to talk about solutions. “Live and let live”. This is my suggestion.
Those who want to lock themselves up, who cast their vote at the ballot box, who want to trade their freedom for security, let them do it. Let them live in the prison they build for themselves and let them suffer under the boot of the rulers they asked for and gladly paid for. But those who reject this future should be given the opportunity to leave this system peacefully.
We’ll see what lies ahead. The prospect of increased surveillance, facial recognition akin to China’s, and restrictions based on differing opinions is obviously very concerning. And with Central Bank Digital Coins (CBDCs), the threat of total State control, eliminating the possibility of bank runs and eradicating whatever remains of the idea of privacy and financial sovereignty, becomes a primary risk. Digital IDs or Modern Monetary Theory policies, like the Universal Basic Income, no longer seem as far fetched or laughable as they once did. As Václav Klaus said, “We know this from communism, this universal basic income!” – and as mentioned before, there is nothing new under the sun.
This is why I believe a revolution at the level of the individual lies ahead. I am confident that more and more rational, responsible and free thinking people will choose to “opt out”, seeking refuge in the mountains and the countryside, forming communities based on shared values, and protecting themselves from the crises, corruption and instability of the banking and monetary system by investing in tangible assets like gold and silver. I believe that we are now standing at a historical crossroads, on the verge of a major and consequential shift. I therefore expect that this transition will be very challenging, very formidable and intense, but I am absolutely certain it will be worth it.
Always remember: “Freedom is not everything, but without Freedom, everything is nothing.”
Thank you!
Full speech with subtitles: https://rumble.com/embed/v56owvx/?pub=wpmtz
Full speech in German on YouTube (no subtitles): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpqCrTXtZzM
Claudio Grass, Hünenberg See, Switzerland. www.claudiograss.ch
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