Imagine a society where a government no longer monopolizes law enforcement. In this social arrangement, the responsibility for community safety shifts. Because nature abhors vacuums—and criminals love 'em—private firms, clubs, and mutual aid societies will step in.

Such is life in New America, where a decentralized network of private protection firms has replaced traditional monopoly police forces in some territory. At first, this might seem chaotic or unworkable:

How on earth could a society function without a centralized authority to enforce the law?

New Americans have built a system that works, driven by market competition, accountability, and self-sovereign choices. Let's see if we can overcome failures of imagination that too often limit our understanding of what's possible with reform.

A Contract for Community Safety

In New America, people don't rely on a monopoly authority to protect them. Instead, they sign and renew contracts with private protection firms, tailoring their security to their budgets and needs.

These contracts are straightforward. The firm commits to safeguarding its clients, while the clients agree to pay fees and abide by the firm's rules. They can go shopping if they don't like the rules or fee schedule. Otherwise, it's an agreement that blends autonomy with responsibility.

Protection is a service offering. But that's not all.

Hybridizing the service with insurance makes things more interesting. If a client becomes a victim, their firm helps compensate them and then seeks to recover those costs from the perpetrator. Firms aren't limitless deep pockets, though. Their liability is capped at what they can realistically reclaim from offenders. This keeps the system practical and incentivizes firms to pursue justice efficiently. But given that compensatory justice is baked in, it's better than requiring offenders to *pay their debt to society* when they should be paying their debts to victims.