Photo/Illutration The supermarket in Akita Prefecture where a bear attacked an employee (Yasuhiro Kumabe)

It is believed that Elon Musk and other tech entrepreneurs contributed to Donald Trump’s win in the U.S. presidential election by donating money and drumming up support for him through social media.

It is also said they all believe in libertarianism.

While I was reading scores of books to learn about the concept, I came across an interesting book on libertarians and bears.

“A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear” by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling features a true story that happened in a small town in the U.S. northeast.

A group of people who prioritized individual freedom and despised government intervention moved into the town to launch the “Free Town Project.”

Then the town was visited by many hungry bears.

Residents shot bears with guns. Some fed them with doughnuts. Others holed up in their homes.

Because they all dealt with the animals according to their own free will, they refused to report the bear problem to the authorities or help them control the number of bears.

And because they also hated taxes and had slashed the town’s budget, they all disposed of garbage in different ways. They didn’t realize that this practice was feeding the bears.

Although libertarians share common values characterized by free market principles, minimal state intervention and social tolerance, their views on each of those ideals can come in many different forms.

Thanks to the extreme freedom exerted by the settlers in the town, the number of bears increased.

That, coupled with internal conflict among the settlers, caused their project to fall apart.

Relationships with wild animals are difficult.

Even when residents report a problem to authorities, administrative officials perform their duties and police step in, it is not easy to resolve the issue.

There have been many cases in Japan where bears appeared in human settlements.

Just the other day, a bear attacked an employee at a supermarket in Akita and holed up in the store for two days.

It is important to set up clear boundaries between bear habitats and human dwellings to keep the animals from getting too close to humans, not to mention to save both from unhappiness.

—The Asahi Shimbun, December 4

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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