dr. hfn
08-15-2009, 01:22 AM
I dedicate this article to reviving in our society the single greatest invention in human history, the Philosophy of Liberty. Liberty is based on the principle of self-ownership. No person or group of persons but you owns your life and likewise you don't own any other person's life. Denying that you own your life implies that someone else has a higher claim on your life than you. You are the sole and sovereign owner of your life and property, which is the fruit of your labor attained through talent, time, and energy. Property is the part of nature that you turn to valuable use.
Property can be given to others only through voluntary exchange and mutual consent. So two people who exchange property are better off or they wouldn't do it and only you can make the decision to exchange your property. Sometimes though, force or fraud is used to take from others without voluntary consent. Use of force or fraud to take life is murder, to take liberty is slavery, and to take property is theft. This is the same no matter if it's done by one person acting alone, many against the few, or people in expensive suits and fine hats. You have the right to protect your life, liberty, and property from the forceful aggression of others. However, you don't have the right to initiate force against the life, liberty, or property of others. Therefore you also have no right to make others initiate force against others for yourself. One has the right to seek leaders for oneself, but not to impose rulers on others. Officials are human beings too so they also have no rights or claims that are higher than those of any other human beings no matter what imaginative labels they give themselves or how many people encourage them. Officials have no right to murder, enslave, or steal. Since you own your life you are also responsible for it and you choose your own goals based on your own values. Success and failure are unavoidable and necessary to grow.
This is the basis for a free society and it is the most practical, humanitarian, and ethical foundation. Problems in the world that come about as a result of initiation of force by government have a solution. This solution is to stop asking government to initiate force against others on your behalf. Evil not only arises from evil people, but also from good people who tolerate the use of force as a means to their own ends. In this way good people have empowered evil people throughout all of human history. Having confidence in a free society is to focus on the process of discovery in the marketplace of ideas instead of on an imposed vision or goal. Using government force to impose a vision or goal on others is wrong and results in perverted and unintended consequences. The only way to a free society is to think, talk, and act especially when it's easier to do absolutely nothing.
Property can be given to others only through voluntary exchange and mutual consent. So two people who exchange property are better off or they wouldn't do it and only you can make the decision to exchange your property. Sometimes though, force or fraud is used to take from others without voluntary consent. Use of force or fraud to take life is murder, to take liberty is slavery, and to take property is theft. This is the same no matter if it's done by one person acting alone, many against the few, or people in expensive suits and fine hats. You have the right to protect your life, liberty, and property from the forceful aggression of others. However, you don't have the right to initiate force against the life, liberty, or property of others. Therefore you also have no right to make others initiate force against others for yourself. One has the right to seek leaders for oneself, but not to impose rulers on others. Officials are human beings too so they also have no rights or claims that are higher than those of any other human beings no matter what imaginative labels they give themselves or how many people encourage them. Officials have no right to murder, enslave, or steal. Since you own your life you are also responsible for it and you choose your own goals based on your own values. Success and failure are unavoidable and necessary to grow.
This is the basis for a free society and it is the most practical, humanitarian, and ethical foundation. Problems in the world that come about as a result of initiation of force by government have a solution. This solution is to stop asking government to initiate force against others on your behalf. Evil not only arises from evil people, but also from good people who tolerate the use of force as a means to their own ends. In this way good people have empowered evil people throughout all of human history. Having confidence in a free society is to focus on the process of discovery in the marketplace of ideas instead of on an imposed vision or goal. Using government force to impose a vision or goal on others is wrong and results in perverted and unintended consequences. The only way to a free society is to think, talk, and act especially when it's easier to do absolutely nothing.