The best way to understand the voluntaryist perspective on politics is to realize that there are only two types of laws: 1) those that prohibit crime, and 2) those that prohibit liberties.
Category: One Voluntaryist’s Perspective
My Theory on Democracy
While reading the first few pages of Jason Brennan’s Against Democracy recently, the idea came to me (not directly from what I was reading, mind you) that the advent of modern democracy may have been the result of a desire by the landowning class to control the means of expropriation.
Some Views on Left and Right
“Left” and “Right” are a false dichotomy in most ways that count. However, I’ve noticed something that has caught my attention in how people who identify on either side view their fellow human beings, and thought I’d share.
Maintaining Victim Fluidity
The difference between crimes and non-crimes is that with the former, you have a real, identifiable victim, but with the latter, you don’t. Therefore, the government stands in place and assigns itself victimhood in order to bring charges. The more charges it brings as a victim (eg. The State vs…), the more revenue it generates. The more dynamically ambiguous it identifies itself as a victim, the richer and more entrenched in the fabric of society it gets.
Policing is an Insult to Justice
Since laws are backed by threat of violence, their enforcement is a criminal act. One cannot serve justice in the process of creating an injustice. It’s an impossibility.
Pelatarchy: When the Customer Reigns Supreme
Ultimately, customers decide what and when contents get exchanged in the context of voluntary human relations. This means that customers are the decision-makers of last resort, and supreme ruler over their engagements.
School Prepares Children for Life in the Real World
One of the greatest features of the modern age is the institution of schooling. The ability for parents to outsource their children’s education to people well-versed in pedagogy is nothing short of a miracle. While that’s swell on the academic front, schooling is also a great way to prepare children for life in the real world. Here are the top six ways.
It’s a Good Thing the Internet Makes it Easier for Crazies to Find Each Other
The fact that we political and parental radicals have found these ideas and each other is not only a silver lining to this larger phenomenon, nor should we who recognize this and the other kinds of crazy that are persisting and spreading lament it as such. I think we do our voluntaryist ideals a disservice when we do, which brings me to my second reason.
What Should We Do When a Loved One Starts a Life of Crime?
It’s not very often, but it’s not incredibly rare either that I hear a story by a fellow voluntaryist that a friend or family member has chosen to pursue a life of hunting down peaceful people, to either hurt them or to take their stuff.
Assumption of Risk, Where Art Thou?
One of the major lessons we learn growing up is understanding the concept of risk, that is, the possibility of getting hurt. Different activities have more or less risk as it concerns our physical safety. When we join a gym, our assumption of risk is explicit in the form of a written and signed waiver. This protects the gym from being sued when we injure ourselves. Does this concept have any place in the current discussion on sexual harassment and sexual assault?