What is normal? It’s that which adheres to prevailing norms. Norms vary from place to place, context to context. When your evolving ideologies and practices cause you to feel not normal (abnormal), that’s just an indication that they are adhering less and less to the prevailing norms around you. Feeling not normal can be its own…
Category: Two Cents
On Profits
As lamentable as profit is for some people, the state can only guarantee it for some while denying it for others. If profits are taxed away, then the state is guaranteeing it for themselves and their constituents. If production is prohibited or made more costly, then the state is guaranteeing it for those who aren’t…
On Hierarchy II
Are echelons of authority (misnomer: hierarchy) un-anarchistic? While I think it’s reasonable to predict that there will be fewer associations organized in an echelonical manner in a free society than under a culture of statism, the prevalence of echelony is evidence that it’s an efficient and sometimes necessary form of organization. Can a movie or…
On Labels
I find labels useful. It’s a quick way to classify the basic intellectual positions of people. I’ve given myself many labels: libertarian, voluntaryist, anarchist, agorist, legal polycentrist, decentralist, abolitionist, apatheist, nihilist, radical unschooler, peaceful parent, non-punitive parent, liberty-lover, peacemonger, and on and on. I’ve given myself these labels according to my understanding of them. What if…
On Bosses
When many so-called anarchists think of bosses, they do so with disdain. They consider bosses the same way they consider rulers, ie. illegitimate and unnecessary. Are they? Do they exercise illegitimate authority over workers? And is their place in the business unnecessary? On authority, so long as the worker is not being coerced by the…
On Positive Rights
I read something recently that contained within it the perfect argument against positive rights. It was this: “Imagine two socialists on a deserted island, both demanding the right to education, healthcare, and basic income.” Positive rights are those which require the use of coercion by some over others, such as each of these. Clearly, such…
On Hierarchy
Hierarchy is an unfortunate misnomer. Etymologically, hier means “sacred” and archy means “ruler”, giving us “sacred ruler” as the etymological definition of hierarchy. Theocracy has hierarchy; you could even say that certain conceptions have God as a hierarch. In popular usage, however, it’s used to refer to echelons of authority, inside and outside of government. Because anarchists…
On What We Tell Children
I’ve met some gullible people, but on the whole, children are much more gullible than adults. This is obviously true because children are still somewhere in the process of developing their rational faculties. So, if we have something to tell a child, what if we thought about how it would be received by a less gullible…
On Children and Love
I have both experienced and witnessed a child showing affection and humility toward a parent who’s previously spanked (or punished) them. I wonder… Is this an act of genuine love? The child having come to terms with his parent’s behavior and chosen to forgive? Or… Is it an act of self-defense? An attempt by the…
On Child Misbehavior II
“Misbehavior” is actually just a euphemism for “behavior that I subjectively find inappropriate or that makes me uncomfortable.” A newborn’s crying is as valid a target of being characterized as “misbehavior” as is a child running around screaming in a library. Would spanking the newborn be an appropriate response? No? Why not? Smart answer: because…