New Logo for EVC

The EVC – Everything-Voluntary.com logo has been updated to reflect my growing desire to be more inclusive of all people who, while gathering under the umbrella of voluntaryism, bring with them ideologies outside of the classical liberal, austro-libertarian, and anarcho-capitalist traditions (the right). I am referring to ideologies such as historical anarchism, left or socialist anarchism, anarcho-communism, anarcho-syndicalism, anarcho-[you name it], mutualism, market anarchismet cetera (the left).

While I’ve done my share of criticizing of leftist ideology, and while that’s academic, how ideology is realized is very important to me. Voluntaryism may have historically come from the classical liberal, austro-libertarian, anarcho-capitalist tradition, which has as fundamental the absolute right to private property, it can be inclusive of any ideology that’s realized via the application of the voluntary principle, that all human relations should happen voluntarily, or not at all.

What does this mean? It means that when’s there’s a conflict over scarce resources, as scarcity is wont to create, peaceful negotiation and nonviolent resistance are the primary tools used in dispute resolution. For voluntaryists coming from the right, it means not shooting people on sight who are trespassing on your private property, or otherwise resorting to the deadliest forms of self-defense unless absolutely necessary for peaceful resolution. For voluntaryists coming from the left, it means not violently seizing what others consider their private property, eg. the “means of production” and what not.

Both sides have valid and invalid criticisms of the other on the academic level, but both can also agree to talk first, shoot later, as it were. I don’t really think it’d be much of an issue in a stateless society. As I wrote on the development of property norms under voluntaryism,

Because there is no state in a free society to enforce a particular theory of property over everyone, people who value peaceful coexistence will recognize the various property theories and over time the property norms that emerge will have been based on a mixture of that which is defended by force and that which is defended by reason. Gun ownership will be widespread and so people will think twice before simply taking what is already claimed by others, occupied or not. Instead, I expect that this show of force will lead most people to negotiate with one another on how the available resources should be allocated.

And concluded with,

I predict that in a free society most property will be that which is occupied and used by the owner, while only some will be that where the owner or owners are absent.

An adherence to the voluntary principle first and foremost, I believe, is the only way to a free society for all. Now let me explain the logo itself.

For five years now the logo incorporated the yellow/black “v for voluntary” insignia, first as the V in Everything-Voluntary.com, and as of a couple of years ago, the V in EVC. That first logo can still be seen embedded in the first additions to the EVC in Color series. The yellow/black coloring comes from anarcho-capitalist symbology, the black representing anarchism or statelessness, and the yellow representing gold, or free market currency, or free market capitalism (as opposed to state capitalism or corporatism).

Within the new logo remains the shell of the “v for voluntary” insignia, the outer-V being all black in color, representing statelessness (anarchism). The inner-v is yellow on its right and red on its left (from the V’s perspective), representing the entire spectrum of anarchism, from left to right. Had the other anarchist ideology colors been added, the logo would have given off a strong “gay pride” feel, which is not the focus of EVC in particular. Between and above the yellow/red inner-v is a gray wedge, representing agorism.

Agorism “is a libertarian social philosophy that advocates creating a society in which all relations between people are voluntary exchanges by means of counter-economics, thus engaging with aspects of peaceful revolution.” The reason for its inclusion and position is to serve as a reminder to all sides the primacy of the voluntary principle. If the prevailing property norms in a given stateless society are anarcho-capitalistic (private property), agorist-based agitation would take the form of building alternative institutions within the counter economy. And conversely, if the prevailing property norms in a given stateless society are anarcho-communistic or -socialistic (communal property), agorist-based agitation would likewise take the form of building alternative institutions within the counter economy. What should be obvious is the agorist adherence to the voluntary principle rather than on violent revolution.

And there it is, the background and explanation for the new EVC logo. I realize it will rub some people wrong, and hug others, but what forward-thinking, truly progressive movement didn’t?