Nobody asked but … The only philosophical debate I got into with family at Thanksgiving ended with me being told in stern tones that “there will always be government, even if there are only two people!” But, on calm reflection, the critical issue is whether that government is voluntary. It is not voluntary when…
Tag: authoritarian
Regulating the Internet
Nobody asked but … One of my students, today, was clearly upset because he had heard on the radio that POTUS was seeking to hand the reins of the Internet over to the FCC, Federal Communication Commission. I am sure that politicians see that as feasible, but the fact is that “the Internet” is merely…
Rude Awakening
Nobody asked but … Statists fear that some morning they may wake up in a cold, dreary world, an utopian anarchia like the worlds in The Walking Dead, or Falling Skies, or The Last Ship. Not to fear. Anarchy in a society would at best be a flash in a pan. In fact, all of…
Whence Cometh Respect?
Send him mail. “One Improved Unit” is an original column appearing sporadically on Thursday at Everything-Voluntary.com, by the founder and editor Skyler J. Collins. Archived columns can be found here. OIU-only RSS feed available here. I think that many people are confused about what respect is and where it comes from. Some claim that respect…
Seen and Unseen, Vonnegut, Fallacy #15
Send him mail. “Finding the Challenges” is an original column appearing every other Wednesday at Everything-Voluntary.com, by Verbal Vol. Verbal is a software engineer, college professor, corporate information officer, life long student, farmer, libertarian, literarian, student of computer science and self-ordering phenomena. Archived columns can be found here. FTC-only RSS feed available here. As a…
A Thousand Rivers
Editor’s Pick. Written by Carol Black. One day I watched a nine-year-old boy as he led a group of children scrambling over Vasquez Rocks, a great sandstone formation that slants up out of the California desert. He was one of those magnetic, electrical, radiant boys; kind to the younger ones, strong, quick, inquisitive, sharp as…
How to Promote Liberty
Send him mail. “One Voluntaryist’s Perspective” is an original column appearing most Mondays at Everything-Voluntary.com, by the founder and editor Skyler J. Collins. Archived columns can be found here. OVP-only RSS feed available here. We voluntaryists have a problem. We value liberty and hate the state. We want to see the former grow and the…
Fallacy #9, Thought-Word-Deed, Spooner Quote #2
Send him mail. “Finding the Challenges” is an original column appearing every other Wednesday at Everything-Voluntary.com, by Verbal Vol. Verbal is a software engineer, college professor, corporate information officer, life long student, farmer, libertarian, literarian, student of computer science and self-ordering phenomena. Archived columns can be found here. FTC-only RSS feed available here. My father,…
On Power
Without regard to intentions, what one is seeking when he is seeking political office is power. Whether it’s for dismantling the state or expanding it, power is seen by the office-seeker as necessary to obtain. They want something done that they are currently powerless to do. They believe that with enough power, they can finally move…
A Law of Nature
Nobody asked but … A voluntaryist may frequently talk about the laws of nature in an abstract way, urging that we consider natural law as good and artificial laws (legislation, governmental regulation, rules, authoritarianism, even in many cases traditions and religions) as bad. The fact is that natural laws are only inevitable, having good or…