The earliest people did this. Their oral traditions were passed on, repeated around campfires, and learned by heart in some cases. Today we have media which make it easy to re-visit stories. What hasn’t changed is our need to keep these stories close to us.
Tag: change
Pushing People into Social Warfare
It is easy to hold fond sentiments of humanity and the majority of individuals when government is small (or non-existent). People are just trying to get along, provide for themselves and carve a small niche in this world. Any shortcomings, delusions, flaws, or misplaced emotions can often be disregarded and ignored. We can see our shared humanity and have empathy for each other’s existence. Once large government comes around things radically change.
If Murder Were Legal
True believers in the deity known as “government” often make random, arbitrary, dire predictions about what would happen in the absence of a political ruling class. This is almost always driven by the fear of the unknown, rather than being driven by an objective consideration of human nature. Consider the following thought experiment as an example: Suppose that tomorrow, the federal and all of the state legislatures in the U.S. repealed all laws against homicide—what would actually happen if murder were “legalized”?
Watching Children Learn Naturally
Watching children learn naturally, while following their own interests, is nothing short of astonishing. It shouldn’t be, of course. We shouldn’t be surprised that giving children freedom and autonomy, and trusting them to pursue passions most meaningful to them, would lead to deep and lasting learning. But Self-Directed Education is so rare in our widely schooled society that most of us don’t get the opportunity to see what learning without schooling (including school-at-home) looks like. Self-Directed Education, or unschooling, is strikingly different from schooling–in all of its various iterations.
The Voluntarist Messaging Problem
Why do we voluntarists struggle to convince people of the fruits of our vision? Why do people look at us as crazy when we say we don’t need a government to do anything? Is it because kids have been indoctrinated in government schools for generations? Perhaps, but I don’t think this is the majority or even a large minority of the cause.
Trading Places
“What protection teaches us, is to do to ourselves in time of peace what enemies seek to do to us in time of war.” –Henry George When Donald Trump can propose tariffs on imported steel, aluminum, washing machines, and solar-panels without being roundly booed off the stage, one has to wonder if reason has any…
Why I Love Being An Adult Unschooler
If you already know the term “unschooling” it is likely you (just like me) associate that term with children, adolescents, and teens. School aged people. We typically don’t think of adults as unschoolers, but sort of recently I was looking at my life and how I live it and had a realization… I am an unschooler, too!
What is Voluntaryism?
I was, in fact, challenged as to “What is a voluntaryist?” I will, from time to time, read a piece, in the SIG for Writers to which I belong, where I will claim to be a “voluntaryist.” Although curiosity will kill the cat, someone decided to query how and why I was using the word, “voluntaryist.”
Capitalism vs. Socialism: The Bruenig-Caplan Debate
“Capitalism” and “socialism” – what do these words even mean? You could just say that capitalism is the economic system of countries like the United States, and socialism is the economic system of countries like the former Soviet Union. In that case, I’d say that capitalism is at least ok, while socialism is hell on earth. Perhaps my opponent would even agree! It’s more fruitful, though, to treat capitalism and socialism as positions on the ideal economic system. Something like: the capitalist ideal is that government plays very little role in the economy – and the socialist ideal is that government plays the leading role in the economy. In that case, I say that capitalism is awesome, and socialism is terrible.
The March Challenge: One Small Change, One Big Impact
We’ve just started the third month of the year, and with the realization that this year is slipping past us so quickly … I’m issuing a challenge to all of you. My March Challenge is to pick one small change that will have a big impact on your life. One small change you can do every day. Then do it every single day, at the same time every day.