Guest post by Eric Peters. The other day I had a chat with a neighbor friend. He posed a rhetorical question, “You do believe some taxes are necessary, right?” Rather than debate the merits of this or that tax, this or that function funded by taxes – I merely replied that as a non-violent person…
Tag: consent
America as an Historical Advance in Political Ethics
Guest post by Spencer Morgan. As an advocate of stateless human organization, or voluntaryism, I’ve often been faced with the dilemma of how to evaluate America in light of that ethical position. Is there any amount of reverence or appreciation warranted or does the nationalistic mythology about freedom need to be entirely discarded? Below are…
When Does Law Become Criminal?
Post by Skyler J. Collins. Originally written August 2011. If you’ve ever criticized taxation in front of an average statist, be them liberal or conservative, you know that it quickly turns awkward. They insist that taxation is necessary for certain services and that they’re happy to pay it. They sometimes even assume you’re advocating not…
Toward a Voluntaryist Praxis
Guest post by Nicholas Hooton.“When philosophy dies, action begins.” – Casey Maddox The overwhelming resurgence of interest in voluntaryist philosophy over the past five years has been inspiring to witness. It enjoyed a brief spotlight in the early 1980s with Carl Watner’s publication of The Voluntaryist newsletter; but the communication technology of the early 21st…
Cannabis to the Rescue
If everyone approached everyone else on a basis of mutual consent, then we wouldn’t have laws that would have kept this person a lifetime patient of the medical-industrial complex. Down with drug laws. They are a violation of our rights, and often times sentence people to a lifetime of misery. Spread this story far and…
What it Means to be an Anarcho-Capitalist
Guest post by Stephan Kinsella. Originally published at LewRockwell.com, January 20th, 2004. Butler Shaffer’s recent LRC article, What is Anarchy?, prompted discussion on the Reason blog and inspired me to set down a few ideas I’ve also had along these lines. Libertarian opponents of anarchy are attacking a straw man. Their arguments are usually utilitarian…
Now Available: Everything Voluntary – From Politics to Parenting
BREAKING NEWS! Everything Voluntary – From Politics to Parenting is now available for purchase or download! Go to the book’s project site for links! From the Introduction: The mainstream political, education, and parenting philosophies all have one thing in common: promoting the domination of one group of people over another. In politics, this is the…
Chapter 17 – The Trouble with Traditional Schooling
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section Three – Free Market Resources 17 The Trouble with Traditional Schooling by Vahram G. Diehl Traditional concepts and applications of learning have generally been one-sided. The “teacher” transmits information in the form of conclusions through words and images, while the “students” are expected to act as flawless receivers and adopters…
Chapter 15 – Why Socialism Must Fail
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section Three – Chapter 14 – “Historical Capitalism vs. the Free Market” by Richard Ebeling 15 Why Socialism Must Fail by Hans-Hermann Hoppe Socialism and capitalism* offer radically different solutions to the problem posed by scarcity: everybody can’t have everything they want when they want it, so how can we effectively…
Chapter 9 – For Conscience’s Sake
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section Two – Chapter 8 – “The Historical Origins of Voluntaryism” by James Luther Adams 9 For Conscience’s Sake by Carl Watner George Smith, in his essay “Philosophies of Toleration,’’ reviews the history of freedom of religion and identifies the moral axiom of “righteous persecution,” which has been part of most…