Here is the standard false alternative beloved by politicians seeking to justify their own violence-based power. The fallacy is clear when stated this way: Since individuals acting in isolation aren’t capable of doing many things they want done, government should take charge and see that they are done.
Tag: cooperation
The Contradiction of Collectivist-Anarchy
Writes buffalo-samurai: It should probably be stated that every sensible man has in their heart the ultimate desire and wish for a condition of infinite abundance with peaceful harmony for their fellow man. It is my personal belief that the cause of all discord among men is the belief in how this situation can be…
The Stateless Equilibrium
Written by Predrag Rajsic for Mises.org. The stateless market society—a peaceful social arrangement based on voluntary relations among individuals in which the state is not present—is not a popular idea. Many people believe that this society would lack the capacity to define and enforce property rights, and that this would result in chaos, tyranny of…
The Open Society
Written by F. A. Harper, as published in The Voluntaryist, April 1992. The advantages of an open society on a world basis have been explored to only a slight degree and would seem to deserve much more thought as a solution for solving major international problems. To see its potential, one might think of how…
What Can I Do?
Writes Free Your Kids: I cannot end the wars. I could call my congressman, send him emails, write editorials, and participate in anti-war marches until my feet fall off. No one gives a damn. I could vote for a candidate who promised to end the wars, but would he do it? Maybe. Maybe not. Either…
Libertarian Corruption
Send him mail. “One Voluntaryist’s Perspective” is an original bi-weekly column appearing every other Monday at Everything-Voluntary.com, by the founder and editor Skyler J. Collins. Archived columns can be found here. OVP-only RSS feed available here. Walter Block has argued that taking money from the government, in whatever form, is a libertarian virtue. If we…
The Virtues of Competition
Differing attitudes about market competition divide people needlessly. An appreciation of what competition makes possible could prepare the ground for a convergence between libertarians and those we might call latent libertarians, that is, those who value individual liberty but don’t yet see the market as its natural home.
My Peace
Guest post by R. S. Jaggard. Originally published in The Voluntaryist, June 1988. My Peace is more than just the absence of war. My Peace is that positive attitude in which I recognize that you are an individual person. I respect you, I respect your right to live in Peace, and, I want to work…
The Power of Non-Violent Resistance
Guest post by Jerry M. Tinker. Originally published in The Voluntaryist, August 1987. As many writers have noted, the basic thesis, or strategy, upon which Gandhi’s satyagraha and all non-violent resistance rests is that all structures of power – government and social organizations – always depend upon the voluntary cooperation of great numbers of people…
Spankings, Surplus Crops, and Infant Schooling
Send him mail. “One Voluntaryist’s Perspective” is an original weekly column appearing every Monday at Everything-Voluntary.com, by the founder and editor Skyler J. Collins. Archived columns can be found here. OVP-only RSS feed available here. As mentioned in the inaugural edition of this column, I will give my voluntaryist perspective on “two or three” popular…