Written by Jacob G. Hornberger for The Future of Freedom Foundation. If there is a more emotionally painful experience than a parent’s losing a child, I can’t imagine what it would be. The emotional wound is raw and goes down to the deepest recesses of a person’s heart and soul. And as we see with…
Tag: death
Social Stability, Rule of Law, and the Free Society
Written by Wheylous for The Voluntaryist Reader. Democracy has been hailed as the great system of governance that keeps a nation balanced on the thin line between authoritarianism and lawless anarchy. The voluntaryist’s suggestion that the core responsibilities of the state – provision of courts, police, and national defense – be demonopolized (that is, allowed…
The State’s Anti-Responsibility Vortex
Written by Wrong-Opinion for FreedomFeens.com. Is the blood of a 16 year old American boy on the hands of Obama? If not Obama, then the military commander who passed the order to a soldier? If not him, the soldier who pressed the proverbial big red button, sending a radio signal to a drone, thereby launching…
Crime and the Voluntaryist
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. The primary means to solving problems for the voluntaryist are always nonviolent and peaceful. Persuasion, education, protest, boycotts, nonviolent…
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…
Is Voting an Act of Violence?
Guest post by Carl Watner. Originally published in The Voluntaryist, April 2000. Hans Sherrer, a subscriber to The Voluntaryist, sent me an essay entitled “Voting Is An Act of Violence,” which began with the statement “Voting is the most violent act someone can commit in his lifetime.” How true is this? First, let us define our…
Ben Speers
“Toward Freedom” is an Everything-Voluntary.com series sharing personal stories about the journey toward freedom. Archived stories can be found here. Submit your story to the editor. A lot of people go through life without ever questioning things, but I’ve always identified with Socrates’ sentiment that the unexamined life isn’t worth living. In the realm of…
Securing Property Rights in the Absence of a State
Guest post by George F. Smith. Many Rothbardians are vowing not to vote in this or any election since voting only supports the State. But I wonder if they could be persuaded otherwise if they knew one of the ballot choices were to dissolve the governments and replace them with voluntary market institutions. Of course,…
Open Systems vs. Closed Systems
Guest post by Joseph Dejan. Originally published in The Voluntaryist, February 1987. To the academic question of more or less government, we may find more useful to compare the political structure with the voluntary system. To sustain life and maximize his well-being, organized human efforts are mandatory. Individually, man may survive, but complete independence requires…
Facilitating Our Children’s Desires
Guest post by Nicole Olsen. For two years now my daughter Katy has wanted a cat. No, wanted isn’t really the right word. Passionately desired with every fiber of her being is more like it. At first, I kind of figured it was a passing phase. After all, she was barely five years old. Her tastes changed…