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. As a voluntaryist, my primary modus operandi, even in the case of self-defense, is nonviolence. As such, I have a…
Tag: governance
Bitcoin and Unbreakable Law
Editor’s Pick. Written by Jacob Lyles. Imagine that you were entertaining a business deal with a man with an supernatural ability to make two kinds of promises: 1) promises that are impossible for him to break and 2) ordinary, breakable promises. Why would you accept anything other than the unbreakable promises from him? If he…
The State Is A Religious Institution
Editor’s Pick. Written by Michael Suede. On the website Debate.org, the question of whether government is necessary or not was put up for debate. One of the responses that was given in favor government being a necessity says: Without an enforcing government to have justice and keep the peace, I do believe that the human…
What Would a Free Society Look Like?
Written by Sandy Ikeda for The Freeman. From time to time someone asks me what I think a genuinely free society would look like. How would it be organized, and who, exactly, would build the roads? I know I’m not alone. My answer is always: I don’t know, and neither does anyone else. In a…
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 Case Against Democracy: The More Things Change, The More They Remain the Same
Written by Carl Watner for The Voluntaryist, August 1990. Democracy. For many, the word sums up what is desirable in human affairs. Democracy, and agitation for it, occurs all over the world: the Pro-Democracy movement in China during 1989; the democratic reform movements taking place in Eastern Europe and the U.S.S.R. resulting in the breakup…
Voluntary Governance
Written by Michael McConkey for The Libertarian Standard. As illegitimate as the involuntary nature of the state is, many people consider a wide range of what the state does to be thoroughly necessary. Some people value Pareto optimal outcomes, some don’t; some are willing to absorb more transaction costs than others; some worry about free…
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…
You Are an Individual
Guest post by Jesse Mathewson. The act of voting is a simple one, you make your way to the nearest voting booth, and after being barraged by endless television promotions and signage, you choose the one you believe is most likely to do what you want, and the least likely to do what your neighbors…
Security and Self-Governance
Guest post by Ron Paul. The senseless and horrific killings last week at a movie theater in Colorado reminded Americans that life is fragile and beautiful, and we should not take family, friends, and loved ones for granted. Our prayers go out to the injured victims and the families of those killed. As a nation…