We’ve encountered some reasonable refutations of this premise, with the biggest critique being around the claim that it’s “self-evident”. In that way, it looks like the other weak arguments. When I’m asked to prove that I own myself, I don’t have a quick and easy answer, I can’t produce a receipt. But I am responsible for my actions, and I chose how and when to use my body. These are qualities of ownership. And even with a gun pointed at my head, the decision to cooperate is still ultimately mine. I couldn’t forfeit control if I wanted to.
Tag: honor
The Idea of Trust
“To be a good human being is to have a kind of openness to the world, an ability to trust uncertain things beyond your own control.” — Martha Nussbaum
The Transition from Slavery to Freedom
I sometimes hear people, including freedom advocates, pondering how society might “transition” from an authoritarian system to a stateless society. The implication is that there could be some sort of gradual, peaceful phasing in of freedom, and a phasing out of governmental controls. But that is not how things works, and not how things will ever work.
Raining on the Parade
Some people have proposed that Trump’s parade be postponed until all the wars the U.S. government is waging are finished and the troops are back home. That would indeed be an indefinite postponement, and I wouldn’t want to see a parade even then. But if that’s the price for ending those imperial wars, I’ll take it.
Partitions IX — Abstract
As a software engineer, I learned that there are only two things that you can do with entities, combine them or separate them, sort them or collect them. In the real world, one has a third option, leave them alone. This works well as long as there is no principled reason to engage with them.
The Church of America
“Perhaps we should read the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause — ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion’ — not as a mandated separation of religion and state but as a non-compete clause.”
The Power and Danger of Being a Geek
Stories were always meant as starting points, not end points. We should hear the story from the storyteller, learn the lesson, and go out to create our own stories. One day we’ll be able to tell them, but first we’ve got to experience them.
UPDATED March 2018: The Homeschooling and Liberty Podcast
I am very pleased to announce The Homeschooling and Liberty Summit, which begins February 1st, and continues through the end of the month. It is an absolute honor to be involved in something of this magnitude, along with so many giants in the liberty and unschooling world. Ron Paul, Peter Gray, Pat Farenga, Pam Laricchia, Tom Woods, Thaddeus Russell, Scott Noelle, Skyler Collins, and the list goes on!
Computational Thinking
Any field of endeavor will, as time goes by, become increasingly more populated by those with low barriers to entry, not by those who will climb the obstacles to excellence. We have to learn to gauge the probabilities of dealing satisfactorily with all types of objects.
Oprah for President? Why Not?
In my opinion, Oprah would beat The Donald like a drum in a presidential contest. I disagree with both of them on too many issues to vote for either one, but I relish a contest to which representatives of the failed political establishment aren’t invited.