Many voluntaryists have looked longingly toward Somalia for evidence of our ideas in practice. But it’s a little tough when that real-world example also happens to be the quintessential image of extreme poverty and feuding warlords for most people. Nonetheless, sometimes an article appears that rightly points out that comparing Somalia to developed nations is a little intellectually dishonest. In fact, Somalia has improved by virtually every measure of standard of living without a state, or when compared to its neighbors that still have a state.
Tag: money
Voluntaryists are Moral Agents, not Soothsayers
As a Voluntaryist, I do not claim to know how society will work without the state. I am not a central planner, fortuneteller, oracle, or soothsayer. The anarchist stance is only proclaiming that nobody has the moral right to rule and that my life is not owned by any politician or state. I live my life of my own accord and accept the consequences of my actions.
In Praise of Political Apathy
My children are both non-voters. They have little to no interest in politics. To them it is a big waste of time. They have more important things to do – like develop careers, enjoy the company of friends, have a good time and just live their lives. Some, on both the left and the right, would condemn them as apathetic.
Valuable Things Should be Free?
As of today, subscriptions to my blog are voluntary. You can pay, or spend the rest of your life in a cage (or die if you resist). But since you have that choice, or you can choose to move to North Korea instead of paying, it’s voluntary. Right? I mean, the “tax” collectors at the IRS wouldn’t lie about what “voluntary” means, would they?
Government: Always a Bad Deal
When the average, well-trained statist says, “I’m proud to pay my taxes, because I like to have roads!” they are demonstrating not only a serious degree of Stockholm Syndrome (it’s pretty stupid to be “proud” of being forced to buy a product, even if the product is good), but they are also demonstrating profound economic ignorance.
Nobody Owns Anything
Throughout my tenure as an anarchist one thing has always set me apart from everyone else: my beliefs around the concept of property and ownership. These are some real foundational beliefs for me, because it is based on them that I evaluate various things like “capitalism”, “socialism”, “communism”, even “economics” writ large. My beliefs on ownership are ones that I have largely kept silent about, but recently I have been feeling the need to sit down and elucidate my thoughts on the subject. So here it goes.
Setting Myself Up To Fail?
I’m doing it. I’m making a New Year resolution. Unfortunately, it’s not the kind that I find easy to make stick, but the other kind. I’m still going to give it a shot and, toward the long-term goal, I give myself permission to slip sometimes (although I will expect to be scolded if I do).
Thought Experiments on The Violence of The State
I just wanted to take a moment and demonstrate how loving your neighbor as you love your own mother would result in the abandonment of the State. Our innate human morals preclude us from punishing our friends and family when they have harmed no one by their actions, nor damaged anyone else’s property.
Are Free Riders Really a Problem?
A common objection I have seen is that in a free society, where one would contract voluntarily with a private fire department, if your neighbor’s house catches fire and your fire contractor fights it in order to save your house from damage, the neighbor has benefited from your contract without paying anything. Your neighbor is a “free rider.”
State Services Will Always Be a Crappy Deal
Aside from all the immorality of state coercion, “government” services will always be a crappy deal, for a very simple economic reason – so simple that it’s kind of pathetic it even needs to be explained.