Larken Rose

“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. Originally published in The Voluntaryist, 1st Quarter 2012. I was raised in a conservative home, in a conservative town, with some libertarian leanings. I grew up thinking the good…

The Evils of Power Over Others

Guest post by Auberon Herbert. Excerpted from his 1908 essay “A Plea for Voluntaryism” found in The Voluntaryist Creed. Endless are the evils that power brings with it, both to those who rule and are ruled. If you hold power, your first aim and end are necessarily to preserve that power. With power, as you fondly imagine, you possess all…

The Best Way

Guest post by Kerri Dame. I was inspired to create this blog post following a conversation with some of my lovely, intelligent, compassionate girlfriends the other day, wherein I was surprised that they all seemed to truly believe that physical punishment (spanking) is a necessary part of parenting. Because each child is different, sometimes they…

What is Unschooling?

Guest post by Nicole Olson. Asking, “What is unschooling?” is a little bit like asking, “What is love?” or “What is happiness?”. It means different things to different people. But within its broad framework, there are some fairly consistent themes and basic beliefs that most unschoolers embrace.What is unschooling… Belief #1: Children are hard-wired to…

Might is Spite

Guest post by Ted Olson. I saw a mom pull a 3-year-old out of a shopping carriage by her tiny little biceps. As the toddler hung there, feet dangling, her mom murmured with rage and hatred, “If you ever do that again, you’re going to get it.” Mom plopped a teary-eyed child back into the…