Send him mail. “One Voluntaryist’s Perspective” is an original weekly column appearing every 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. This column was originally intended to give my perspective on current events, but I think I’ll modify it somewhat. I’d…
Tag: science
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…
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…
What is Economics?
Guest post by Percy L. Greaves. Economics is sometimes thought of as a very dry and dismal subject dealing with dusty tomes of statistics about material goods and services. Economics is not a dry subject. It is not a dismal subject. It is not about statistics. It is about human life. It is about the…
Do You Shame Your Child?
Guest post by Laura Markham. “Children learn to regulate their behaviors by developing an emotional ‘clutch,’ located in the prefrontal cortex, that can turn the accelerator off when the brakes are applied and redirect their interest in more acceptable directions….An activated accelerator followed by the application of brakes leads to a nervous system response with…
Spanking is Far Worse than Simply “Beating Up” Someone
I absolutely love this rant by throwaway-o on the anarcho-capitalism subreddit. Here it is in full: Starting from the most fundamental basics: “spanking” (a term used to describe a certain particular form of initiation of violence) is an initiation of violence, and therefore it is an obvious and open violation of the NAP. There is…
Chapter 20 – What is Unschooling?
Table of Contents Previous – Section Four – Chapter 19 – “The Right to Control One’s Learning” by John Holt 20 What is Unschooling? by Earl Stevens “What we want to see is the child in pursuit of knowledge, not knowledge in pursuit of the child.” – George Bernard Shaw It is very satisfying for…
Chapter 18 – Schooling: The Hidden Agenda
Table of Contents Previous – Section Four – Chapter 17 – “The Trouble with Traditional Schooling” by Vahram G. Diehl 18 Schooling: The Hidden Agenda by Daniel Quinn A Talk Given at the Houston Unschoolers Group Family Learning Conference. I suspect that not everyone in this audience knows who I am or why I’ve been…
Chapter 10 – Secular Theocracy
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section Two – Chapter 9 – “For Conscience’s Sake” by Carl Watner 10 Secular Theocracy by David J. Theroux Part 1 We live in an increasingly secularized world of massive and pervasive nation states in which traditional religion, especially Christianity, is ruled unwelcome and even a real danger on the basis…
Chapter 9 – For Conscience’s Sake
Table of ContentsPrevious – Section Two – Chapter 8 – “The Historical Origins of Voluntaryism” by James Luther Adams 9 For Conscience’s Sake by Carl Watner George Smith, in his essay “Philosophies of Toleration,’’ reviews the history of freedom of religion and identifies the moral axiom of “righteous persecution,” which has been part of most…