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…
Tag: society
Power Over Their Little Minds
Send him mail. “One Improved Unit” 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. OIU-only RSS feed available here. Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ during the holiday season, but Christmastime has become more than just a…
John Hasnas
“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 I Chose Liberty: Autobiographies of Contemporary Libertarians. How did I become a libertarian? It happened in the fifth grade at Public School #6 in Woodmere, New York…
Freedom Works Both Ways
Written by Dean Russell for The Voluntaryist, June 1989. Everybody says he’s in favor of freedom. Even the Soviet leaders claim to be fighting for freedom. So did Hitler. Our own leaders are also for freedom. So was my slave-owning grandfather. But my grandfather failed to understand the fact that freedom is a mutual relationship;…
Is Property Theft?
Written by Less Antman for the Center for a Stateless Society. “Property is Theft!” was the battle cry of one prominent French anarchist in the 19th century. “Au contraire, mon frère,” retorted another. “Property is Liberty!” “You’re both wrong,” said a third. “Property is Impossible!” How such people got along with each other is amazing.…
Thomas J. DiLorenzo
“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 I Chose Liberty: Autobiographies of Contemporary Libertarians. I was always an individualist, probably because I spent my childhood and adolescent years playing competitive sports. I grew up…
The Criminality of the State
Written by Albert Jay Nock for the American Mercury, March, 1939. As well as I can judge, the general attitude of Americans who are at all interested in foreign affairs is one of astonishment, coupled with distaste, displeasure, or horror, according to the individual observer’s capacity for emotional excitement. Perhaps I ought to shade this…
Alex R. Knight, III
“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 at Voluntaryist.com. The first time I remember even seeing the word “libertarian,” was in 1994, when I was twenty-five. Years prior to that, like most kids, I…
Peace or Politics
Guest post by Frank Chodorov. Originally published in The Voluntaryist, October 1988. Peace is the business of Society. Society is a cooperative effort, springing spontaneously from man’s urge to improve on his circumstances. It is voluntary, completely free of force. It comes because man has learned that the task of life is easier of accomplishment…
How Can We Do It?
Guest post by Robert LeFevre. Originally published in The Voluntaryist, October 1988. Since I have repeatedly opposed the belief that one can advance the cause of liberty by political action, I have been asked on several occasions for an outline of the practical steps to be taken outside the political arena. How do we move…