Written by Michael Bakunin, circa 1871, as published in The Voluntaryist, June 1992. What is authority? Is it the inevitable power of the natural laws which manifest themselves in the necessary concatenation and succession of phenomena in the physical and social worlds? Indeed, against these laws revolt is not only forbidden, it is impossible. We…
Tag: voting
The Case Against Democracy: The More Things Change, The More They Remain the Same
Written by Carl Watner for The Voluntaryist, August 1990. Democracy. For many, the word sums up what is desirable in human affairs. Democracy, and agitation for it, occurs all over the world: the Pro-Democracy movement in China during 1989; the democratic reform movements taking place in Eastern Europe and the U.S.S.R. resulting in the breakup…
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…
Some Critical Considerations on the US Constitution
Guest post by Carl Watner. Originally published in The Voluntaryist, February 1988. The Constitution is one of the most revered symbols of the United States. Over the years, it has taken on all the trappings of sovereignty, commanding the loyalty of almost every American. The Constitution is “America’s uncrowned king,” because “it is above party,…
Re: Our Lord, the State
Writes Lou: The ministers and congregants have gone forth to bear witness and spread the gospel of the State. They have reminded us that it is our duty to worship and serve our Lord, the State. It is our duty to partake the sacrament of voting, early and often. They told us of the martyrs…
Re: Charades for Progress
Writes Colman McCarthy: Elections are charades for progress, marginal to the direct democracy of citizens getting involved personally and enduringly to create the conditions in which a just and peace-directed world can be created. Votes aren’t needed to tutor at a literacy center, or mentor a student, ease a neighbor’s pain or toil at any…
Re: No Right to Complain?
Writes David Kramer: If you’re a voluntaryist, like I am, I’m sure that you’ve had some person at one time or another say to you, “If you don’t vote, then you have no right to complain.” But that person’s logic is backwards. If I don’t accept something to begin with (in this case, the institution…
Non-Voting as an Act of Secession
Guest post by Hans Sherrer. Originally published in The Voluntaryist, 3rd Quarter, 2002. In 1776, the Declaration of Independence made it plain that in America, “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, – That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive…, it is the Right of the…
The Fundamentals of Nonvoting
Our rulers know they are illegitimate. Voluntaryists know they are illegitimate for a myriad of other reasons, but what I wanted to examine here is the voluntaryist’s position to abstain from electoral politics. The following arguments are the fundamentals of the nonvoting position.