Freedom Matters
Voluntaryism vs Everything Else - Larken Rose
Interactions between people should be voluntary and free of force, fraud, and threats.
NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO VIOLATE OUR FREEDOM:
- No one has the right to harm me.
- No one has the right to threaten me.
- No one has the right to steal from me.
- No one has the right to violate my individual rights.
YOU HAVE INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS:
Individual rights are rights we are all born with and no one can legally take away from us.
- The right to self-ownership - I own myself.
- The right to privacy - No one has the right to violate my privacy.
- The right to self-defense - I can defend myself, my property, and my individual rights.
- The right to own and carry weapons - So I have the ability to defend myself, my property, and my individual rights.
- The right to free speech - I can communicate my opinions and ideas without fear of government retaliation or censorship.
- The right to liberty - Liberty is freedom from permission. I can do what I want, as long as I do not violate the freedom of others.
YOU OWN YOURSELF:
Self-ownership is an important part of being human. You own yourself. You own your body. You own your labor. For anyone to assert otherwise is to attempt to restrict your freedom or make you a slave. Without self-ownership, there is no freedom.
NON-AGGRESSION PRINCIPLE (NAP):
Because you own yourself, it is wrong for someone to initiate force against you or your property. This non-aggression principle (NAP) applies to everyone, and it is therefore wrong for someone to harm you, steal from you, threaten you, or violate your individual rights. Interactions between people should be voluntary and free of force, fraud, and threats.
FREEDOM IS NOT A BATTLE:
Freedom is not a battle that requires the conversion of others in order to win. Freedom is won when you accept the fact that you own yourself, that you have individual rights, and no one has the right to violate your freedom. When you accept that you are free.
FREEDOM:
Freedom is the ability to exercise your will within your individual rights without the threat of force from anyone else. Freedom is not just an ideal state of society, but a moral code for respecting the individual rights of others.
VOTING IS NOT ....
Voting is not an act of political freedom. It is an act of political conformity. Those who refuse to vote are not expressing silence. They are screaming in the politician's ear: You do not represent me. You have no right to rule me. You have no right to rob me. You have no right to violate my freedom. I own myself.
VOTE FOR FREEDOM:
Vote for freedom by not electing anyone to rule and rob you. People can seek leaders for themselves but they have no right to force rulers on me. People can pay taxes if they want but they have no right to force taxes on me. No one has the right to rob me. I own myself. I can live my life and spend my money as I see fit.
LAWS SHOULD NOT VIOLATE OUR FREEDOM:
If we have the right to do something and the law says you can't do it, we still have the right to do it. We have no moral obligation to obey any law that violates our freedom. We have a moral obligation to honor and recognize the individual rights of every human being that lives on this planet. No matter what the law says.
THE PRICE OF FREEDOM:
There will always be people who try to violate our freedom. To remain free we have to be willing and able to defend our freedom. That is the price of freedom.
