Why I am Specifically a Voluntaryist
Submitted by xntryk1 on Wed, 09/23/2009 - 14:35
in
September 21, 2009
Why I am Specifically a Voluntaryist
George Donnelly
Voluntaryism is easy to grasp. It says that all interactions among people must be voluntary, i.e., without aggression. This is Ayn Rand without the psychological repression, the judgmentalism and the fake statism weakly glued on. This is anarcho-capitalism, without any hint of state capitalism. This is free market anarchism. This is left libertarianism. This is complete liberty … plus love, Gandhi, Martin Luther King and so much more. Voluntaryism is the essence of liberty with the widest possible range of ideas and influences.
Consistent with My Beliefs
Voluntaryism is the political philosophy I specifically most identify with because it holds the conceptual essence of my beliefs:
1. an emphasis on self-improvement first and foremost, i.e., inside-the-self activism.
2. that the state’s lifeblood is its veneer of legitimacy, which we can end through civil disobedience and withdrawal of consent.
3. an emphasis on education, direct action and other non-violent tactics in outside-the-self activism.
4. the recognition that the state is aggression and to be consistent with one’s principles one must never participate in the state, including its elections.
5. it is not pacifism. In other words, I reserve my right to self-defense.
Voluntaryism is liberty
I've always thought that if the military were voluntary there would be very few wars. Hard to fight invasive wars of aggression when no one shows up.
The ultimate read for the true Voluntarist
One of the best minds to bless this earth laid out the concept of voluntarism over 100 years ago. I am talking about Herbert Spencer in his amazing writings on "The Right to Ignore the State" in his book Social Statistics. The passage I am referring to can be found here http://www.panarchy.org/spencer/ignore.state.1851.html and I would recommend every libertarian read it.
"Greater than the force of mighty armies is the power of an idea whose time has come"
- Victor Hugo
Thanks! I think I'll make that a blog post, too...
:-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Let them protest all they want, as long as they pay their taxes.” ...credited to Al Haig, Ronald Reagan's Secretary of State.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/liberty_outlook/
http://www.dailypaul.com/blog/11
Ron Paul = Red Pill
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Let them protest all they want, as long as they pay their taxes.” ...credited to Al Haig, Ronald Reagan's Secretary of State.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/liberty_outlook/
http://www.dailypaul.com/blog/1125
Ron Paul=Red Pill
One of my favorite parts:
"Upholders of pure despotism may fitly believe state-control to be unlimited and unconditional. They who assert that men are made for governments and not governments for men may consistently hold that no one can remove himself beyond the pale of political organization. But they who maintain that the people are the only legitimate source of power - that legislative authority is not original, but deputed - cannot deny the right to ignore the state without entangling themselves in an absurdity."
and
"That a man is free to abandon the benefits and throw off the burdens of citizenship may indeed be inferred from the admissions of existing authorities and of current opinion."
Such infallible logic. No wonder Charles Darwin called Herbert Spencer six times his superior.
"Greater than the force of mighty armies is the power of an idea whose time has come"
- Victor Hugo
Voluntaryism works.
I think of myself as a Voluntaryist and I think it is a good way of getting the message of freedom to people.
Personal experience recently that shows that voluntaryism works. I own a property and together with the neighbors we have been urging the local government to provide us with a road. We waited nine years and no action. So I suggested that we all get together and each of us voluntarily go out and put in a road. Well, it worked, now we have a road and don't owe any thanks to local politicians and they can't claim credit either.
http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/151957
Should I stop calling myself
Should I stop calling myself a Libertarian or should I say that you do not know what Libertarianism is, because I am not an Anarchist?
Liberty inevitably and
Liberty inevitably and inexorably leads to anarchy. Liberty and aggression (government) can not coexist.
http://georgedonnelly.com
Which reminds me of one of my previous blog posts...
http://www.dailypaul.com/node/96155
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Let them protest all they want, as long as they pay their taxes.” ...credited to Al Haig, Ronald Reagan's Secretary of State.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/liberty_outlook/
http://www.dailypaul.com/blog/11
Ron Paul = Red Pill
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Let them protest all they want, as long as they pay their taxes.” ...credited to Al Haig, Ronald Reagan's Secretary of State.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/liberty_outlook/
http://www.dailypaul.com/blog/1125
Ron Paul=Red Pill
Yup
Well said.
Even if all you want is
Even if all you want is better government, it still suits you to use anarchist tactics. This is not the government you want and electoral politics is broken. Erode state power with a strategy like agorism and your chances of getting the government you really want improve radically.
Thanks for posting this btw, xntryk1. :)
http://georgedonnelly.com
Hah, didn't know you were a member here George!
Lol, that's great.
---
"A government limited to just protecting your rights is still big enough to strip those rights all away."
Are you in NH?
Have we met perhaps at a social Sunday?
No, I ain't
But, it's in the back of my mind to move there.
People who get it.
I love hanging out with people who get it....people who have an serious aversion to any desire to run my life for me.
When I move, it's to Keene.
My Tactics Are Anarchist Tactics
If you wish to see the state reduced in power, ignoring the existence of the state is less effective than using the power of the state against itself when possible.
For example, if Ron's End the Fed bill passes it could very well be the first chink in the armor that ends immoral wars abroad and creeping socialism at home.
If it is reasonable to grab a stick from a bully who tries to jump you and use it to chase him away then it is also reasonable to vote for a fellow like Ron Paul who is trying to use legislation to constrain and dismantle government.
Once the state is reduced to a shell of its former self, then free markets can once again take hold in a land free of regulation, propaganda and incarceration. When people see how their lives become richer as their freedom grows they will unlearn the lies of government and that government will wither once and for all.
Ron Paul Explorer: The All Paul Search Engine
"Using the power of the
"Using the power of the state" is against anarchistic principles. Therefore, it is never an anarchistic tactic, by definition.
This belief that you can become a government goon and twist their arms behind their backs to make them do good is utopian. Government is aggression, aggression is immoral. So using aggression for *anything* is wrong. The ends never justify the means. At best you've misled good people into thinking that aggression (govt) can be used for good.
The bully is an aggressor and you are acting in self-defense. Voting is aggression, not self-defense. Voting is an action that says "I think aggression is an acceptable way to deal with my fellow man and I know which people are best qualified to wield the gun of government."
Cut out the middleman, use free markets now to expand your individual power. See http://agorism.info and read the New Libertarian Manifesto for more info.
http://georgedonnelly.com
So I'm guessing that you
So I'm guessing that you don't support Ron Paul?
Ron Paul Explorer: The All Paul Search Engine
I did briefly in 2008. But
I did briefly in 2008. But then I realized my mistake. Dr Paul is a fine individual and it is a terrible shame to see him mixed up in the criminal enterprise called government.
http://georgedonnelly.com
The only legitimate way to use the state's power against itself
...is through the use of one word to replace many; REPEALED
Testing....Testing. Is This Thing On?
I thought I said that.
Ron Paul Explorer: The All Paul Search Engine
Passing more bills is not the same as repealing existing code
There is a big difference between eliminating code and adding more code.
You bet, George!
I'd be happy to defer to you, on posting your articles. But it might be easier on your ego, if my posts are the ones being ignored by the general DP community, instead of yours... :-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Let them protest all they want, as long as they pay their taxes.” ...credited to Al Haig, Ronald Reagan's Secretary of State.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/liberty_outlook/
http://www.dailypaul.com/blog/11
Ron Paul = Red Pill
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Let them protest all they want, as long as they pay their taxes.” ...credited to Al Haig, Ronald Reagan's Secretary of State.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/liberty_outlook/
http://www.dailypaul.com/blog/1125
Ron Paul=Red Pill
Haha, by all means keep
Haha, by all means keep doing what you're doing. It didn't even occur to me to post it here.
http://georgedonnelly.com
Nice Post, I Agree 99%
As an anarchist who dropped 25 bucks on Rand today, I'll have to disagree with:
4. the recognition that the state is aggression and to be consistent with one’s principles one must never participate in the state, including its elections.
Thoreau said:
But to speak practically and as a citizen, unlike those who call themselves no-government men, I ask for, not at one no government, but at once a better government.
Unlike Thoreau, I do call myself a "no-government man." I will not vote for or fund the lesser of two evils even if the evil is just a little bit evil. So that leaves me with Peter Schiff and Big and Little Paul. I know that they want to move toward much smaller government and that's a step (more than one, let's hope) in the right direction.
I also intend to make full use of any benefits such as Social Security, etc. I am forced to participate in this system and I will take what's coming to me when the time comes. If I were offered the choice to opt out now and receive no repayment of my past taxes i would agree to that. But the older one grows the less realistic than seems.
All your other points are well taken especially the part about self protection.
Ron Paul Explorer: The All Paul Search Engine
A serious question for you
1st, do you realize that social security is a Ponzi scheme? 2nd, once you do realize this, do you feel that it's right to take from others by force to replace what has been taken from you by force, even when those you'd be taking from aren't the guilty parties?
This is in response to your statement "I also intend to make full use of any benefits such as Social Security, etc. I am forced to participate in this system and I will take what's coming to me when the time comes." above.
Thanks.
Of Course I Realize That SS is a Ponzi Scheme
If I refused the return of my money through SS payouts do you believe that the government would then say, "Hey this Meistersinger fellow doesn't want the money so let's cut the FICA tax by 0.0000000000000000000000000002% ?
The only way that SS is going to be repealed short of a Revolution is for the system to sink under its own weight -- like any Ponzi scheme will do in time. Every check they send out, as small as it is, hastens that day.
Ron Paul Explorer: The All Paul Search Engine
I have a lot of respect for
I have a lot of respect for people who aren't using anarchism as an excuse to sit on their ass and do nothing. Props, sir.
Ventura 2012
Thanks, BB
Just being realistic. All journeys begin with the first step.
Besides, if you're going to make an omelet, you've got to break a few eggs. I don't know what that has to do with anything other than the fact that it's five o'clock and I'm getting pretty hungry.
Ron Paul Explorer: The All Paul Search Engine