Mrs. Chili requested that a bunch of us submit an article or blog post that might challenge the belief system of her Freshman college students. The subject matter should create intellectual controversy and stay away from obvious contrived controversary like Holocaust denial or the sacredness of marriage garbage. I didn't find one that suited my purpose so with Chili's permission, I wrote up my own for submission.
Voluntaryism, which is sometimes shortened to Voluntarism, is the belief that people have a right to their own mind, body, and possessions and do not have a right to infringe (or delegate others to infringe) on that same right possessed by all other people. This idea is nothing new for most people, having been taught the basics before entering the school system (and this is a very important key to Voluntaryism).
Most of us, as children, were taught lessons such as: don’t hit, don’t bite, don’t pull hair, don’t take things that don’t belong to you, and other rules that belong in the domain of cooperatively getting along with others. These lessons on not forcing your will onto others are so universally taught to young children that they were lumped together and commonly referred to as the Kindergarten Principle. This was unfortunately too easy to confuse with the kindergarten princiPAL and the name was changed to the Non-Aggression Principle or now, gaining more popularity, the Zero Aggression Principle. Regardless of the name, most people still believe in the lessons that they learned as young children. Unfortunately, these same people who live by this principle in their daily lives have been trained with a huge blind spot or have been taught that there are exceptions to the rule.
The government of the United States (and all other governments) is based on aggression. The government claims to have the right to initiate force on people to achieve its ends. What we would call robbery, kidnapping, and murder, the government euphuistically calls taxes, incarceration, and war. What we know is evil and would not do, the government calls good and does on a daily basis. Those who practice Voluntaryism (as much as they are *allowed* to) see that these acts are not good and cannot be called good. If they could be called good by one set of people, then they could also be called good by another set of people. I will explore this concept in further detail later in this article. Voluntaryists understand that in regards to theft, assault, and murder, there is only one set of rules. Thou shalt not.
In my short time studying Voluntaryism, I have found that people who do not accept this principle fall into two categories. The first and largest group is those that have been taught not to see the force. They are taught that the government just *is*, that the American government is the best on the planet, that taxes are paid for services, and on and on. Anything and everything except the fact that “government = force” and is a violation of our inalienable rights. The second, and a much smaller group in my experience, is those that understand that all the government’s action are done by force and they further believe that the end justifies the means. As long as the government says that it will do good things for people, it’s allowed to do bad things to people.
The first group, those that were not taught the basic idea that government is aggression, cannot be faulted for their position. Most of these people attended public education, which is based on the Prussian system where schooling is mandatory and a great emphasis is placed on blind obedience and the completion of tasks. Some argue that the Prussian education system, which was also adopted by Germany, helped Adolph Hitler convince so many people to go along with genocide. In this system, obedience becomes the over-riding virtue, rather than the lessons of respect and kindness that children learned before entering the system. Doing what you’re told, conforming, and most definitely, not questioning the validity of the government system, are taught to children for 12 years. In any question of the government, they are taught that the best thing they can do if they don’t like it, is to participate and change the system from the inside. For this group, it is very understandable that the idea of Voluntaryism is foreign but there is a silver lining for these people.
Don’t hit and don’t steal are such universal concepts that once these people see the truth, they may voluntarily adopt Voluntaryism. That is, of course, the only way that Voluntaryism can spread. Whereas, our current government uses force to indoctrinate people into its system, Voluntaryism cannot do that and maintain the integrity of the Zero Aggression Policy. Not that accepting the ethical standpoint is easy for all of them. Like Neo in the Matrix after his first visit back to the Matrix, it can be rough. When Neo came back out of the Matrix and realized that everything he had been taught was a lie, he hyperventilated, puked, and passed out. People may not have as dramatic of a response when they learn the truth about government but it can certainly be emotionally difficult on them. In the end though, they find that there is a certain peace of mind that comes along with living an ethical life (as much as they are *allowed* to).
The second group, the group that believes that the end justifies the means, is best left to its own devices. Their view of the world is different enough that there is probably very little that could be said to change their values. Remember, persuasion, the illumination of the truth, is the only tool of the Voluntaryist. No one can be forced to accept Voluntaryism.
Again, from my brief experience, I have seen two major dilemmas with the “end justifies the means” people. The first is that of arrogance. That not only do they have the best answer for every complex social issue facing mankind but that their answer should be the *only* answer and should be forced on everyone else. The second is that I don’t believe that the end justifies the means. There is no end, there are only means. Or stated another way, every means is also an end in itself. The two cannot be separated.
How many different types of ketchup are there? 50? 100? I have no idea. A lot. Way more than we need, in my opinion. I’d be happy with plain ole basic Heinz on every table in America. Ketchup is ketchup. Seriously. Other people do not see it that way. 300 million Americans have their own thoughts on ketchup and ketchup will continue to evolve into new flavors of ketchup over time. People would not accept it if I declared that Heinz ketchup was a good average ketchup that will suit everyone’s needs and so all other ketchups were going to be outlawed because it was a waste of time and resources to make 100 different kinds of ketchup.
If 300 million people can’t agree on something as simple (at least it’s simple in my mind) as ketchup, how can anyone possibly say that they have the “right” answer on such complex social matters such as education or health care? How can anyone be so convinced that they have a “one size fits all” good average answer that it should be the *only* answer? (And should we be aiming for *average* anyway?) Further, how can anyone be so convinced that their average answer should be thrust onto 300 million people with all the coercive force available to the government? Arrogance is the only answer that I have been able to come up with to answer these questions.
As far as the end justifying the means, Mahatma Ghandi put it this way: “They say the means are after all just means. I would say means are after all everything. As the means, so the end.” Each action is based on its own merits and is an end in itself. If you do evil, you have done evil. If you later do good with the proceeds of the evil, it doesn’t erase the fact that you did evil. Further, if you do good, good will come of it and many believe that if you do evil, despite your intentions later, evil will come of it.
Voluntaryism is simple. Good is good. Evil is evil. However, it’s not easy. People are going to have to take a much more active role in playing out the destiny of their lives. The first step is understanding, is seeing the truth, and pointing it out to others. Stealing is bad. Kidnapping is bad. Murder is bad. No matter what politically correct names you attach to them, these are universal truths. No good can come from violating these natural laws. We, as humans, have evolved to the point where we must live our lives with kindness and cooperation and all the good things that we teach our kids.
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