By MamaLiberty

My mother taught me everything I really needed to know about being a good person and living a good life. After reading the gist of a lot of the “news” this morning (I can only stand for so much), I thought I’d share her lessons with you.

1. No human being has the right (authority), under any circumstances, to initiate force against another human being, nor to delegate such initiation of force. Kindergarten version: don’t hit, lie or steal.
2. Every human being has the right (authority) to defend themselves and others from those who do initiate force, regardless of who they are… by any means necessary.
3. Each individual owns his or her life and is ultimately responsible for their safety and that of their legitimate dependents. Individuals, working in voluntary association with others toward mutual goals, will live well and prosper without any need to harm or disparage others.
4. All humans are imperfect, and negotiation of differences and disputes is the only rational way to deal with that. There are a lot of irrational people, of course. But utopia is not an option, no matter how many “laws” are written or how well they are enforced. Nature simply makes cooperation more profitable than fighting in the long run.
5. There are no “special rights,” since every individual has the exact same rights as every other: to live, to choose for themselves (liberty) any non-aggressive action, thought or belief. And to acquire, hold property that has been obtained without force or fraud.

Since no non-voluntary government actually recognizes any of these things – much less protects or promotes them, it seems pretty clear to me there is no place in my life for such “government.”

Of course, that’s the boiled down version. We could argue for eons about the details. But the negotiation of the details has to start from the basics to be valid. Anything else will be launched on the basis of aggression, coercion or theft.

How about you?