Self-Ownership, Voluntaryism, and the Free Market

This primer is designed to be like building blocks towards understanding the concepts of self-ownership, voluntaryism, and the free market. It employs a crawl-walk-swim philosophy wherein if a concept is not understood or disagreed with you can (and should) refer back to the previous step(s). It is designed for a dual audience: to help those in debate to find a point of understanding with their “adversary” from which to move forward and find consensus, and those seeking an understanding on their own.

The concept of a free market or freedom of (and necessarily freedom FROM) association is often lost on those preferring government regulation and oversight. Thus we must break down what it truly means to be free in order to best explain our position. At times, however, you cannot find such a point of agreement, in which case it may be necessary to end the interaction before it devolves into fallacies and any progress is lost. Sometimes we just fundamentally will disagree with someone who isn't ready to hear. These cases are unfortunate but in order to have a productive dialogue one must be able to separate emotion from logic. This primer assumes you are able to do so in your particular situation. I have tried to choose these words with care; being precise and unemotional in language helps to dispel confusion.

In all interactions I implore patience and calm. Ration and reason may not always win the day (nor is it always easy!) but you won't lose self-respect or the respect of witnesses by staying cool and logical, and that can often reap unexpected rewards. Always try to meet people where they are and bridge gaps as they are found, being wary of fallacies and emotionally charged words.

Without further ado, let’s get started. These are the fundamental building blocks of freedom in an order that I believe builds on the preceding.

-- Self-Ownership --

You own yourself: no one possesses you...except you. I recognize that this may sound confusing as the idea of ownership implies a “thing” to be possessed, however I lack the faculty to make it a more CLEAR concept. Bodily autonomy is another term but I don’t feel like it quite addresses the depth of meaning and importance, so I must return to Self-Ownership. You own your body. You own your labor because you own your body. You own the products of your labor because you own your labor. You own the consequences of your actions and choices because you own yourself. If you do not own yourself and your labor then you are a slave. To own yourself means that no one else has claim over your body, labor, or over the products of your labor. To own yourself is to be Free. This is a fundamental concept that must be understood in order to move on. Re-read it. Meditate on it. Reflect on its implications.

A slave cannot say no to his master, he cannot refuse to do work nor does he own the product of that labor. If he resists he is beaten. He cannot leave when he wishes.

-- Consent --

Consent is what is required before interacting with any other human being. Meaning implicit agreement to the interaction must be given by someone able to give that consent. This extends much farther than simply sexual interaction, which is how we normally think of it. Consent put another way is permission, you must ask permission before touching another person or interacting with them. Consent is the basis for any sort of relationship or interaction as it sets the tone for an honest exchange.

-- Non-Aggression --

Non-aggression means never INITIATING force, violence, or just interaction. Force in this case means physical harm or interference, not words. It does not mean NO violence: violence used for self-defense is not only permissible it's necessary of a free person. The amount of force that you use in self-defense must (in my humble opinion) only be enough to stop the aggression. Self defense is not punitive, it simply stops the attack. It is important to note here that words do not justify a physical response. Non-Aggression must be taken very seriously, it does not simply mean not attacking another person but any action which interferes or interacts with someone else without their consent. This is what is meant by the Non-Aggression Principle, or NAP. If you aggress against someone else by accident or by intent then you have relinquished your own self ownership in equal measure in order to make amends with whom you hurt.

-- Free Association --

Free association is that ability to begin and end relationships and interactions that first begin with Consent. By extension it also means freedom FROM association where there is not consent. This does not free you from any personal responsibility surrounding the definition of that relationship (as in written contracts), but merely doubles down on self-ownership and consent. If the free association is not preceded by Consent then it is not free association.

-- Personal Responsibility --

Personal responsibility is accepting the consequences for your choices and actions, both good and bad. We all make mistakes, but the ability to accept the consequences and move forward is what sets us apart as people. You should always be striving forward in a positive direction, accepting the consequences for your actions and not affecting others by your actions. Taking ownership of a failure to obtain consent and therefore aggressing is what personal responsibility is about. It is recognizing that others also have self-ownership - even if they do not recognize it themselves - and not violating it. It is holding yourself to a higher standard and expecting more of yourself then others expect of you.

-- A Free Market Thought Exercise. --

Picture if you will a small marketplace set in some idyllic countryside somewhere. The townspeople are selling their wares without a tax collector or regulator in sight. Two people have apple stands. One has bright healthy-looking apples, the other has dingy, shriveled, and rotten apples. You, as the consumer, have the free market ability to choose from whom you will purchase fruit. At the end of the day, the market as a whole will have chosen the winner (In a free market, there ARE winners and losers, this is a simple fact of life). That fact does NOT require unfairness and aggression. If the free market decides that the man with the poor quality apples is not to be purchased from, then he will not sell them and thus fail as an apple salesman, forced to consider how to improve his product. This is an over simplified exercise but it illustrates how businesses interact with customers and which ones succeed and which ones fail in a true free market. It does not mean the man does not have the ability to offer his product to the market but that the market will ultimately decide whether he can succeed or not. There are many traits by which a business owner is judged by the market, those traits the market judges worthy will survive the marketplace. In this way the free market resembles in part natural selection. It is not easy, but it is fair and moral. That which is not profitable shouldn’t go to market or else the business will likely fail.

The relationship between employer and employee is symbiotic and voluntary. The employee agrees to provide a service for which he is paid an agreed upon wage. Again, this relationship mirrors in some ways natural selection in which the market decides which businesses survive and fail in part based on that contract. If the employer does not pay his employees enough, they will find other employment and his business could fail. If he pays them more than they are worth, his business could fail. Ultimately how they are compensated is an agreement entered into voluntarily and with the consent of both. It is fundamental business oriented freedom of association. The market will decide ultimately and with finality. Businesses must adapt as we as a species must adapt. That does not mean, however, that we cannot as a market be moral in our choices... and we should! If we run our businesses with intelligence and morality, we will pay to retain qualified talented workers - and pay them well! This ensures that we have quality workers. An unhappy worker is an unproductive worker.

-- Conclusion --

I hope you've found these words helpful to your discourse with those of differing view. If you ARE one of differing I hope I've caused you to do a little thinking but that it has reached you in a peaceful manner.

-Ronin