All I Am Asking

in voluntaryism •  8 years ago  (edited)

My name is Larken Rose, and I’m a voluntaryist. Or, if you prefer the scary-sounding, often misunderstood term, I’m an anarchist. I don’t believe “government” is necessary or legitimate. Ever. I spend much of my time and effort trying--with quite a bit of success, I might add--to get other people to reach the same conclusion. However, when I first suggest to others the idea of a society without any ruling class, that usually creates an avalanche of false assumptions and unfounded concerns in their heads. So let me be perfectly clear about what I am asking of statists (those who advocate “government”), and what I am not asking.

I am not asking you to forsake organization and civilization. I am not asking you to embrace "might makes right" or "survival of the fittest." I am not asking you to throw away your compassion. I am not asking you to abandon your core values, or to betray your moral code. In fact, what I am asking is the precise and exact opposite of all of that. All that I am asking of you is that, whatever you already believe about right and wrong, you apply it consistently, to everyone, all the time.

I therefore ask that you stop imagining that political rituals and documents, or badges and uniforms, give some people special rights that the rest of us don’t have. I ask that you stop begging those who wield political power to do things on your behalf that you yourself have no right to do on your own. I ask that you stop believing in the Divine Right of Politicians, and instead accept that each individual owns himself, and that no one can be a rightful master, and no one can be a rightful slave.

As for me, I will never assault or rob you—not because some legislature enacted a “law” telling me not to, but because I recognize that your time, your energy, your body and your life belong to you, not to me. It is, therefore, wrong for me to infringe on any of those things without your consent, whether by myself, or by hiring some thug to do it for me, or by voting or petitioning to have the enforcers of some political body do it on my behalf.

But this basic rule of decency applies in both directions. If you ask “government” to forcibly take the fruits of my labor against my will in order to fund whatever you want, or whatever you think is important, that is no more legitimate or righteous than you forcibly robbing me yourself. (Later using the stolen loot for something benevolent doesn't retroactively make the thievery justified.) And if you advocate the passage and enforcement of “laws” that try to forcibly control my choices and actions, when I am not threatening or harming anyone, that is no better than you trying to violently dominate me yourself. (No, you don't have the right to forcibly butt into other people's lives and be an intrusive, meddling busy-body, even if you think it's "for their own good," or "for the good of society.")

Most of us were taught that controlling our neighbors by way of “legal” means (elections, petitions, legislation, regulation, etc.) is a perfectly civilized, acceptable, and even virtuous thing to do. But it is not. Disguising theft and thuggery as something else by calling it “the will of the people” or “representative government” does not make it righteous. Calling the thugs “law enforcers,” calling the thieves “tax collectors,” and calling the mob boss “congressman” or “president,” does not change evil into good. A crook who speaks in euphemisms and dishonest rhetoric, wears a suit and tie, and has a fancy title, is still a crook.

In summary, all I am asking is that, if you recognize that it would be wrong for you to do something yourself, then don’t ask anyone else (including those in “government”) to do it for you. That's all. Be moral. Be consistent. Be principled. Once you are, you will find that you too are a voluntaryist. Because that is the only moral choice, the only rational choice, the only truly civilized choice, the only consistent and sane choice—the only choice that allows for peaceful human coexistence.

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Not a bad pay day just for stopping by to support a friend :)

Larken seems to be one of the only voluntaryists that haven't sold out.

Hey Larken, it was me Keith Smith who told you about steemit. Glad to see you are here and you are being rewarded for your excellent writings.

  ·  8 years ago (edited)

I just compared your post history with mine and your wallet with mine... It was enough for me to explain why a Government is required in every system, where you can question.

Moral of the Story: Anarchy is good for those, for whom it is working. Government is good for those, for whom it is NOT working.

Larken, I'd like to ask you a question, since I'm having trouble coming around to the anarchist point of view.

Question: How do individuals in an anarchist setting protect themselves from aggressors? Now I know you think that everyone should just do the right thing, and I'm sure the majority would, but there are always some bad people out there. How exactly do we protect ourselves from them? Do we form a group, or a coalition to fight them off? If we do something like that might it not be necessary to fund that group? Might we not ask for some kind of funding to help our brave protectors keep us safe. Wait... is that just taxes by another name?

There are communities where each household pays $250 yearly to hire a company to monitor the area and respond to any calls. It's voluntary so some pay and some do not however, everyone in the community is covered. This makes for less intrusive circumstances when the person who shows up to help is paid by you and acts like it. Unlike the other guys who are paid by you yet they have become more intrusive then ever before.

For me, when I add it all up, I can plainly see there is more that connects us then divides us and there is enough on Earth for all of us. Technology stagnation and planned obsolescence are two driving factors that help keep centralized control. Once liberated from restrictions there will be more innovation, Iceland is a great example, they cancelled debt and funded the scientists and now they are a technology powerhouse. Freedom brings innovation. The path to freedom is self-ownership.

Thanks for you reply. I see that key point for you is that contributions are voluntary and never enforced. An interesting perspective and something for me to think about.

I've got some more questions though. How is the innate need for justice handled in an anarchist society. Is there anything like judges and juries? Or is their some other form of arbitration that needs to come into play?

There are various scenarios that can play out. You can have private court systems that intermediate between members from the same or different court systems that can either use judges or juries or both. Yes private arbitration will become more widely accepted and is already gaining popularity today compared to inefficient and ineffective courts. Most private law will probably be based on common law precedents that exist today so there won't be drastic changes.

I think one major problem with our current system is that it revolves around punishment instead of restitution to victims. I'd rather have a criminal be outside and productive and pay back a victim money rather than be unproductive, punished and wasting tax dollars. The victim typically gets nothing tangible.

I'll write more about how blockchain technology can help in all facets of society soon. Think of smart contracts as the law and that should open your mind up to the vast possibilities. Blockchain tech can help replace many functions of government: property title management, voting, governance, law etc. Back to one example regarding tort law people can more easily be bonded and insured with blockchain technology against various general liabilities just like people are insured today against lawsuits. When you have a claim, you can quickly and efficiently execute a digital legal contract and transfer digital value escrowed in the cloud.

Also regarding Steemit, reputations become incredibly valuable. Self-defense should be the focus against criminal activities, but ostracism is still a powerful preventative tool against criminal behavior. When people participate in a blockchain economy their reputations and livelihood depend on maintaining good behavior and have much to lose if their criminal activities are known. Being shunned from a blockchain community like Steemit can be devastating, especially if a lot of value is tied up in it. We'll see exactly how everything plays out, but no doubt blockchain tech will help usher in an exciting and liberating future.

seafood, you seem like a thoughtful person. Thanks for asking questions, and please forgive any snarky responses you get. I have investigated voluntaryism and learned a good bit over the last 9 years, and I must say that like any good idea, not 100% of the "possible problems" have been figured out to perfection.

I do look back though at what we have to compare, and I must admit that the unknown probabilities are less 'bad' in most cases than the current-day realities.

I don't know what freedom would look like or how you and I might resolve our conflicts, but I know what things look like now. Most folks that use judges and juries under our current system do not walk away pleased. Please keep exploring and investigating, and if you really get interested, check out Larken's "Snarkin With Larken podcast."
OpenlyVoluntaryOne

I hope you are not talking about police...

And yet... look, what keeps that company you're paying for protection from deciding to enforce that protection? Nothing. They'll be the warriors, they'll decide everyone should pay, and they'll beat it out of him.

I'd also argue that, if one person is enjoying protection but other people are paying for it he's stealing that service from his neighbors. He's forcing them to pay more for something they all, including the non-payer, want.

Government isn't "divine" or magical. It's societies' answer to mitigating problems that crop up within groups of people. There will always be people who want to take advantage of others, as well as people hurt by thoughtlessness and even accidents.

These can be simple disagreements too. Take a neighbor who builds their fence on your property line. Without a government who do you go to in order to get your property back? And independent mediator? What keeps your neighbor from bribing him?

Right now, you'd go to the government and laws keep your neighbor from bribing him.

Let me ask you a question. What keeps that neighbor from bribing the government? Laws? Sure, but look at all the cases where government officials went back on the laws they said they upheld and whatnot.

No one is saying Rose's solution is going to be all peaches and cream. There would be abuses and problems like how there are abuses and problems now. The difference is, the abusers and problem makers are no longer centralized into a group that enough people believe has the right to do anything.

Simply put, the difference between the mafia and the government is simply that no one believes that the mafia has any right to extort and kill people. But when the same actions are applied to government, suddenly, it becomes ok. Goose and gander sort of thing you know?

@the-zone12:

First of all, why does it seem like I can never reply after a couple levels of the threading?

Now, on to the actual reply...

The difference between the mafia and the government is that the people have a say in how the government operates. If the mafia doesn't think you paid your dues, they break your legs. If the government doesn't, you get a trial. If mafia dues are too high, that's your problem. If taxes are too high, elect fiscal conservatives to get the taxes lowered. If the mafia don thinks you insulted him somehow, he can summarily kill you. If you talk shit about Obama all day long, the government can do nothing.

Moreover, what about foreign governments? Forget the local stuff... if we have no government and no army, what prevents Canada from taking over and becoming your ruler without even giving you the benefit of Democracy?

I'm going to guess you'll say civilian army, but without government funding, training, leadership... well, they'd get creamed.

"Government...It's societies' answer to...problems..."??? No, govt. is not the answer to problems of society. It was created to be. It failed. Here, and everywhere, every time. Obviously you have not been victimized by LEOs and in court. And you ignore all the stories, all the videos on Youtube. I grew up in the ghetto where LEOs seldom came, and gang violence was common. After getting out I still saw tyranny and chaos, but by men in uniforms/badges. In the Navy I saw it again with the SP & my captain. From the lowest authority to the highest, I see it.
"Right now, you'd go to the govt...."? I have. I got burned every time. I finally learned in my 50s. I don't call 911. I am armed. Now at 74 I wonder why it took me so long. When are you going to open your eyes and stop defending the biggest gang in the world, the US Empire?

No, "asking" is very much NOT "just taxes by another name." You already have countless examples in your own life of how people can OFFER goods and services to others, and potential customers VOLUNTARILY choose to buy them. "Taxation" is when the ruling class DEMANDS that you pay for something, whether you want it or not, and whether you benefit or not, and cage you if you refuse. Can you really not see the difference there?

seafood: Your line of questioning appears to ask nothing of yourself, which is the subject of your concern, right? Doesn't that seem to be the root of your problem? Aren't you assuming that there must be a group involved in your personal safety? Why is that? Are you attacked often? If so, how exactly is it that you feel safe enough to spend time asking these questions? Wait - is that just fear by another name?

I have grown up in a very safe society and have not ever been attacked. Nor do I fear it to any great degree. But this is because of institutions such as a police force, and a standing army, both services provided by a government. I have heard a couple of anarchists talking about other ways to satisfy the need for safety. Yes, I threw out a little barb to get the discussion going but I really was quite interested to hear about how anarchism might work in practice.

The error, IMO, is thinking that anarchism is something that has to be implemented or practiced. Anarchists are not saying governments do not provide services. They are not saying that they know how to create a utopia. They are pointing out reality and irrational arguments. An atheist can acknowledge that religious people and institutions provide some good to the world, that doesn't mean they have to accept that religion as legitimate "truth." The anarchist merely points out that definitionally many of the institutions people defend (people called "Statists) are violent and aggressive and anarchists ASK whether it is possible to satisfy those same needs in a voluntary way and seeks to prove that it is possible. Statists assume it is not possible without serious inquiry. A non-anarchist simply accepts that because someone has power and renders a service that it is legitimate no matter how little choice is involved (e.g. referring to institutions that have a force-based monopoly as if you had any choice in choosing their services), how little experimentation and variety, how little technology, and no matter how horrifying, irrational, and lacking in evidentiary support their claims are.

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In reality you practice anarchism on a daily basis, anytime you do something without someone telling you, that is a form of anarchy, you just don't realize it, but anything you do that you were never told to do is Anarchy, anything you do because someone tells you to, is not, unless you agreed to those term without coercion. Also the Government monopolies, such as LE and Military are not there for your protection, even in the Government system they have ruled it in their courts, you just have to look a little harder. So Governments do not make you safe, if anything, Governments make you less safe, through many ways, from policies to statutes they make to violate your rights.

lifecoach level astronaut

@seafood "Statism: The Most Dangerous Religion" is an awesome video that is a compilation of Larken Rose's wisdom. It was one of the videos that got me to snap out of the illusion of government. I featured it in a post a few days ago along with Stefan Molyneux's "The Story of Your Enslavement" ... very highly recommended watching for anyone exploring the tenets of self-governance and self-ownership. Cheers!

A fee and a tax are 2 different things. A fee should be voluntary where with taxation you don't have a choice. Many things can be funded through an organized fee structure. Here is an idea, what if instead of being forced by the government to pay taxes for the roads we drive on. What if we just had "roadcoin" crypto currency that we filled up on just like gas and then we were just charged a fee based on our useage?

I just wonder how the blockchain based anarcho communist blogging site that pays you money is doing? Oh wait, that doesn't exist. haha

@larkenrose yeah it looks good and I do not want to talk much about it, just Upvote you now :)

Not a bad thing at all

Very awesome to be the first to upvote Larken Rose's first Steemit post. It's like catching a shooting star. haha

Welcome, Larken. Great to have you here!

Yes, welcome here on Steemit. Good to have you here.

Look forwards to your content larken
Keep up the great work

All I know is that i'm not happy living in a world full of people divided by how much control one faction of society can use upon another and that is why I identify myself proudly as a voluntaryist.

great video thanks for posting!

This might be a good place to repost your daily rants. Welcome :)

This was my fave...

Thanks Larken. Your Facebook posts led me here. I've been following your posts and videos for a long time. Always interesting and very informative. I don't really know what this Steemit is or can be but it's definitely interesting. Looking forward to learning more.

What fucker flagged this?

Hillary

Maybe they doubt it is really Larken Rose, I did. But with @xeldal 's reputation level and account value, I would be fighting the power of the steam consensus to doubt it.

  ·  8 years ago (edited)

I think that people are using flags in correctly. It looks like people are using it to note disapproval of content, person, or the amount of money (upvotes) raised. My understanding it the flags should only be used to denote the breaking of the social consensus or other rules, not as a disapproval of popularity. Flags should be used very sparingly and I m seeing that many of the top posts are receiving flags for no clear reason. And, while I'm on the point, I think the flag feature itself should require an explanation be provided.

Like... "I've flagged this post because you are spamming out links this post all over the place. Please don't do that." ~neoxian

Welcome Larken! Good to have you here. I enjoy much of your work.

I was wondering when you'd join up! Your videos were hugely inspirational to me. Welcome!

Hurray! Welcome @larkenrose. I hope I didn't bug you too much with my tweets. I'm so glad you're here. :)

Ron Paul brought me over to libertarianism. Larken Rose showed me the logical conclusion of that philosophy, and for that I am so thankful. Great to see you here Larken! Looking forward to seeing more posts.

Get Ron Paul to Steemit!

Should I try?

PLEASE!

His son might be a better bet.

Paultards of the World, Unite! :-) If Ron Paul had run this year, he would have won. And if he was on Steemit, I could upvote him, as I do not have the right to elect him for anything else (because a) hes not running. b) Im german). All the best from Germany!

Your apostrophes are backwards. That's why part of the text has a grey background. Use these guys when you want to show that you missed out a letter:

I'm you're they're

and not these guys:

I`m you`re they`re

Hoping this is really you :)

If it is, glad to see you here, Larken! You may want to verify your account by sharing this post with your facebook or twitter. Since this platform is so new, there have been cases of impostors, and we don't want to be upvoting a fake Larken :)

Hi, @larkenrose! Welcome here. I am glad to find such esteemed anarchists join our platform. I hope with your success here, we can reach a new audience of anarchists and philosophers.

I made an account just to up vote your post. Hope this helps. Absolutely agree with everything you said. It took me a few years to get my head around what being voluntaryist means and am proud to say I am one today with help of my friends like you.

Glad to see you here. I am aware of your work because of @keithsmih . Looks like you are off to a great start :)

You can just edit this post with a picture of yourself holding a Steemit date card.

  ·  8 years ago (edited)

You're one of the first people to get me thinking about anarchism. I'm very excited to see you here on Steemit! You might want to post a picture of yourself with a piece of paper that says Steemit and the date. That way people know it's the real you.

im already learning alot just being here. I think thats a good sign.

May you be showered with heaps of monies, fine sir!

Welcome Larken, keep up the great work 😊

I'm here thanks to your Facebook post. Thanks for the share!

Welcome Larken. Your book "the most dangerous superstition" is what woke me up.

Glad to have you here Larken. You are my favorite online anarchist! :D

I love voluntaryism, I wonder how close we will be able to get to it?

Gov should be in place as a public servant machine, unfortunately it has made the public servants. Welcome to Steem!

Great stuff as usual, Mr. Rose. I will watch here for more.
Thanks!

The neighborhood continues to improve.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Upvoted and following. Thanks, Larken. Keep up the good fight.

Welcome Larken! Glad to have you here on steemit.

it's me kimmy! joined to upvote you <3

Whoever flagged can pull that crap down now...I was just coming to confirm that Larken Rose reposted this to his FB, to verify, but seems he took care of that ;)

Always late to the party. Wanted to say that I have never heard anarchist (voluntaryist) really broken down like you just did and I am interested in hearing more of what you have to say. Would be great if a future post could elaborate on resources available to people (okay me) that included... well more.

Basically hearing it explained this way... It's like coming home... but for the first time. That makes perfect sense right? I just want to know... more! Has to be more..... I kinda need more........ You understand you need to do more right? Followed...... and get to work sir.

Oh, and never heard of you but I am happy your here.

@clevecross "Statism: The Most Dangerous Religion" is an awesome video that is a compilation of Larken Rose's wisdom. It was one of the videos that got me to snap out of the illusion of government. I featured it in a post a few days ago along with Molyneux's "The Story of Your Enslavement" ... very highly recommended watching for anyone exploring the tenets of self-governance and self-ownership. Cheers!

you get a vote from me, and here i am thinking i would never vote ever ?

Larken's book, The Most Dangerous Superstition, changed my life. Thank you Larken!

My Libertarian/Voluntaryist heart LOVES this: "And if you advocate the passage and enforcement of “laws” that try to forcibly control my choices and actions, when I am not threatening or harming anyone, that is no better than you trying to violently dominate me yourself." Your post sparked an interesting conversation with my husband-like being - you articulated some of what's been percolating in my heart for a while. Thank you.

I made an account, just for this.

You have really opened my eyes to the the truth so much. Thank You!

Hey, Larken. I signed up here just to up vote your post, too. Thanks for all of your efforts to educate more and more people. I hope to become as fluent and patient as you when discussing anarchism and voluntaryism with others.

Larken, ty brother, you have my upvote

Created an account to support Larken Rose. Thanks for all you do.

Welcome! Well written, and you write well.

So a couple months ago some douche bag broke into my house, trashed it and stole a lot stuff.

In your vision of the stateless society, what happens next?

What happened in a state run society? Did you get any of your posessions back? Were the culprits apprehended? To answer your question though, a stateless society does not mean a society devoid of commonly accepted rules, or private investigative or "policing" entities ...this post by Arturo Ruggeroli covers much in this idea https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=994416870656145&id=100002635249230

Thanks for that link @chrisowner. You might have seen in the comments above that I am struggling with the idea of anarchy. That article you sent me was very informative and challenged my thinking to some degree. I liked how it didn't shy away from the important question of warlords. One of my favourite quotes was: "The absence of a State is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition to achieve the free society."

Still very interested to hear more about how people protect themselves and pursue issues of justice in an anarchist state.

Just signed up to support Larken Rose, one of my favourite thinkers, and maybe I'm missing the obvious, but how do I VOTE for a posting? I only see a voting total button. Any suggestions?

Just click the arrow pointing up next to the dollar amount

Sums it up just about perfectly Larken!

Just another Big Fan, in the Mix. Thank you, Larken Rose for being the best freedom loving human alive. Try to keep yourself alive too, if not for yourself do it for the sake of all other humans.

Two of my favorite things conjoining in a mind-blowing way! Larken Rose and Steemit! I cannot contain my joy. Let truth and freedom now have an economy, and be valued once again!

Welcome to Steemit, Mr. Rose!

Welcome Larken! You will like it here! :)

@larkenrose + Steem = the revolution has begun.

@larkenrose what is happening with the mirror project? I stumbled upon the teaser trailer today and I'm extremely anxious to see this project done.

I think you should consider making some posts about it and see if the steemit community can help by their volunteering time, suggestions, resources, questions, or talent to aid you with the project.

At the minimum you will get a bigger following which will help inspire you even further to get this project completed. Humanity needs this mirror project decades ago. Waiting an extra day or week is like waiting an extra day or week while the house is on fire. You can't do that...

Welcome. As a cofounder of steemit I share your vision for a voluntary society. Steem is a stepping stone. Glad to have you on board!

dantheman, y'all need to get Adam Kokesh on board.

I joined cause I saw Jeff Birwick's ( @dollarvigilante ) video on Steemit, and then BOOM! Come to find out the anarchist's anarchist @larkenrose is on here, too! If I hadn't been sold before, I would be now. Anyone who doesn't know Larken, fix that asap! Good to see you on here, my friend!

Larken, I've read on your Facebook page that you are just trying to get your head around steemit. My understanding in short is that Steemit works kinda like the Federal Reserves but in a voluntary way. Steem rains down at an inflated rate but instead of people running off with the money and dumping it onto Wall Street, you are encourage to keep steem in your steem power engine where it keeps inflating giving you more steem and the power to have your post more visible to the community. Also, once your Steem is in your steem power engine it's locked in only allowing small withdraws over a two year period. It would take 104 weeks to drain it all out if you wanted to. Once it's withdrawn from S.P. , it becomes untouched by the inflationary rate where it's sold for Bitcoin on an exchange. Hope this helps.

  ·  8 years ago (edited)

welcome @larkenrose - For those who want a quick condensed version of govt. out of control, read Joe Plummer's online book; "Tragedy & Hope 101". It covers and answers SO many questions about governments and central banking dating back decades. Very well researched. True eye-opener.
http://stopthelie.com/letters__commentary.html

@aviator +1. I also recommend "Statism: The Most Dangerous Religion" a lot! It's an awesome video that is a compilation of Larken Rose's wisdom. It was one of the videos that got me to snap out of the illusion of government. I featured it in a post a few days ago along with Molyneux's "The Story of Your Enslavement" ... very highly recommended watching for anyone exploring the tenets of self-governance and self-ownership. Cheers!

I shot you an upvote. Not because I agree with you, but mostly because of my lack of understanding about your concept of anarchy.

I am a friend of Larken's and fellow Voluntaryist.
I would highly recommend his short and pithy, logically sound and concise book titled "The Most Dangerous Superstition". For every person I know who has read it cover to cover with an open mind, they did not come out on the other side with a single refutation for anything in it.

In other words, everyone I know who reads it, and processes it, and thinks on it, becomes a Voluntaryist. :)

Good to know. Thank you.

Hey Larken,

I've been hearing your name around the past few months... good to you have you here. Am sure you'll have some excellent contributions to mak to the community.

Welcome... :-)

All that I am asking of you is that, whatever you already believe about right and wrong, you apply it consistently, to everyone, all the time.

This one is easy for me because I believe right and wrong are different in any and every circumstance!

Welcome Larken! Big fan of yours!

I think I am getting the hang of it.

I made an account just to up vote your post. Hope this helps reach a new audience.

I still have no idea how to upvote or add a profile picture.

Hit the ^ next to the dollar amount to upvote.

Thanks!

The little arrow in the circle next to the $

Thanks!

The Great Steemit Migration Has Begun!

I've read your book, 'The Most Dangerous Superstition'. I actually found it very difficult to read, it was annoying and made me think far too much but, in all seriousness, was probably the most rewarding book I've ever read. Thanks for challenging me.

I also made an account to vote up your comment and that password was ROUGH, man! You owe me... LOL

I have certainly been leaning more to this way of thinking for some time now. I have always thought there is an alternative

do not trust the government, do not ever believe in history

Heard from Glen Beck?

What a thought provoking post... Take my first up vote. You've given me something to think about.

@maliklg "Statism: The Most Dangerous Religion" is an awesome video that is a compilation of Larken Rose's wisdom. It was one of the videos that got me to snap out of the illusion of government. I featured it in a post a few days ago along with Stefan Molyneux's "The Story of Your Enslavement" ... very highly recommended watching for anyone exploring the tenets of self-governance and self-ownership. Cheers!

one of the best introduction. welcome!

Great to see you here @larkenrose! I just joined Steemit a little over a week ago and I'm really excited by the prospect.

Check out my intro post: "I'm one of 20,000+ libertarian/voluntaryist activists moving to New Hampshire to stop big government! I'm also the author of 3 cookbooks! Now, I’m learning how to write/talk more openly about my feelings & beliefs"

"Statism: The Most Dangerous Religion" was one of the videos that got me to snap out of the illusion of government. I featured it in a post a few days ago along with Molyneux's "The Story of Your Enslavement" ... very highly recommended watching for anyone exploring the tenets of self-governance and self-ownership.

Again, welcome to Steemit! I sincerely look forward to reading more from you! Cheers!

Though you may be under a dark tree, always look for the light shining through the branches @larkenrose

good as a day :)

i'd love to hear your thoughts on libertarianism/anarchocapitalism and how they compare to your voluntaryism!

5:08
Experiment Town in England turns off traffic lights surprising results
ShahedEsbatBlog
5 years ago59,676 views
Experiment Town in England turns off traffic lights surprising results fit roads fit for people Portishead lights-off trial which began on ...

Very well said. Welcome to Steemit @larkenrose #anarchy

I like the choice of "voluntaryist" over "anarchist", but think it is a bit of a mouthful to say. Possibly some testing of other titles? Rebranding is a good way to get beyond stereotypes and misperceptions.

I like your ideas and will take them into consideration.

Thanks

👍welcome @larkenrose

I'm curious as to what's the difference between a voluntaryist and a libertarian.

Thumbs up man! Welcome to the community

Who builds the roads?

Good to see ALL those great advocates coming to Steen.

Doesn't even mention that he is an author of at least 2 amazing books.

Welcome, its nice to see so many new faces lately

Thank you very much for this amazing post. It really makes sense !

What kind of anarchism are we talking here?

A nation-state has three tasks to fulfill:
Security: Both inside and outside, and no lots of people with guns cannot defend against proper armed forces with air-superiority or even against terror-bombing and worse things. I would argue that inside security could be replaced by enough guns, or a lack thereof. But this comes down to your opinion about mankind, as humans are vastly different saying there are no violent humans is very likely more wrong than right though.

Welfare: A state also has to make sure the weakest can not become too weak and as the USA very clearly show, private donations are far from enough to keep the people well and make sure that as many people as possible can live a good life. In strong contrast to countries like Sweden, Denmark or Switzerland, which even hands out free drugs to addicts, which in turn has a net-positive effects by saving money, compared to letting them die ( which would also create social-alienation for the family and friends ). Vast social-security and free psychological assistance makes sure social-cohesion stays relatively strong.

Last but not least, Freedom:
Yes, the state has to protect your freedom both in and outside, this overlaops with security. But also your freedom to engage in contracts, contracts can only be upheld via violence and unless you were ready to execute violence on others with all means necessary you'd be unable to have economic freedom, when it comes to binding contracts. Of course some people would prefer a world without corporations, but as clans and gangs are corporations as well ( corporation is a social-organization style which encompasses far more than incorporated business ) it is likely that they become governing bodies, as those that feel socially-alienated or even rejected will search for their own group.

I would like to hear your rebuttal to these specific points.

WOW great post, I must say that you do have a great argument on your part. Although, I still feel that government is important to keep those who are not like you, those that would do illegal activity at the sight of no government, from doing any harm to others. However, I really enjoyed reading the post, definitely gave a new point of view to look at it.

Welcome Larken!! It is good to see more content creators joining Steemit.

Ditto.

Good read!

Yes, we need to tear down the government and start over. A few hundred years ago a couple of people joined the US government and then they started getting their whole family jobs. This family run business is screwing everyone else over.

Very well said Larken! I actually have ammunition now with this article when I get accused of not understanding that we can not exist without government.

Thank you. I enjoyed that.

So this post, along with a couple others, got me inspired to write a reply. Figured I'd link it here for the attention: https://steemit.com/anarchy/@telos/the-end-of-anarchy-part-i-unconscious-harm

Hi Bro
I study the theory of global governance
and I share it with people
you can join

@andrarchy I couldn't seem to reply to your last comment so I thought I'd do it in a fresh comment. Your comment which begins "The error, IMO, is thinking that anarchism is something that has to be implemented or practiced" was really well thought out and opened my eyes.

I realise that most people who are anti-anarchy fall into just the trap that I did, by demanding from the anarchists that they have a full 10 point plan worked out on how they're going to make it work. But this is unfair since we've never really had a chance to try out the system. Thank you.

Glad to see you are here Larken!

Beautifully said, as usual, Larken. I've watched your youtube videos and read your Facebook posts for a few years now, and I look forward to reading your Steem stories now, too. Thanks for everything you do to explain and defend voluntaryism!

Larken, I love ya man! And I love this post.. I tried to 'upvote' you but a message came back with 'transaction failed now: trx experation' Do you know what this means? I know you are new to Steemit, I kind of followed you over here...lol..but have you encountered this yet?

Hey, I just joined Steemit. Can you go upvote my post and more importantly make a comment for me - I'll help you if you help me!

Thanks,
Sarah