There are Two Kinds of People in the World
Being a libertarian (or a paleolibertarian) I am a "live and let live" kind of guy. When it comes down to it, while I no doubt believe in moral values outside and above the narrow and strict libertarian philosophy (and often write about them here at this blog), I want to be free from Leviathan. Not only do I want to be free, I want others to have that option. I want others to have their natural and God-given right to own their own life, not detached from civil society (as some ignorant of libertarianism falsely charge), but from the State and the gun.
I want to be free to work in the market place without being robbed by the State; free to associate with who I wish to associate with, without being forced to associate with anyone I do not want to associate with (like the State); free to form private communities with people of like-values and to let others do the same; to allow the spontaneous associations, groups, and institutions of man to be free.
Ernest Hancock is right when he says there are two kinds of people in the world:
“Those who wish to be left alone and those who just won't leave them alone. What type are you?”
I want the choice, like Mr. Hancock, to be left alone. Is there that option? All too often do I hear that I need to "do my duty" and vote and participate in the political arena. But can I, instead, just be left alone?
But as said by those who think they have some kind of "right" to use physical violence against me, for the sin of wanting to be left alone and of leaving others alone (!), they say No.
What they want is to be given the "ring of power" or, short of that, they want to give the crown and the power it contains to someone they like who will control, from high above, society for their own selfish ends and desires. Many in this group of people are voracious for dictatorial power. They think nothing should stand in their way.
It is not only our very lives that this group wants to control, but our families, neighborhoods, communities, churches, businesses, prejudices, traditions, et cetera. Having these things serve the dictates of power and the opulent and omnipotent State is one thing for the sedulous statist who seeks to control people like cattle. It is another thing, contrariwise, if these things defy the King and defy power.
When we look at civil society, we find that it is based on the recognition of private property and the golden rule. It is only the State----the "legal" institution of plunder----and those connected (e.g., many in the big business world) with its power that is not.
Some Things to Read:
- "Down With the Presidency" by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
- "Why the State Is Different" by Rockwell
- "The Cultural Contradictions of Statism" by Anthony Gregory
- "Why the Wolves Rule" by Joseph Sobran
- "Utopia and Reality" by Butler Shaffer