The
Rational Argumentator
The following article represents a viewpoint
articulated by Mr. Zantonavitch, which has occasioned a response from Mr. Stolyarov in "Nuances of a Free Society and How to Achieve One", expressing agreement in some respects, and challenges, counterarguments, and clarifications in other areas.
Freedom
is the beginning, ending, middle, and totality of politics.
Individual liberty is absolutely everything. Nothing else in
government and the law is important -- or even relevant -- to
society, culture, and civilization. No other value, concept, idea, or
ideal even exists!
Freedom
can probably be best described as the politics, government, and law
of liberty, justice, and individual rights. Those three all mean the
exact same thing in terms of socio-economics and political science.
Individual
liberty is probably best defined as the right to think, say, and do
anything, but absolutely anything, which the individual personally
wishes, or freely chooses to do, provided he respects the equal and
concomitant right of his fellow man to think, say, and do anything,
but absolutely anything, which his neighbor identically wishes or
chooses. It's understood that none of these rights clash, conflict,
compete, or contradict; rather, all of them supplement, complement,
coincide, and reinforce.
For
the individual this means no (physical) force or (financial) fraud.
For the government this means no personal, social, or economic
taxation -- which would be theft -- or personal, social, or economic
regulation -- which would be coercion. All social activity must be
based entirely upon persuasion, and none upon coercion.
For
all people, at all times, no inter-personal aggression, unwarranted
attacks, or initiation of force are allowed. Force is only acceptable
in mentally sound, physically adult, human affairs when it's in
retaliation against a force-initiator -- and even then the response
must be proportionate and just. It must be socially moral, and
rationally justifiable and correct.
The
fundamental rights of man are life, liberty, property, and privacy.
No individual, group, tribe, nation, or government can ever
rightfully trespass upon them. Like all rights, these rights are
unrestricted and limitless.
Freedom
can be described and defined as pure political liberalism. Or else
100% socio-personal, volunteerist libertarianism mixed with 100%
economic, laissez-faire capitalism. Both of these imply, entail, and
require the other.
To
get around the problem of taxation, and how to legitimately fund the
freedomist government -- which no one has yet solved (except me) --
all individuals over 18 or so, in a proper, legitimate, liberated,
and free society, must personally sign the liberal constitution, and
agree to abide by it, and pay some tiny income "tax" or net
worth fee. Anyone who refuses to sign, or doesn't pay his fee for
liberty-defense services rendered, gets deported and loses his
citizenship. But there are no other penalties, including fines,
property confiscation, or jail time.
All
individuals at all times are completely governed by Natural Law. This
is so whether they know it or not, and whether they agree with it or
not. Father Reality, Mother Nature, human nature, metaphysical and
existential human equality, and human freedom impose Natural Law
upon all men at all times absolutely.
And
ignorance of this Law is no excuse. Human law or "positive"
law or tyrannical law never supersedes Natural Law. This universal
and uniform law of "liberty and justice for all" allows for
no "second-class citizenships" among the various mentally
sound, physically adult "citizens of the world."
It
should be noted that individual freedom absolutely supersedes the
values and ideals of democracy, republicanism, constitutionalism, and
the separation of powers with their concomitant checks and balances.
All of these are merely methods for gaining and maintaining liberty.
But they aren't individual liberty themselves, nor are they valuable
in and of themselves. These political techniques for governance are
virtually useless and trivial next to the pure socio-economic
disideratum of freedom.
Even
a society governed by exceptionally foreign space aliens, who call
themselves kings or emperors; who are elitist aristocrats which
pass on their rule via primogeniture; who never hold elections,
or consult the peoples' delegates in their rule; who have no
constitution; and who combine all executive, legislative, and
judicial powers into one branch of government, etc., can still create
political perfection and socio-economic utopia if they have utterly
untrammeled, unlimited, unchecked, fully guaranteed individual
rights.
"Minority
rights" aren't real and aren't needed since they're superseded
by individual rights. These are far stronger and are the only rights
which actually exist. No majority (Bolshevik) or group (collective)
rights exist to oppress or tyrannize the minority or the one.
The
cynosure of government -- like the focus and locus of society -- is
the individual. The purpose of government is to achieve the
individual good. Under no circumstances should the government focus
on, or even consider, "the general welfare," "the
common good," "the good of all," or "the greatest
good of the greatest number." These are collectivist, communist,
and totalitarian values, notions, standards, and goals.
Only
the individual matters, when it comes to politics, government, and
the law. Only the individual truly exists. The purpose of government
is to preserve, protect, and defend the exceptionally vulnerable and
infinitely important One.
The
"police power" of government to control and regulate
society for the general health, welfare, benefit, prosperity,
harmony, and progress of all doesn't exist. This illegitimate,
improper, tyrannical power invariably tends to create a police state.
And this view of the five-millenium-old "police power" of
the state doesn't represent a poverty of imagination, or limited and
crabbed view of government or society, but rather the intrinsic,
inherent, ineluctable nature of the state.
Government
by its nature is inherently reactionary, negative, and destructive.
It properly forbids, attacks, and punishes crime and tyranny. But it
can and should do nothing positive or pro-active. Any attempt at this
will inevitably end up terrorizing, attacking, enslaving, and
destroying the individual and the world.
All
creative, inventive, imaginative acts by an activist government are
necessarily criminal and
tyrannical. A free, good, proper, legitimate government only protects
and defends the individual and his rights. But it initiates nothing.
Such is the nature of the state.
Although
it isn't at all politically correct, multicultural, inclusive,
diverse, sensitive, or even democratic and peaceful, freedom
absolutely includes the right to be hateful, bigoted, stupid, and
evil toward your fellow man, even if it profoundly hurts yourself,
and all of society too. These four vices are socially and personally
immoral, but they are also the individuals's absolute, untouchable,
limitless right.
Government
was invented 5300 years ago in Mesopotamia. So was writing, history,
civilization, nations, war, racism, kings, priests, irrigation, the
wheel, and the city. It could be referred to as The Governmental
Revolution. And no event was ever more important and profound --
except the invention of reason and liberty 2700 years after. But
after over five millennia of the state, it's about time we got it
right.
America's
Founding Fathers were the greatest political geniuses and saints that
ever lived and exercised power. But they were far from perfect. They
debated forever how to balance (individual) liberty with (social)
power -- and never came up with the right formula. The correct answer
is: individual liberty -- 100%; government control of, and social power
over, the individual -- 0%.
So
now politics is a problem solved. There's nothing more to discuss --
ever.
Or
at least nothing serious. Nothing important. From now on it's all an
argument about president vs. prime minister, bicameral vs. unicameral
legislatures, appointed or elected judges, two 4-year terms or one
7-year term for the chief executive, etc. But nothing fundamental. At
long last, this is a problem solved forever.
And
please note: humans don't have to be "angels" as America's
constitutional framers pitifully longed for. Neither the citizens nor
the government leaders. The whole society can consist of, and be run
by, Hitlers, Stalins, and Khomeinis. And you can still create
Paradise on Earth.
All
you ever need is infinite freedom for the individual. Once you have
100% personal liberty, and 100% self-responsibility, this will free
and force the fascists, communists, and Muslims to completely behave
personally, and entirely get along socially.
Individual
liberty is the alpha and omega of society and the state. When it
comes to politics, government, and the law -- freedom is perfection,
utopia, and the definitive last word forever!
The Liberal Manifesto
Kyrel
Zantonavitch is the founder of The Liberal
Institute (http://www.liberalinstitute.com/)
and a writer for Rebirth of Reason (http://www.rebirthofreason.com).
He can be contacted at
zantonavitch@gmail.com.
See Mr. Stolyarov's response to this essay in "Nuances of a Free Society and How to Achieve One".
See Mr. Stolyarov's response to this essay in "Nuances of a Free Society and How to Achieve One".
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Learn about Mr. Stolyarov's novel, Eden against the Colossus, here.Read Mr. Stolyarov's comprehensive treatise, A Rational Cosmology, explicating such terms as the universe, matter, space, time, sound, light, life, consciousness, and volition, here.