The Daily Anarcho-Stack. Why I am a Voluntaryist.
The Free Market goes beyond Anarchy, Capitalism, or Individualism. You also have to have parties voluntarily agree to trade with each other.
The Self-Owner Is Owner of His Own Mind and Body and His Own Property.
I am curious. Do I own my own mind if it is being surveilled by a three letter agency causing me to use a VPN? Do I own my own body if I am forced to put poisons in my body? Do I own my own property if I am forced to buy a Vehicle Tag and a Driver’s License from the State? How can one enter into a voluntarily agreement with another party if that other party is forcing one to participate in society without checking out of society altogether? These are the questions I ask when I follow the path of Voluntarism.
As a Voluntarist, I have the right to consent to those that give consent but also, I have the right to refuse said consent from those that refuse the right for me to be free from tyranny. Government, strictly and scientifically speaking, is a coercive force; a man, while governed with his own consent, is not governed at all. - Josiah Warren The Anarchist Handbook - Michael Malice When I am consenting to trade with another individual, I and the other party(-ies) have the understanding that there is no force being consented to if all parties are governed by their own moral standards and self-responsibilities.
(Here is the link to but The Anarchist Handbook on Amazon by Michael Malice. I recommended the audio version because several portions of the book are narrated by the likes of and (on Substack no less!) and of course, Tim Pool, Lauren Chen, Mikhaila Peterson, and Dave Smith.)
“The government” — that is, the agent of a secret band of robbers and murderers, who have taken to themselves the title of “the government,” and have determined to kill everybody who refuses to give them whatever money they demand. (Part 6, Sec 3) - No Treason, Lysander Spooner. The Voluntaryist Handbook by Kieth Knight - Do not Tread on Me.
I wonder how much tax funding Government has “asked” you to fund the Wars of the State that you never see on T.V. or Social Media? They demand money from you. What happens if you refuse to give it to them? I can refuse a contract of a house I wish to buy but I will not be able to live in it (albeit, I will either not get the house or I will have to get a new contract for the house.) But just imagine that you saying no to your tax collector / assessor of your own property. What would be the repercussions of that? The Government does not ask. It just implies, because you live on land that they say is theirs, you own them whatever economy you earn through whatever consenting means is available to you.
Does that sound like a voluntary contractual agreement to you? What happens if I want to donate to the expenditures that help out individuals like yourself?
Below are some more links to explore Voluntarianism for your future purusing:
The Voluntarist Handbook: A Collection of Essays, Excerpts, and Quotes - Keith Knight
Voluntary Virtue - Voluntarists Engaged in Good Works
In Her Name,
i3utm
I've read Malice's handbook and Knight's, too. Lots of good ideas to grapple with in those volumes!
Great primer of works to understand voluntaryism. It's such a common sense foundational concept that somehow it's become radical.
The common dismissal of how it can't be implemented in an existing system always removes its tenets from the conversation. If the system can't handle consent, maybe that's the very framework we need to examine our interactions from.
Great stuff as always.