Self-ownership means you have freedom of speech, because you own your voice and can say what you want. If someone beats, steals from, or imprisons you for your speech, they are not “violating your right to free speech,” as much as they are violating your self-ownership, because they didn’t like what you said. Self-ownership means you have the right to remain silent, because to force someone to speak is an attempt to control their property by threatening them. Self-ownership means your body is a manifestation of your own unique, conscious choices and no one can take that away from you.
Because you own yourself, you are responsible for your actions. If you break something that belongs to another, you owe them what is necessary to make them whole. This also means you are responsible for and own what you produce. If you create something of value by combining natural resources with your labor, you have a right to control it. You can destroy it, consume it, trade it, or give it away. This simple framework for property by itself has the potential to solve many important disputes.
It is not possible for everyone to enjoy perfectly equal access to natural resources, but in a society which respects the rights of individuals, it is wrong to limit anyone’s access to resources that are not being utilized. Thus, it is wrong to pollute in a way that spoils natural resources others could use or enjoy. It is wrong to claim land in order to prevent its use. It is wrong to limit access to natural resources for those who would put them to good use.
Just as you have a right to defend yourself and decide how to do it, you have a right to assign relative value to your property and decide how to defend it. Under the current paradigm of statism, many governments take away these choices. Whether you like it or not, part of your income will fund a system that is based on injustice and a corrupt sense of property. A thorough respect for the principles of property is essential to a free, cooperative, and peaceful society.
Most conflicts center around property disputes. Disputes are sometimes based on confusion or sincere disagreement, but more often they are based on false claims to property. Such false claims are central to governments, which often assert that they, or the collectives they represent, own your income or your body. Governments also serve to enforce all types of false property constructs to serve the interests of the super rich. By obscuring the simple concept of property rights, governments have been able to commit untold injustice by transferring property from the poor to the rich. Justice requires a solid foundation in property rights.
Chapter 1 Section IV FREEDOM! by Adam Kokesh
I am the author of FREEDOM!, a book endorsed (I mean banned) by the US Department of “Justice.” You can get a copy here. I’m running for Not-President in 2020 on the platform of the peaceful, orderly, and responsible dissolution of the United States federal government. You can find out more here. I am currently on my #TaxationIsTheft tour! You can find an event near you here. Whoever has the top comment on this post after 24 hours can claim a free signed copy of FREEDOM! by sending me a message with their address.
I think one thing we can all agree upon is, THIS SYSTEM ISN'T WORKING!! It works extremely well if you're wealthy, and are okay with watching your fellow man suffer, but until we have a system where everyone is allowed to be free and not be exploited by those with the money and power, I'd say we've failed.
then I argue that the logic of the government is different. because they all pomayut what they do. their logic acts in their favor.
In Goverment theory there a basically two opposed points of view:
According to Hobbes, we need a strong state to protect our property to have justice.
According to Rousseau, to have justice, we need to reject any form of governance.
As he said: The first one to build fences to declare this is mine starts the real injustice. Others should go by and say: Who are you declaring this yours, who gave you such a right, earth belongs to no one.
Isn't a government an institutionalized robbery, because it is protecting those, who take from others?
Yes it is. They are 'Stationary Bandits' per Murray Rothbard.
Good post.
I think that is already happening from 1913, when USA got the Federal reserve....
Yup. Income Tax 16th Amendment passed the same year..
Sick, isn't it.
I keep thinking of other ways they funnel wealth up, and send empty rhetoric back down.
People just eat it up too..