Freedom to choose

Are individuals free to choose their own path towards happiness, or do other forces control what an individual may pursue? The answer depends on the level of the society you currently live in.

Level 1 society

This society uses the state to overwhelm enemies and take their resources. Becomes an all-powerful state. Resists change. Controls everything. The individual counts for nothing.

This is level 1 thinking- it has applied for millennia.

Level 2 society

Cooperate with your competitors, trade your resources, and achieve prosperity together. This is a market economy in a democratic half-powerful state. But it is still state-controlled, at the expense of the individual

This is level 2 thinking. It has applied for the last three centuries and applies currently in the West.

Level 3 society

Avoid enemies and competitors. Define your own prosperity. Convince others to support you. This individual-based stateless approach is defined and recommended here.

This is level 3 thinking, but it is not widespread or popular- yet.

How do you achieve level 3 prosperity? By understanding that it is different for every individual, that prosperity is composed of a myriad of spontaneous individual choices, and that we should embrace the differences that result.

Why do we need a different approach, a new philosophy?

The West is immersed in statist and level-2 thinking that does not serve the needs or interests of the modern individual. 

What do most individuals want?

Life Without which it is all pointless. Apart from the threat of conscription, war, wrongful prosecution, endemic crime, most states will let you live.

Peace Safety, security, comfort, certainty. The level-2 state promises these things, at the expense of individual choice and consent. Ultimately, each individual must prioritise freedom and responsibility versus control and obedience.

Family The safety and wellbeing of family is paramount for most individuals.  Compulsory state education, medical mandates, unwanted social services: these threaten the integrity of families.

Choice Individual choice is the basis of freedom.  Regulations limit choices, elections are a joke, even bad choices should be your choice.

Consent Western society is based on the consent of the governed.  No harm should come to an individual if they do not consent to the harm. 

Respect The state does not respect its citizens. Individuals are forced to respect the state. Ministerial titles and privileges. Court procedures. Fear of law enforcement.

Property Is the basis of wealth, security, legacy.  Taxation, tariffs, fines allow the state to purloin your property. You own nothing completely. Without secure property rights you cannot build capital and prosper.

Justice Should be blind, fair, swift.  Justice is often delayed, expensive, biased, time-consuming, sometimes denied. Individuals are the purpose of the justice system.

Add to this list as you see fit.

What are the level 3 principles?

A principle is a fundamental truth that serves as the foundation for a system of behaviour.  It should be consistent, non-contradictory and reflect reality (see appendix 2 below). Your choice of principles will determine your level of thinking.

1. Individual life is sacred.
2. Individual choice is respected. 
3. Individual consent is always required.
4. Individual property ownership is respected.
5. Initiation of force is forbidden, except in self-defence.
6. Individual justice is underwritten and guaranteed by the community

These principles are the basis for a level 3 society.

Rights and rules

Rights are downstream of principles. How do the above principles translate into rules to live by?

1. There is no death penalty. No one may take your life except you.
2. An individual may choose to do anything that does not infringe these rules.
3. Render no harm without consent, except in self-defence. (Known as the HarmConsent Rule or HCR)
4. Respect the rights of others to justly acquired property.
5. Disputes will be resolved by a jury of peers selected by mutual agreement of both parties.

What is absent from these rules?

1. Democracy – a majority of a community may not override the rights of an individual. 
2. Fuzzy obligations such as equality, kindness, charity, equity, diversity, inclusion.
3. References to religions.
4. References to the state.
5. References to state institutions such as police, army, judiciary.
6. References to education, health, social grants, business development. All these benefits can only be obtained at the expense of another.

How will this work in practice?

1. No one may take your life except you.
2. No one may decide what you eat or drink or wear or inject or do to yourself.
3. No one may tax you without your consent. Without taxation the nation state will wither away.
4. No one may impose regulations upon you without your consent.
5. No one may decide how you use your property unless it affects them directly.
6. You may defend yourself with vigour against anyone acting against you.
7. Disputes will be resolved by juries of your fellows, with up to three appeals.
8. Providing aid and assistance to your fellows is a personal moral decision, not an obligation.

Conclusion

What are the obligations of an individual in a free world? To render no harm without consent except in self-defence.

What are the rights of an individual in a free world? To suffer no harm without consent except if you coerce others.

Most individuals have limited control over how things are, but their thinking and communications influence how things ought to be.

Appendix 1 – Definitions

Freedom of speech: Words do not physically affect others and so the consent of others is not required before speaking, except in the case of fraud.

Harm: For an action resulting in harm against another to require the consent of the other, then that action must be immediate in time and space, must have significant consequences for the other, and must have physical reality.

Consent: The request for consent and the subsequent action must be within a reasonable time and distance of each other. Consent given now does not imply ongoing consent into the future. Consent given in one place does not imply consent in all places. Consent for an action is not required from people far removed from the consequences of that action, in space or time.

Fraud: If your fraudulent words or actions may physically affect another then you must request consent.

Age of consent: Some individuals, such as very young children or the insane or unconscious, are incapable of informed consent. In that case they are considered as the wards and property of a consenting individual, or unowned.  If ownership is challenged (by anyone), the decision on ownership must be taken by a duly appointed jury. If an individual is considered unowned, by themselves or by anyone else, then they may have to rely on the charity and intervention of their peers.

Democracy: Voting is a useful mechanism for determining the opinion of a majority.  However, it gives no authority to any group to harm an individual without their consent.

The Greater Good: Some actions are considered so overwhelmingly good for society that their performance overrides any individual objections (for example, vaccination, environmental preservation (eg global warming), terrorist apprehension). This argument is inevitably the top of a slippery slope, on which all manner of further consent violations are justified. This argument should be rejected.

Grey areas: Any discussion of human interactions is bound to involve many grey areas which will be resolved by a jury of one’s peers.
Appendix 2 – identity, non-contradiction, excluded middle

Every decent principle should obey the 3 traditional laws described by Bertrand Russell – the laws of identity, non-contradiction, and excluded middle. 

1. Identity
   What is, is.A is A. Words have definite and specific meanings.
2. Non-contradiction
   Two or more contradictory statements cannot both be true in the same sense at the same time.
3. Excluded middle
   Nothing can both be true and false simultaneously. 

When defining your principles, they must adhere to the laws above, or risk being dismissed as nonsense.

There is no shortage of principles to guide your life. 

Democracy – rule by the majority is “just”.

It fails rule 3 – democracy may not be “just” for the minority.

Utilitarianism – The greatest good for the greatest number. 

It also fails rule 3 – it does not include the good for the lesser number.

Religion – just have faith in God(s)
It fails rule 1 – God cannot be defined

Do as you would be done by –
It fails rule 1 – requires knowledge of something that is unknowable.

Might makes right –
Does not fail any of the 3 rules.

Human life is paramount –

Does not fail any of the 3 rules.

Equality is paramount –

It fails rule 1 – it is a state, not a thing.
Freedom is paramount –

It fails rule 1 – it is a state, not a thing.

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