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About Voluntaryism

The voluntaryist creed, like ideas about gravity, Marxism, skiing, Christianity or cooking, is just that; an idea.  We might also call voluntaryism a “theory” or “a way of life” or a “philosophy.”  As with other “ideas” we ought to examine Voluntaryism and convince ourselves through logic, reason and evidence of it’s validity or invalidity as a way of life for ourselves. Let’s learn about Voluntaryism. 

We all have different backgrounds and values, some of us have spent our lifetime in left or right leaning groups.  Voluntaryism is a subset the freedom movement.  It is an exciting journey and not a good fit for those of weak mind.  It is for those with an open mind and a strong sense of morality.

There are many great people involved in the freedom movement, and there is much information available.  Here at Openly Voluntary, we want to help you with your investigation!  

Following is a course of a weekend’s worth of study about the voluntaryist creed for the curious and bright person, I hope you will find it to be enlightening.

I suggest that you be patient with yourself and with the authors/speakers/content producers I recommend.  Some are long-winded, and like a typical book, 80% is “fluff” and 20% is the good stuff.  You need not agree with each thing said.  I ask that you just file it away in your brain as “undecided” and keep listening, reading or watching.

I am going to give you a lot of information and I encourage you not to push yourself too much.  This journey is one that I think you will enjoy and I think your understanding and worldview will improve, but it is of course, YOUR choice. If you need to take a break for a few days or years, go for it. Philosophy will wait for you.

The path I have taken since 2008 has been a wonderful one, and I feel so much more enlightened than I did for the first 35 years of my life.  I must warn you that ignorance IS bliss.  While I feel far less ignorant, following an honest path, free of preconceived notions is not popular and is not great for one’s standing in the mainstream community.  Nonetheless, here you go on your journey to learn about voluntaryism. 

There are a number of mediums I will suggest below, from YouTube videos of lectures, animations and rants to books, articles and audio podcasts.  I spent many thousands of hours sifting through “things voluntaryist“, and I will share only a tiny fraction with you, and I predict that well before you finish MY list, you will follow paths that are most interesting to you. This is good.


Hour One of Study

Is Limited Government an Oxymoron?  Doug Casey & Tom Woods debate for 28 minutes:

OK, now for the first foundational point.  Collectivism -v- Individualism.  While Mr. Griffin is a minarchist and comes to different conclusions than voluntaryists do, he does explain the concepts of individualism and collectivism well.  Enjoy this 22  minute video:

Pro Tip

Not everything that every person from whom I enjoy learning says is accurate, correct, and logical or is exactly what I believe.  I like to learn from many perspectives, shake them all up, remove what looks wrong, enjoy what looks right and form my own opinions.  As you explore voluntaryism, I suggest not discussing it with folks until you have well over 40 hours of knowledge under your belt.  95% of arguments will go like this:

Me:        “I just wonder if we might be better off without any government at all.”

Statist:  “Yeah, that sounds good, but we have to have cops, military and who would build the roads?  Some government is good, it just has to be constitutional.  Without it the bad people would hurt the rest of us.”

Then, if you start to offer solutions to their questions about how people and free market private businesses might solve problems, defend themselves, build roads, feed the poor etc, the statist will find a tiny hole in one of your arguments and will use that as conclusive proof that a stateless society is stupid and that you are naïve.  It is better to say that you don’t know. 


Hour two of study

This 12 minute podcast is a quick rundown of what voluntaryism is:

Let’s plunge into a quick ice-cold bath of a 13-minute video to wake our brain up. This is a collection of bits and pieces of Larken Rose speeches over the years. It starts at 20 seconds into the video.

Statism is dead by former Voluntaryist Stefan Molyneux. Heavy stuff, if you are like me, you will try hard to think it is crazy, and you will also notice that you have observed the same in your life.

 

Congrats, you have waded through two hours of deep stuff. I say deep, but it is really kind of simple, just like the stuff your mamma taught you, right? 


Hour Three of Study

The grand-pappy of libertarianism, Murray Rothbard was not at all times a voluntaryist, however he was an incredible thinker. This playlist of the first part of Anatomy of the State is enlightening, and you might come back to the whole book later on. Murray was a true intellectual.


Hour Four of Study

In my conversations with many people, I hear a common objection. Larken Rose, is his typical “tell it like it is” manner, exposes this fallacy.


The following audio bit is an interesting thing to contemplate. The Story of Your Enslavement.


Karl Hess, a kindly and brilliant man, said some wonderful things. RIP my friend.  These are some of his quotes:


My friend and mentor Carl Watner, the man that is most responsible for popularizing voluntaryism from the 1980’s until his death in December 2020, wrote this wonderful article, “The Voluntaryist Spirit.” Listen to the audio version below.


Hour Five of Study

Many Voluntaryists are not Christians, and many voluntaryists are quite vocal about this. I was once like that, however I think that theists and non-theists can get along. Can a Christian be an Voluntaryist?  Larken Rose interviews Dan McCreary.


Next, let’s consider a radical idea!  The man in this video claims that he is allowed to rob you! What the heck?  As you listen, please examine his logic and see if you can poke holes in it!  While his title and conclusions are uncomfortable and sound silly, it does seem that he is correct, doesn’t it?


Hour Six & Seven of Study

Many people in the United States political jurisdiction really like and appreciate the US government’s constitution. They are perplexed when a voluntaryist says that she does to support the Second Amendment, but that she thinks anyone who wants a gun, tank or atom bomb ought to be able to own that property. Why doesn’t a voluntaryist appreciate constitutions?
 
Abolitionist and attorney Lysander Spooner wrote, No Treason, The Constitution of No Authority in the mid 1800’s. For many years I have tried to poke holes in this, so I re-read it, and I have not been able to prove him wrong, can you?


Hour Eight to Ten of Study

By now, you have heard 3,692 ideas that are probably opposite from what your parents, teachers, news broadcasters and Sunday school teachers told you. My discovery has been that when I am critical and test these ideas, I am not able to ignore them. Here are some more thoughts from Larken. He is certainly not polite and gentle, however I have come to appreciate his bluntness.
 


Are you beginning to wonder if maybe “government” is not a good thing, does not have rights and maybe isn’t even real? Wait, isn’t that called “Anarchy?” What does “anarchy” mean?

“An” means “without.”

“Archy” means “rulers.”

The word is from Greek αναρχια meaning “without archons.” It does NOT mean without rules.  A person who likes the idea of one person ruling everyone else is a Monarchist, a person who prefers two rulers would be a biarchist. A person who does not think that anyone ought to be the ruler of anyone else could be called an “anarchist.” 

Notice that neither “an” nor “archy” have anything to do with tattooed people with mohawks burning cars in streets. lol Stefan Molyneux wrote a nice short book called Everyday Anarchy, which is available for free in audio format as well as pdf HERE or you can buy the book HERE.


Hours 10 to 14 of Study

Walter Block is a good libertarian philosopher and economist, and his wonderful book Defending the Undefendable is a must-read!  You can either buy the book online, download it for free from mises.org


You have now spent less than 14 hours opening your mind to some “new” ideas.  What do you think?  Can you logically argue against any of the points made?  I hope so!  In the above links, various thinkers have tossed out some ideas, and I hope you take them with a grain of salt.  None of these philosophers are perfect, and I have found it wise to take the good and leave the bad.

The above exposure introduced you to voluntaryism and some surrounding ideas.  I will later offer more great links to learn more, and of course I hope that you do your own poking around and share with me videos, books and articles you find worthy!

Let’s now spend a couple of hours on a different topic, education.  I sincerely believe it will be well worth your time.  Visit this channel and play videos that appeal to you for a couple of hours.  Interesting, huh?

By now, I imagine your head is spinning. That is a good thing. I don’t know about you, but I experience a good bit of cognitive dissonance as I learn new things, it is part of the process.

Books

  • Serious books about the economics and philosophy related to voluntaryism: 
    • “The Law” by Frédéric Bastiat
    • “Economics in One Lesson” by Henry Hazlit
    • “The Most Dangerous Superstition” by Larken Rose
    • “For a New Liberty” by Murray Rothbard
    • “Constitution of No Authority” by Lysander Spooner
    • I Must Speak Out by Carl Watner
    • I Must Speak Out II by Carl Watner
    • “Everyday Anarchy” by Stefan Molyneux, a former voluntaryist
  • Novels with a strong libertarian leaning:
    • “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand
    • “The Iron Web” by Larken Rose
    • “Speculator” by Doug Casey


Thinkers and content worth checking out

Investigate Carl Watner, founder of www.voluntaryist.com.

Patrick Smith of Disenthrall, Libertarian Philosopher of the Year 2021

Tom Woods is not a Voluntaryist, however he is heavily Anarcho-Capitalist leaning.  

Christian Moore of Liberty After Dark

Keith Knight of Don’t Tread On Anyone

Stefan Molyneux is at times quite full of himself and is sometimes incorrect, I don’t always like his style, he sometimes tosses in some illogical fallacies and he bullies his callers in a manipulative way, but his pre-2015 material is well worth listening to and considering .  He is an atheist and is very straightforward about it.  If you are not, please bear with him.  

If you like Larken Rose, he has a great podcast HERE .  It is FREE!!!!

Another Tom Woods with Larken Rose as a guest.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jszKbJhx9I


Austrian Economics. Voluntaryism.  Anarcho-Capitalism.  Libertarianism. Huh?

So, there are different schools of thought in macroeconomics.  Most people, both liberal and conservative in the US don’t REALLY understand or think about economics.  They mostly fall into the Keynesian and Marxist schools.  Most slightly interested conservatives and entry-level-liberty folks like the Chicago School of economics, which is most famous for Milton Friedman.

As one uses logic and takes things to deeper and more philosophically consistent conclusions, many thinkers find themselves more in agreement with Austrian Economics.  Everything you need to know about Austrian Economics can be found at www.mises.org and from there you will have a solid foundation to move forward.  This includes many articles, free audio and video downloads etc.  Doug Casey is an Austrian economist and investor.  https://www.caseyresearch.com/team/staff/doug-casey

Listen to for free, or buy the book by Walter Block, Defending the Undefendable.  It is available for HERE.

Get the book I Must Speak Out by Carl Watner.  It is a great collection of many years’ worth of articles from his publication, The Voluntaryist, which is the longest running libertarian publication around.  I also subscribed to it.  His website has great stuff on it, including my story of coming to Voluntaryism.  http://voluntaryist.com/howibecame/gunner.html#.VVIN7qly9Xk

Get the book, or listen to the 6-hour series on YouTube of John Taylor Gatto, The Underground History of American Education.  Take everything he says with a grain of salt, it is not the most scholarly book ever, but it is an incredible eye opener.  The book is way better than the YouTube series.  If you watch the YouTube, skip ahead 20 minutes into the first video.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQiW_l848t8

Get the book Everyday Anarchy by Stephan Molyneux.

For kicks and giggles, watch the movie Guns & Weed, the Road to Freedom by Michael Dean and Neema Vedadi, whom I introduced to each other.  I have a short part in the movie.  J  

 I strongly suggest that you read the book, The Most Dangerous Superstition by Larken Rose.  

Buy Here

The Most Dangerous Superstition audiobook


Some people to research and watch on Odysee, buy books from, listen to podcasts etc…

Larken Rose

Carl Watner

Stefan Molyneux (No longer a Voluntaryist, however his 2015 and prior work is excellent!)

Lew Rockwell – https://www.lewrockwell.com

L. Neil Smith – http://www.lneilsmith.org/

Marc Stevens

Josie The Outlaw

Doug Casey is an Austrian economist and investor

Patrick Smith 

Pete Eyer

Bill B. – http://zerogov.com/

William Norman Grigg – http://prolibertate.us/index.php?blog=7

Jim C. Babb

Keith Knight – https://odysee.com/@KeithKnightDontTreadOnAnyone:b

John Taylor Gatto – https://www.johntaylorgatto.com/


Books About Voluntaryism 

As you investigate the above, follow interesting links, find your own favorite philosophers and keep studying.  I have found it to be an excellent, frustrating and satisfying journey.

 

The Most Dangerous Superstition – Larken Rose

For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto – Murray N. Rothbard

Everyday Anarchy – Stefan Molyneux

The Probability Broach – L.Neil Smith

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (S.F. MASTERWORKS) – Robert A. Heinlein; Hardcover

Market for Liberty – Morris Tannehill

The Law – Frederic Bastiat

The Ethics of Liberty – Murray N. Rothbard

Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand

Our Enemy, The State–Albert J. Nock

The Machinery of Freedom–David Friedman

Economics in One Lesson–Henry Hazlitt


About Voluntaryism | Resources


Check out Bill’s suggested reading list!  https://zerogov.com/2014/03/15/the-beck-library-liberty-and-the-state-by-bill-buppert/

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