All peaceful, voluntary interaction permitted. All aggressive behavior forbidden. This is the philosophy of liberty in a nutshell. It seems so simple, so logical, to allow unhampered voluntarism, not merely because of the justice it affords to all the associating parties, but to the spontaneous social order that grows out of voluntary interaction on a society-wide scale. Markets, innovation, culture, civilization, all grow organically from this process. It’s the key to prosperity, the key to every social affliction currently wreaking havoc on our society. Unleashing the solution to our social ailments also seems so simple: just get out of everyone’s way and allow the process to proceed unrestricted.
Liberty is simple, but inconvenient for those in power. Liberty produces the best consequences for everyone, but it doesn’t favor power. It’s consequences are unpredictable, it’s rampant innovation destroys cartels and established economic power, to the betterment of the individual. That’s why liberty is the mortal enemy of whatever political class happens to establish themselves. They gain control of government, legislate wealth into their hands, and write regulations to secure their positions. Regulation being nothing more than the placing of more barriers in between voluntary associations, associations that would have occurred, enriching all sides. To enhance liberty is to remove as many barriers to voluntary interaction as possible. To extend voluntarism as far and wide as can possibly happen. This is the only path to prosperity, and the only real way to “take the power back”.
