This is a work in progress, so watch for updates!
- Liberty: The ability to determine one's own destiny with one's own talent, skill, and labor without force applied by other parties. A person with liberty as defined here will be referred to as a free person.
- The individual: Liberty resides first and foremost with the individual. To separate liberty from an individual in any shape or form is to make that individual subservient to another against his will. This includes placing family, community, region, or nation above the individual involuntarily.
- Rights: The expression of liberty in salient points.
- Rights are inherent in every human: “unalienable rights endowed by our creator.” Rights are not given to us by other men or by government.
- Foremost among rights is the right to life; from this right all others spring.
- The labor and the fruits of the labor of a free person represent that person's life and therefore must be protected equally with life. The fruits of a free person's labor are also known as property. A free person may acquire, use, control, modify, and dispose of his property as he sees fit.
- Free people have the right to protect their lives and property from illegitimate force, by using force if necessary.
- Free people may partake in voluntary transactions, enter into and enforce voluntary agreements, and freely associate as they see fit. (this is covered in more detail below, under interactions. Do I need it here as well? I'm thinking so, because the ability to interact is a right (this section) while the section below covers interactions in depth... I'll have to ponder it)
- Life, property, and rights may not be involuntarily removed from a free person except by due process of law. Due process includes being able to face your accuser, having access to evidence of charges against you, and trial by a jury of your peers. Property and persons may not be searched against a free person's will except with a duly sworn warrant or upon probable cause. The burden of proof lies on the government or accuser.
- All rights of all free persons are mutually inclusive. One right cannot infringe on another. This precludes any perceived right to the fruits of the labor of another without voluntary exchange.
- Human Interactions: Under liberty, all interactions between free persons must be voluntary. By definition, this precludes the use of force.
- Association
- Free people or organizations of free people may associate or not associate with whomever they choose for any reason without fear of reprisal. This includes discrimination in membership and employment by private associations or enterprises.
- Liberty does not dictate fairness of treatment for all by any free person, it merely prohibits the use of force against free persons.
- Exchange of Property
- All exchanges of property (hereafter called “exchanges”) between free persons must be voluntary. By inference, a voluntary exchange is beneficial to all parties, otherwise the parties would not execute the exchange.
- Free persons can enter into and enforce agreements or contracts freely. Legal contracts cannot infringe on the rights of free persons not a party to the contract.
- Contract disputes are best solved by third party arbitrators or through law. (needs expounding. Not quite sure what else to say here. May also be better in platforms)
- Force
- The use of force is defined to include any act that compels a person to undertake an action against his will. The use of force is antithetical to voluntary interaction and liberty. The only legitimate use of force is to repel illegitimate force. Force can include anything from the threat or use of physical violence to laws and ordinances passed by any level of government.
- Fraud
- Fraud is akin to force in that it involves using deception to convince a person to undertake an action or transaction that person would not have voluntarily entered otherwise. It is also antithetical to voluntary interaction.
- Personal responsibility
- Liberty is inseparable from personal responsibility. When you have the ability to determine your own destiny, you also have the responsibility to meet all your needs and wants.
- In a state of liberty, the achievements of free people are not the result of the achievements of other free people, beyond voluntary exchanges. Since, by inference, voluntary exchanges benefit all parties involved, no future compensation can be expected for past voluntary exchanges beyond the terms of those exchanges.
- Yielding personal responsibility will yield liberty. If a free person uses the government's monopoly on force to provide for his needs or wants, that government will dictate the terms of providing these needs or wants. This erodes the liberty of the person receiving the needs or wants in addition to the free person from whom the property was seized to provide the wants or needs.
- Assumption of liability
- When a free person undertakes a voluntary interaction, that person makes a reasonable assumption of the risks of that action. A person who takes a job in an establishment that allows smoking assumes the risk of second-hand smoke exposure. A person who goes scuba diving assumes the risk of drowning.
- Common practice is a defense against charges of negligence. No one can predict all outcomes and life is not perfect. Accidents happen and some things are outside human control.
- Caveat Emptor. It is the buyer's responsibility, as a free person, to ensure the transaction he is undertaking is sound. If a free person does not have the expertise to judge the transaction, trusted experts or organizations may be called upon for advice.