Wednesday, September 19, 2012

The Problem of Involuntary Human Authority

I have no problem with voluntary authority, such as that wielded by politically unconnected company bosses, presidents of free clubs and associations, heads of non-coercive religions, etc.

Likewise, I have no problem with involuntary divine authority - I find it perfectly reasonable to believe that rebelling against the authority of an all-powerful being on whom the existence of the Universe depends is, like rebelling against the "authority" of fundamental physical constants, logically futile.

What I do find very problematic is involuntary human authority, which, as far as I can tell, is the perfect vehicle for the most immoral, unscrupulous and grasping human instincts, and the source of the majority of our most serious social problems. Following de Molinari and his successors, I believe that a thorough rejection of the principle of involuntary human authority is a necessary condition, perhaps the necessary condition, for the advancement from barbarism to civilization.

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