You Are an Anarchist
If you ask a person what sort of behavior is acceptable, they will likely reply, “Do whatever you like so long as it doesn’t harm others.”
The principle described above is a “liberal” principle. Liberal, derived from the root word liberty, concerns the freedom of individuals to do as they please, as well as their individual rights which cannot be infringed upon by others.
The formal philosophical name of that principle is the “non-aggression axiom,” and it means that the initiation of force against another person is immoral. It is the single foundational principle of anarchism. Anarchism is a political philosophy that asserts this principle to be the sole moral law, and in doing so comes to a logical conclusion: the institution we call the “government” is in the business of breaking this law constantly.
We are all aware of it. Most obviously, the government takes a portion, about one third, of all of our earnings. We have no choice in this matter, and we have absolutely minimal view on how it is spent. This directly violates the ethics of liberalism.
Secondly, the government decrees certain items and actions to be “illegal”. There was a time the government outlawed alcohol in the United States. In many governments, one is supposed to have certain religious beliefs, which makes merely thinking certain thoughts illegal. The mere concept of illegality is illiberal.
Naturally, one must object, “But don’t we need the government? Isn’t it only practical? Who will punish murderers? Who will feed the poor? Who will defend us from enemies?” These are all good questions, which we as open-minded people must further explore. But the point stands for now that to accept government is, logically, to reject that common sense principle of individual liberty.
