"The Voluntaryist Handbook"
Just finished reading “The Voluntaryist Handbook” by Keith Knight. It is a compilation of segments from books, articles, and essays with a lot of great quotes. I’d recommend it to people who do not understand libertarian and voluntaryist ideas or just to get an overview or refresher on the subject. It covers a lot of ground without going into too much depth. But because of how many authors he quotes on so many different topics it really helps wrap the mind around many of the arguments people bring against the concept. The book has too much content on the economy in my view, but that is a very important aspect to the libertarian, anarcho-capitalism, and voluntaryist philosophy. I totally agree that a free market and voluntary society applying the NAP (non-agression principle) is an ideal worth laboring towards in non-violent ways. I’d rather he spent more time covering different concepts outside economy or even shorten it some. But that is just my personal preference, if you are new to the Austrian school of economics you may wish it had even more.
It seems absurd to me that humanity still accepts coercion and force from their government on so many fronts. In my view here is a very simple thing is to consider. Is it okay for me to go over to your house and force you to pay for services I am offering you? If you refuse can I take your property or put you in a cell in my basement? What if I build a school, a library, and roads with the money I’m extorting from you – does that make it okay? So why are so many not only compliant, and okay with, but intensely defensive over such things when a group calling themselves government do such a thing? When a group takes on a monopoly over the use of violence over the people and call it authority then we should be okay with it? What if there are other options for mankind to coexist peacefully and without coercion? Maybe we could voluntarily associate with the people, groups, and services we desire to utilize and desire to offer. And perhaps a more stable and peaceful society could arise out of the ashes of the chaotic mess that governments have wrote on mankind throughout their histories.
This book goes over ideas such as these and much more. You can download the book for free or support the author by purchasing it; here is the website:
https://libertarianinstitute.org/books/voluntaryist-handbook/