If you've noticed the amount of posts about anarchy or Voluntaryism that lately overshadows the Trending Page, you're probably wondering what is going on. For those of you who had no idea what everyone is talking about, this guide.
The first topic to address is what the meaning of voluntaryism actually is. Simply put, voluntaryism or voluntarism is a philosophy based on libertarian beliefs which says that human association, in whichever form, should be completely voluntary.
A detailed insight
Voluntaryism is basically a concept forged by a doctrine in which relations between people should be carried out through mutual consent or none at all. This is a step taken for the society to make it flourish because of the completely voluntary developments of the society. People, however, cannot be forced towards freedom, and they need to be willing enough to adapt this philosophy in their society for it to work as expected.
Voluntaryism strictly rejects the initiation of any sort of force be it threats of violence, bullying, theft, rape, slavery, murder or anything of such sort. However, unlike Pacifism, this philosophy does not bar the victims against self-defense. The best part probably, about voluntaryism is definitely its non-discriminatory rules. No matter which race, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical and mental ability you have – voluntaryism will not discriminate against it.
The controversies of voluntaryism
Most people, reading this up till now, will agree on how worthy this moral philosophy is, once uploaded in a society. However, the majority of people change their stance as soon as they find out about all the logical conclusions which are entailed by voluntaryism.
Here are some of the examples:
Voluntaryism rejects all sorts of trade restrictions whether they are weapons or harmful substances like drugs. The buyer and seller are free to trade any goods, for as much price, and under whichever terms they wish and agree on, mutually. If agreement does not take place the deal can even be rejected by any party. For example, if the seller does not like the reason for which the buyer is taking the goods, he is completely justified for rejecting the trade. In this philosophy, no third party is allowed to interfere between the trades of two people, no matter what circumstances may arise.
Voluntaryism rejects taxes. No matter for which purpose a tax is being levied for, voluntaryism does not allow it. Taxes are considered an involuntary exchange of money and similar to theft – hence, it is totally against the concept of voluntaryism.
People often argue that the poor will starve to death and infrastructure will not improve without taxes. On the contrary, voluntaryism argues that you are free to donate whatever you want to the public. As long as no involuntary action is being practiced. If the government levies taxes on the public, they might not be able to save for their personal targets. They have earned their money by working hard and what good will come to them if the government just takes away a major portion of that money and distributes it to the others? People can establish themselves much quicker if they are not burdened with taxes on almost everything they do and buy. Once established, they can voluntarily donate money to community centers, orphanages and to poor people. This way, they can stay within their own means and only give away that, which they are able to afford. What’s more, once tax ends, inflation will also end and resources would be readily available to the public. Even the poor will be able to afford food and shelter. What’s more, infrastructure can be improved and developed with voluntary exchange. The services like transportation, medical and education etc. will also be provided at a much lower rate because of the lack of taxation.
Taking away someone hard earned property is quite immoral in itself. The society members need to acknowledge the fact that people are naturally compassionate and automatically feel a sense of duty over those who are less privileged. The majority of citizens donate to individuals and organizations based on their own feelings. These feelings need to be trusted enough and should be brought to the front.
Another controversy which arises with this philosophy is that voluntaryism will lead to anarchy. As you might have guessed already, the main obstacle for voluntaryism is the role of a government. However, what most people do not understand is that a government, even though elected voluntarily, does not rule voluntarily. For example, someone who wanted to be president might become the prime minister and this will take away his devotion and dedication to work.
Conclusion
Voluntaryism, can give rise to several objections in people. However, there is always an answer for such objections for those who are willing to listen. Voluntaryism is definitely an extremely moral and an admirable idea which might not be able to work in practice. Because no matter how fair you want things to be, there will always be someone willing to disrupt the rules. And voluntaryism is one philosophy which needs compliance from each and every member of the society for it to work effectively.
All the objections people have with voluntaryism were previously problems people have faced in history. These people also managed to find solutions to all such problems voluntarily and this is why it is okay for our generation to aim for higher standards again. With every problem there comes a solution. You just have to struggle and find one for yourself.
The basic cause of voluntaryism is to educate all the people on what the true nature of morality is. This is one thing which is never taught in schools, and people take this concept for granted. If society reaches educational enlightenment, and eliminate all sorts of forceful programs and actions, voluntary alternatives will quickly follow and will help develop the society.
For those that are interested in a deeper analysis of anarchism versus voluntaryism, please see my earlier post here:
https://steemit.com/anarchism/@r4fken/what-s-the-fuss-about-differences-between-anarchism-and-modern-voluntarism
Comments welcome!