24A002 Honest Living, Without Laws by Jim Davies, 1/9/2024

The coming free, Zero Government Society will be literally lawless. How, then (some may ask) can anyone know how to behave?

First, every human being has a conscience, to indicate what's right and wrong. It may be scarred and suppressed, but it's there, ready to be awakened. It's part of our nature.

Second, there's what everyone will have learned in The On Line Freedom Academy: that first and foremost, every one of us is a self-owner. And that therefore, nobody is entitled to over-rule anyone's own choices for himself.

And thirdly, if despite all that someone does ignore what he's learned and force someone to act against his own will, there's the universal opprobrium that will attach to him like a limpet until he repairs his misdeeds; ie a system of true justice.

That single premise of universal self-ownership leads directly to two prohibitions:

1. Don't hurt people, and
2. Don't take their stuff.

#2 follows from #1, because one must exchange labor (part of oneself) for all acquired property - so they are really two parts of a single rule; and neither of them comes down as commands from some higher authority; rather, they derive directly by logic from that one unrefutable premise, or axiom.

They have an extra merit: they are so simple and intuitive that they can be understood readily by anyone aged 5 or older. And they can be taught now!

Now, for a happy life there's a bit more to it. Those are negatives - things not to do - but there's plenty of advice that's positive, things to try to do. They aren't essential, but they are super enhancements. More: they all relate to making one's own life better, more enjoyable; they are not burdens of obligation! Here are three:

First, gratitude. During 2023 I heard this pointed out by Dennis Prager (who is wrong about half the time, but when he is right, he says it well) and here he is quite right; it's easy enough to moan and bleat but really, life is good; and to reflect on that and say "thank you" to people who enhanced it in some way brings pleasure to oneself, as well as to them. Even 50 years ago it was standard practice for parents to teach their children always to say "thank you" when appropriate, to get them into the habit. Today, very much less so. Everyone loses.

Next, generosity. It's a paradox, but the fact is clear from experience; it's a happier thing to give than to receive! This appears in Acts 20:35, where "blessed" means "happy" - but I hear the idea occurs in most religions. It has to do with compassion, and one of the dreadful results of the socialist idea of the better-off being obliged to help the less affluent, as a matter of entitlement and under compulsion, is that individual acts of compassion are made less feasible. The fact is that when we give help, we do so because we like doing so; it brings happiness to the donor, not just the recipient.

Lastly there's greed. Be greedy. Surprised? "Greed" is a word that's been bullied into having a bad, negative connotation - but actually, when understood to mean "ambition" or the drive to succeed, it's good. Greed is the engine of progress and prosperity. It's the acquisitive instinct, which motivates us all to work more efficiently, to achieve prosperity or fame or whatever it is to which we each aspire.

Greed is bad, evil, only to the extent that greedy actions violate #1 or #2 above - if they hurt someone else, or take their stuff, like government always does. When you or I invent a better mousetrap or find a way to perform a job in less time or at lower cost, because we are greedy for the gain it will bring us, we're doing good, not evil. And in so doing, everyone else draws benefit; in the timeless words of Adam Smith,

It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.

So, there's a start; and here's an odd thing: most of the above can be practised right now, before the ZGS even comes into being! Not nearly to the same extent, because life is riddled with hundreds of thousands of government laws and regulations which get in the way - every one of which absolutely violates one or both of those two critical "commandments". When those obstacles have vanished, the sky's the limit. It's beyond my imagination to predict how peaceful and prosperous each of us will be.