PRINCIPLES

I freely and voluntarily support the following principles:

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All people should abide by the Live and Let Live Principle.

To “live and let live” most fundamentally means to take charge of and responsibility for your life by both defining and peacefully pursuing your own happiness while honoring the equal rights of other competent adults to do the same.  The Live and Let Live Principle fundamentally holds that it is wrong to initiate force, fraud or coercion.  In essence, the Principle prohibits aggression while recognizing the fundamental right of reasonable and responsible self-defense to defend against another’s use or substantial threat of an initiation of aggression.  To promote live and let live is to promote freedom and peace for all people.   

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Competent adults own themselves.  They are entitled to be the sole rulers of their bodies, their property,
their money and their time.

Self-ownership is fundamental.  If you don’t own yourself, you simply can’t be free.  If someone else owns you then you are a slave.  Owning your property, your money and your time follow from owning yourself.  These items of property are things you can peacefully acquire through trade or as a result of applying yourself and investing your time.  As such, you own your money and your property which you have peacefully acquired.   

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Government’s proper role is to act as our agent to protect our rights to both define and
peacefully pursue our happiness.

Legitimate governments are instituted to secure our unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 
As such, rights do not come from the government; they exist independent of government.  Individuals voluntarily
grant government the right to act as their agent to assist them in securing their rights.  As an agent, government cannot legitimately assume powers the principal does not have to delegate.  Competent adults have the legitimate right to control themselves.  They do not have a right to control or coerce other competent adults.  As such, individuals cannot legitimately use government to control others; only to protect themselves to the extent they
could on their own. Governments cannot properly violate the Live and Live Principle.    

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Competent adults ought to be free to engage in any voluntary and peaceful contract with other competent adults.  They also have a right not to trade if they so choose.

Peaceful, voluntary agreements between consenting adults are their own business.  So long as no other person
or another’s property or money is involved, whatever two or more competent adults decide to do with their bodies, money or property is their own business.  Just because something is legally permitted does not mean others must approve of the agreement or hold it to be moral.  Nonetheless, in a free society, free competent adults decide for themselves how to live their lives.  Moreover, just because free people are free to trade does not mean they are compelled to trade.  Free people can abstain from trading with any person for any reason.

    

No adult has a right to live at the expense of another adult without either a contractual or fiduciary obligation.

Free people are in charge of themselves.  They can decide to help others in any manner, at any time, in any amount they choose.  Free people are also free to choose not to help others.  Many free people voluntarily choose to assist others.  This is a moral question that free people are at liberty to resolve for themselves.  However, no person has a legal claim to the peacefully acquired property of another person simply because of their need.  In a free society, property rights are strictly respected and protected.  The need of one person, however dire, does not legally permit that person to trespass on another’s rights.

  

The free market is the best way to raise standards of living and to create and deliver goods and services to those who want them at the most efficient price.  I support the existence of a free market.  However, people are free to organize themselves around any economic system they prefer.

In a free society, a free market naturally arises.  As such, free market capitalism is the default setting in a free society.  In a free market, people are allowed to venture their capital to pursue their own interests in an effort to create wealth.  People who do a good job are rewarded economically and those who don’t are punished economically.  The free market of consumers determines winners and losers.  A truly free market always raises standards of living in a society.  Government shouldn’t promote or hinder business.  Businesses should be free to trade unless the
business is employing force, fraud or coercion.  In a free society, individuals are always free to choose a socialist system and to pool their resources so long as it is voluntary among the participants.  No person should ever be
forced to join a collective.

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Free people have a right to defend themselves against aggressors.  I support the right of peaceful and competent adults to responsibly own, keep and bear arms.

Self-defense is a basic human right.  No person is obligated to have a weapon or to defend him or herself.  However, if a peaceful, competent, responsible adult chooses to have a firearm, no other person has a legitimate right to interfere unless and until such person violates the Live and Let Live Principle.  People who initiate force, fraud or coercion with firearms should be punished after receiving a fair trial. 

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I oppose the initiation of force, fraud or coercion against non-aggressors.

The use of reasonable and appropriate force is always legitimate in defense of one’s self or another person or property.  However, the intentional initiation of force, fraud or coercion against a non-aggressor is the hallmark of criminal activity and should always be legally prohibited.  Sometimes determining who the aggressor is in a given situation can be complex.  Nonetheless, the principle remains that intentionally initiating force, fraud or coercion against a non-aggressor is a wrong the law should always prohibit.  A free society requires that peaceful people
are free from having force, fraud or coercion imposed upon them by any individual, group or government.     

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In a free society, competent adults decide for themselves what substances to put into their own bodies.  However, no person has a right to endanger another for any reason.

Being free necessitates being in charge of yourself.  Prohibiting a competent adult from ingesting a substance
merely because it is harmful to him or herself is in contradiction to the mandates of a free society.  Free competent adults own themselves and are free to use or abuse their bodies in any way they choose so long as they do not endanger or trespass on the rights of others.  So long as competent adults do not endanger others and continue to meet their obligations to any children they have, they should not be prohibited from ingesting any particular substance into their own bodies.      

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Free people are entitled to worship in any peaceful manner they see fit or not to worship at all. 
The government should not interfere with religious belief or be involved in any way with religion. 
The government must remain strictly neutral in all matters involving religion.

A free society requires that people determine for themselves what religion, if any, they will subscribe to and how they worship, who they worship or if they worship at all.  A free society must be entirely legally tolerant of the peaceful religious or non-religious views of others.  Religion is a private matter not involving government in any way.  As such, government must neither advance nor inhibit any particular peaceful religious or non-religious views.  Free people are free to publicly promote any religion or to discourage it.  Private property may be used as the owner sees fit to advance or discourage any particular religious view.  Government must remain strictly neutral and uninvolved.  

  

Government should not be involved in sanctioning marriage.  Competent adults have a right to marry one another regardless of their sexual orientation, race, or religious beliefs.

Marriage is a private matter between free and competent adults.  The government should have no role whatsoever in marriage.  If free and competent adults want to be married, they are free to observe or create whatever ceremony, traditions, vows or rules they see fit to employ.  Free competent adults can utilize whatever marriage contract they voluntarily agree to.  However, simply because people assert they are married, does not require anyone else to accept their assertion or to accept their definition of marriage.  No person, group or organization is required to recognize any marriage that fails to comply with their own particular definition of marriage.

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All victimless crimes should be abolished.  The justice system should appropriately deal with, and
afford due process to, people who initiate force, fraud or coercion and with people who recklessly
subject others to a substantial risk of such harm.

Victimless crimes legislate morality.  Moral issues are private matters that free and competent adults are entitled to consider and resolve for themselves.  It is not the proper role of government to impose any particular morality on any free competent adult.  However, just because an act is legal does not mean anyone is required to accept it as moral.  Indeed, people are free to attempt to persuade others to accept their particular moral code and to discourage others from engaging in any particular act.  Free people are at liberty to entirely reject the moral judgments of others and to attempt to persuade others to accept their moral judgments absent force, fraud or coercion.  

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Free people are allowed to express any opinions they want.  I support free speech and the free
marketplace of ideas.  People are free to accept or reject any ideas they choose.  The government
should not censor speech.

Free and uncensored speech is a hallmark of a free society.  It is also a deeply rooted American principle.  All speech, especially including offensive, disrespectful, racist and other varieties of distasteful and unpopular speech should be strictly protected.  Supporting the right to free speech does not mean one agrees with what is being said. 
It simply confirms the notion that the government has no right to censor the opinions of a free person however unpopular.  However, no person has a right to trespass on another’s private property for any reason including to express an opinion.  No person has a right to force others to listen to their opinions.

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I support live and let live values.

Competent adults should not be interfered with unless they violate the Live and Let Live Principle.  However, I support advocating for a virtuous and peaceful society by promoting live and let live values such as freedom, equality under law, tolerance, open mindedness, voluntary kindness, rational thought, honesty, civility and a commitment to pursuing truth.  I promote these live and let live values because they facilitate peace and human progress. 

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I support the Live and Let Live Movement.

No movement can flourish without supporters.  However, you are not required to do anything in particular to help advance the Live and Let Live Movement.  Some people vote for pro-freedom candidates or even run for office. 
Other people write articles, speak to groups, donate money to The Live and Let Live Movement, attend conferences or simply advocate for freedom with their friends and family.  Supporting others who support the Movement can also be effective advocacy.  The Live and Let Live Network is comprised of businesses that support the Movement and
are willing to act in some way to assist in the great and worthy cause of advocating for human freedom.  A free and peaceful world is worth the effort.