Humans, when their needs are met, are 99.999% good.
I've been thinking a lot lately about how people argue endlessly online regarding the "proper course" society should take if society is to become more peaceful and civilized.
An individual arguing that "society"or any other abstract collective should do anything, has already missed the mark. Usually this plan for world peace involves society conforming perfectly to the ins and outs of said arguing individual's personal belief system. For example: If everyone would just read the Bible and follow Jesus the world would be fine! Or If everyone would just vote Democrat we could get these filthy rich, patriarchy promoting assholes out of office, and things would be better!
Problem is, "society" doesn't do anything. Individual human beings, do.
There will never come a day when everyone believes exactly the same things in exactly the same way. There is the very real possibility, however, that more and more individuals will wake up to the truth that, if we are going to live in relative peace together, we have to agree on at least some things, right? Sure, like the immutable, axiomatic reality of self-ownership. Self-ownership is the guiding principle for any societal organization that would be even remotely free and fair, so, there it is. Problem is, not even everyone can agree on that most basic and self-evident of tenets.
When people's needs are met, they are libertarians.
Think about it. What are the reasons that people vehemently defend the existence of coercive government? Take a second. I had to think about this myself when these ideas started brewing in my head this morning. Here's a list I compiled of why people defend tyrannical, violent governance:
1. They are afraid.
Afraid of Muslims. Afraid of Jews. Afraid of black men, white men, women, homosexuality, etc, etc. They are afraid of starving. Afraid of poverty. Afraid of sickness and being without medical coverage. Afraid of power outages. Afraid of the dark. Afraid of literally everything.
What do you do when you are afraid? You seek for help. Thus the demands for government protection from and against anything and everything under the sun. There is nothing wrong with this seeking for help, of course, but why are humans seeking protection from violence, poverty, and death from an entity that specializes in creating these problems???
I was going to compile an entire list of why people wish to seek protection and help from a murderous and violent, coercive entity, but there really is only one reason: FEAR.
Fear their needs won't be met. Fear of terrorism. Fear of government legislation created by individuals whose viewpoints differ from their own.
Community and Human Connection: The only real solutions.
You know what drives away fear? Solution. RESOLVE. And, most importantly, CONNECTION.
Look, I may never be able to convince my neighbor or my aunt Shirley of the objective necessity of the Non-Aggression Principle, but I can connect with her where she is receptive. I can help for my next-door neighbor's needs to be met. Aunt Shirley needs a ride to the hospital and no one will help? Instead of letting her complain that the government should do something about that, why don't I do something about that?
Your neighbor is down on his luck and is afraid of his family not eating? Instead of him being forced to go to the violent state for food stamps, why don't you supply a meal or two?
Instead of asking the government to drop bombs on, kidnap, or deport any individual who seems to have a different lifestyle than you, why don't you disassociate in live in a community of mostly like-minded individuals who can protect and look out for each other, just in case? Why don't you try talking to that Muslim, that gay man, or that white feminist you are afraid of? If they truly are a violent individual, disassociate. If not, now you see them as an individual, and not as "they." This is a huge difference.
What can I do about the massive, huge problems facing the world? At first glance, almost nothing. I cannot stop war. I cannot convert all individuals who disagree with my views--religious, political, or otherwise. I cannot stop "world hunger." I cannot stop the murder happening every day in every region of the globe. But you know what? What I can do on an every day basis is even more powerful, and will change the world faster than any government or violent and coercive nation state ever can...
I can help to meet my fellow human's needs and CONNECT.
Once that connection is made. Once those needs are met. The sight of the heart and mind become clear, and with that, reality. And the reality is that all legitimate human interaction is voluntary and consensual because self-ownership is an objective fact. People afraid of everything won't be able to see that, however, and will demand violence and a violent state. How can I change that? I can help to meet their needs as I deem appropriate: financial, emotional, physiological, and otherwise. Once the fear goggles are off, then we can talk sensibly.
(As a brief aside, I would just like to attest to personally experiencing great relief from some of the individuals in my town, and also here on Steemit, showing me that I am not alone in wanting to live free, questioning certain medical practices, and choosing an "alternative" lifestyle. You guys rock, and it is this community which helps to alleviate my fears and embolden me all the more. Finding one's tribe can truly be a magical experience. Thanks!)
~KafkA
Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as Facebook and Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!)
Absolutely, absolutely loved reading this article. What we should collectively do is only two things: Do No Harm. Love.
Agreed.
I adore your point of view and agree. We should make the effort to know our neighbors. To grow our local community without hiding behind closed doors and make the adjustments to make our LOCAL community a great place to live. We don't need to be micro managed. Well you put it better- but I LOVE IT!! Look forward to more of your posts! I am SO following you my new Steemit friend!!
Thanks, @tammyp! Followed back.✌🏽👾✨
All relationships, professional to intimate are based on individual needs. Great article. Following.
Cheers, @nulliusinverba. Well said!
Very good opinion piece !
Lot's of interesting ideas here.
I agree with you fear seems the underlying cause of most every negative reaction to others.
But most of all I agree with Connection being the way for any one of us to impact the world.
it's kind of like the Butterfly Effect. Just one Connection no matter how small, can start a chain reaction :)
Oh yeah, unity makes strength :)
Thanks for your comment, @pbock. The butterfly effect, indeed. ✨
A good piece indeed. Interesting as always. The system of democracy, with the 51% imposing their conditions on the 49%, can only create resentment and division and I agree that only with self-ownership as a guiding principle can we hope to create anything remotely free or fair. And that’s an easy one to sell, right? I mean who wouldn’t agree with an innate right to dominion over his person? Well, I live in Ireland...........
Haha. Yep, democracy is nothing more than mob rule with makeup on, at the end of the day.
that one is really interesting post. keep it up dear @kafkanarchy84
I see what you did there in that second picture. (Unless you didn't mean to do that and now I sound like a lunatic.)
I'm not sure what I did there, to be quite honest, but thanks for the comment!
Very deep, thank you. Reminded me of Marshall Rosenberg ideas on nonviolent communication.
Thank you.
Awesome read! Empathy goes a long way and seems to be severely lacking in the world today. Like you said, if we all just helped each other out and treated each other how we expect others to treat us I think we would be able to take a step forward as a whole.
Also, I like that you said society doesn't do anything, it's individuals that do! We have to look within to begin to see the changes we want to see.
Exactly.
Yes. Humans are innately good. I've thought about that many times.
The system holds us back and keeps us fearful. And in fear we search for a system.
That's what I feel.
@kafkanarchy84 it would be appreciated if you check out my latest post. It's for a good cause.
Thank you, @sulev. I will check out your post ASAP.
yup..pretty much.
and their needs are met by tech.
the higher the tech.
the better.
Well met 🌟. Following.
I have to keep coming back to read this one. The first few words of this post keep jumping out at me on my feed. It is true, simple and profound. I've read a lot on peaceful parenting and this comes up over and over again. I've worked hard to try to remember to see what unmet need I have when I'm angry and to investigate the same when one of my family, friends or acquaintances are angry.
Pam Leo [Connection Parenting] has a powerful method she teaches of acknowledging feelings. In the process of attempting to acknowledge someone's feelings [maybe particularly a someone who is angry with you] you have to work out what unmet need they have in order to acknowledge. When she had me carry out some role play exercises at the beginning of her book I FELT very markedly how loving you feel toward the person who acknowledges your feelings and how the anger and fear just dissipate.
Indeed! I was watching Jeremy Corbyn [Labour leader in the recent UK election] being interviewed on a news programme in the UK and he was saying very clearly that we need to sit down and talk with people. That was the basis of his foreign policy. He was brave enough to say that is the only way ... and he was saying this in the immediate wake of the Manchester bombing that we were all reeling from [I live close to Manchester and have taken my kids numerous times to the arena that was bombed]. He has great courage and authenticity [for a politician!] ... I don't see him as much of a solution in himself ... but I think he is very right that we need to know what needs are unmet and work out how we can come to terms to meet them.
Cheers, @sallylloyd.
Hey Franz ! Great Post Bro ! yes ! We are Agorist !
"All of your bases are belong to us !" lol
I love your perception ! I would love for you to read or listen to a book/audiobook. Looking Backward, 2000–1887 by Edward Bellamy
Wonderful stuff ! Some real "Pearls" in this .. I don't agree with all of it, but again, some good stuff ! Think YOU will love it ! Would make a good post, lol
Read More, Reason More ... JTS
Thanks as always for the comment @jtstreetman. And thanks for the suggestion!
You give every person that you meet a credit of trust. If that trust is appreciated, it grows, otherwise it is destroyed. Let's honor the trust given to us as a free gift, and treat it with respect.
Well said, @johandutoit.
youretellingme:
Very good article. I grew up being brain-washed about the
so called evil Iranians and all the bad things that they do. Then,
in the early 1990's I was working in Japan. While meeting a late
night flight at Narita Airport, I had to stay in the airport for the night.
Unable to sleep, I started speaking with a businessman from Iran.
To pass the hours, we played chess and talked about various topics.
We parted ways with a handshake and wishing each other good luck.
That was my first time meeting with a citizen from Iran. I had learned
in a very short time that the propaganda that I grew up with wasn't true.
Thank you again for your article and the good memory that it brought back
to me.
I am following you now and look forward to hearing more from you on here. Thanks so much for sharing this.I love this comment. Thanks, @youretellingme.
I often think some things are man made, especially poverty. There is no need for anybody to live in poverty. What if it didn't cost money to live in a house with power & water & food didn't cost so much? Would there be as much crime? You say when humans needs are met they are 99.99% good, If the above didn't cost so much, parents would be around for their children more (Needs being met at a young age) and not have to worry about how they're going to pay the next power bill while having to be away from their children, and be stressed when they are with them. Life is so short and many people act like we're going to be here forever.
Unfortunately nowadays the poverty of the mind is man made!
"Humans when their needs are met 99% all good" Brilliant slogan!!! Good to whom??? Define humans!!! Do Chimps fall into this category? Gorillas? Other great apes? Can the needs of a wolf be met without chewing on a lamb? HA ha "human needs" are based on Darwinian laws of nature!! Ignorance is a bliss and it loves beautiful slogans.
Are you going to say something?
I just did .. didn't I?
I just heard a word salad. I am only an animal, though, so may just be in ignorance, here.
Not to worry. Nothing like a good university for solving intellect related problems. Franz Kafka for instance chose the University of Prague. Have a good appetite with the salad.
We human beings don't actually experience objectivity. We are all subject to the experience of not having others take over our bodies and make us do anything. Even if someone holds a gun to our head and we don't perceive a choice we are still masters of our own bodies. We still have to decide and operate our bodies to comply with the gunman's demands.
This is the subjective fact that reveals our equality and the need for the non aggression principle. So I agree with you in the ideas presented, but I don't use the same logic and reason to arrive at the same conclusion.
I hope this is ok with you because I appreciate your content and like knowing there are other ways of finding solution to our mutual problems that does not include coercion.
Nice post.
One might argue that a human doesn't experience 100% pure objective thinking, but that would not change the fact that individual self-ownership is 100% objectively true. To say it is not would be to enter the realm of absurdism, as this nature-conferred executive capacity is the very thing, for example, which enables me to make this reply to you, and which enables you to comment on this post. To deny the objective reality of self-ownership would thus be to enter a performative contradiction.
I experience objectivity every day. If, for example, I walk out into traffic, it is objectively true that I will get hit by those speeding objects. To argue that maybe 1 in a billion times, in a miracle of quantum physics, a car would pass through me doesn't help me much in real life, for all practical purposes.
Plus, if we don't experience objectivity, there is no way to ascertain or affirm the truth of your claim
because your claim is an objective truth claim. If it is not, it loses its meaning.
Thanks for this comment. I am happy to disagree and hash these things out! I need it! Thanks for reading.
"One might argue that a human doesn't experience 100% pure objective thinking, but that would not change the fact that individual self-ownership is 100% objectively true." I am sorry to have to disagree because the fact that no one can take over your body and make it perform like a puppet on a string is subjectively true. Your body is subject to your will just as in the same way that your consciousness is subjected to your perception of I am.
"To deny the objective reality of self-ownership would thus be to enter a performative contradiction." So logic and reason move me to point out that denying self-ownership would actually be denying the truth that you are the only one who can control your body and are subject to the consequences of what you manifest into the world.
The problem with objectivity is that it is a state of being for which we have no experience and thus we can only imagine the condition. As a subjective being I cannot say that you experience the reality of being the only one who can control your body, but I can assume, presume, and hope that it is true abjectly.
The fact that I am the only one who can control my body is subjectively true because in my experience it has never been done. This is a fact and it is a fact that most people will validate when asked.
To me this means that we are subject to the reality of being self owned and it is not something that can be taken from us. This is proved when a person puts a gun to your head and commands something from you. No command would be necessary if one could take over your body.
Thanks for commenting on my comment. Happy am I that we come to the same conclusion through different avenues. In your example you are proving once again that human beings experience life subjectively. We are subject to the experience of being hit by a car and subject to the consequences of being hit by a care. Objectively this would only be imagined, but in reality we are subject to what happens.
The problem is that I never argued the body cannot be controlled by force.
The body can be killed, but the body cannot be controlled by force alone. The owner of the body must decide to comply or die. Not great choices. Still the owner has to decide to comply and cannot escape the consequences of compliance or noncompliance. Only by recognizing that the choice of compliance or not do you realize your power. Thus compliance for a time until the tables can be turned becomes a third and not presented option.
In realizing this we see subjectively human beings have the ability to create new circumstances that would not be realized without the self knowledge. Our subjective power allows us to change even the environment using our imagined objective reality. Thus we see the objective reality doesn't exist until we imagine the ideal objective reality and have faith that we can bring it about through our actions.
i was saying the same thing during the elections in America. Like sure it might make some difference who is at the top of the hierarchy but not as much as the thoughts beliefs and actions of millions of people. It's really easy to forget the amount of good that each of us can do. Yes we are only single individuals but what we do reverberates. Thanks for this post, we need all e reminders we can get.