The Zero Aggression Principle and my Pagan Vigil FAQ - Looking for your thoughts


I think I am about done, but I want to know what you think
Before last year, I would have said that most small "L" libertarians tried to be rational with their politics. Yes, there were disagreements, but nothing substantial.

But then all of the sudden, some libertarians claimed that all "true" libertarians supported Ron Paul, no matter what he was associated with in his past, and no matter what he had said.

Dealing with that attitude is what prompted me to look long and hard at libertarian attitudes. Truthfully, I had opened the door back in May 2007 when I ran across the You Are Not Alone piece. But it took election politics to get me through the door.

I've discovered that the Zero Aggression Principle is much more sacred to some libertarians than I ever thought possible. Who knows? Maybe when I accepted that I was Pagan, it taught me to question the basic assumptions. If I could do it with Christianity, if I could do it with myself, then it seems only natural that I learn to do it with the core assumptions that shape my thinking and actions.

Free to choose. That means that every governing thought must stand on it's own merits. If no one is allowed to question, to dissent, to challenge, then how is that thought worthy?

So with that in mind, here's the latest version of my ideas on the ZAP without all the edits. I'll probably be putting this bit in my FAQ around the beginning of April. I'm still open to ideas and revisions, but I think I've got it.

Both conservatives and modern liberals will use force if it is for the "greater good." One problem is deciding just who controls that force, especially when and how it's applied. But the bigger problem is picking the people who decide that "greater good."

Most American libertarians follow the Zero Aggression Principle. "No human has the right, under any circumstances, to initiate force against another." Many libertarians insist that the ZAP is the sole defining characteristic of libertarians.

Prior to the 1960s, I can't find evidence that the Zero Aggression Principle was THE defining characteristic of a libertarian. Yes it was mentioned, but always deriving from other principles. I'm still amazed that I missed that until I started looking closer. Considering some of the other things that were happening in American culture and in the liberty movement, it does make sense in context. If the ZAP wasn't THE defining trait of libertarians in the 1950s, or of (classical) liberals in the 1900s, then obviously the ZAP isn't as central to freedom and liberty as some libertarians say.

I used to sum the ZAP up as "Thou shalt not initiate force." It was practically the only dogma I allowed myself.

But there are exceptions to every rule. Exceptions that you can only invoke at your own peril and at the risk of undoing everything that you believe is right and just. There are times when playing by the rules just invites your own destruction. There are times when certain people game the system, just so no one can honorably oppose their moves.

The Zero Aggression Principle only works as a guideline, not as an absolute.

Depending on circumstances, I'm no longer willing to rule out initiating force. But I'm still smart enough to accept that initiating force could (and probably will) invite total catastrophe.

With apologies to movie purists, "be nice until it's time not to be nice." Tit-for-tat. That's a choice that can only be made by an individual. That's a choice that will always have drastic consequences. Sometimes that's the choice that will support liberty and freedom.

Ultimately, that's the goal, not non-aggression.

The Zero Aggression Principle works when everyone is willing to play the civilization game. But it's not universal. And that is the issue.

If I am wrong, by all means tells me so. Give me your reasoning. If you don't feel like publicly posting your comment on my blog, click the Feedback link at the bottom and send me an e-mail.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Tue - March 10, 2009 at 02:27 PM  Tag


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