"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." ~ H.L. Mencken
Natural Law
What, then, is legislation? It is an assumption by one man, or body of men, of absolute, irresponsible dominion over all other men whom they call subject to their power. It is the assumption by one man, or body of men, of a right to subject all other men to their will and their service. It is the assumption by one man, or body of men, of a right to abolish outright all the natural rights, all the natural liberty of all other men; to make all other men their slaves; to arbitrarily dictate to all other men what they may, and may not, do; what they may, and may not, have; what they may, and may not, be. Classic by Lysander Spooner
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"The natural law is, in essence, a profoundly “radical” ethic, for it holds the existing status quo, which might grossly violate natural law, up to the unsparing and unyielding light of reason. In the realm of politics or State action, the natural law presents man with a set of norms which may well be radically critical of existing positive law imposed by the State. At this point, we need only stress that the very existence of a natural law discoverable by reason is a potentially powerful threat to the status quo and a standing reproach to the reign of blindly traditional custom [common law/judicial decisions] or the arbitrary will of the State apparatus [statute law/positive law].
In fact, the legal principles of any society can be established in three alternate ways: ...by slavish conformity to custom [common law/judicial decisions], by arbitrary whim [statute law], or by use of man’s reason [natural law]". ~ Murray N. Rothbard
A true "strike [at] the root". Thank you for reviving this, Serenity.
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Natural Law
Submitted by Serenity on Mon, 2012-06-04 00:00
in Anarchism
"in Anarchism", the perfect place for this "Classic by Lysander Spooner", since a true anarchist has no human ruler; he is a natural person[1] not affiliated with a man-made government, who, as a consequence of his political status, (or lack thereof), may enjoy his natural rights[2] and his natural liberty[3], provided that he obeys the natural law, the science of justice.
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[1] NATURAL PERSONS. Such as are formed by nature, as distinguished from artificial persons, or corporations, formed by human laws for purposes of society and government. Wharton. ~ A Dictionary of the Law (Black’s 1st c. 1891), pg. 802
[2] Natural rights are those which grow out of the nature of man and depend upon personality, as distinguished from such as are created by [human] law and depend upon civilized society; or they are those which are plainly assured by natural law (Borden v. State, 11 Ark. 519, 44 Am. Dec. 217) ~ A Dictionary of the Law (Black’s 2ND c. 1910), pg. 1038
"Among the natural rights...are these: first, a right to life; secondly, to liberty; thirdly to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can." ~ Samuel Adams
[3] Natural liberty is the right which nature gives to all mankind of disposing of their persons and property after the manner they judge most consistent with their happiness, on condition of their acting within the limits of the law of nature, and so as not to interfere with an equal exercise of the same rights by other men. Buriamaqui, c. 3, § 15; 1 Bl. Comm. 125 ~ A Dictionary of the Law (Black’s 1st c. 1891), pg. 716
Natural Law
Submitted by Serenity on Mon, 2012-06-04 01:00
in Anarchism
I second the accolation submitted by Suverans2. Spooner had the ability200 odd years ago to truly "strike the root", and I'm a believer in working with the basics when my head gets all confabbed with the stupidity of the day. Example: yesterday's US supreme court "decision" ("foregone conclusion" is the better term, since we all know those berobed nerds know who supplies the oats for their nose bags).
"...Honesty, justice, natural law, is usually a very plain and simple matter, easily understood by common minds. Those who desire to know what it is, in any particular case, seldom have to go far to find it. It is true, it must be learned, like any other science. But it is also true that it is very easily learned. Although as illimitable in its applications as the infinite relations and dealings of men with each other, it is, nevertheless, made up of a few simple elementary principles, of the truth and justice of which every ordinary mind has an almost intuitive perception. And almost all men have the same perceptions of what constitutes justice, or of what justice requires, when they understand alike the facts from which their inferences are to be drawn..."
Spooner had in his time what platform virtuosos today can only wish for.
Thanks, Serenity. And good to see you posting, Suverans2.
Sam
THANK YOU, Sam!! It is the first time that this treatise on the law of free men has gotten two ten-star votes.
"The statement that there is an order of natural law, in short, leaves open the problem of whether or not God has created that order; and the assertion of the viability of man's reason to discover the natural order leaves open the question of whether or not that reason was given to man by God. The assertion of an order of natural laws discoverable by reason is, by itself, neither pro- nor anti-religious." ~ Introduction to Natural Law by Murray M. Rothbard
"The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on Earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but only to have the law of nature for his rule." ~ Samuel Adams
"...if the social compact has ever existed, its end [sole purpose] must have been the preservation of the natural rights[1] of the members..." ~ Henry Brockholst Livingston (November 25, 1757 – March 18, 1823) Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, nominated by Thomas Jefferson, in office 1807-1823
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[1] "All men have certain natural, essential, and inherent rights - among which are, the enjoying and defending life and liberty; acquiring, possessing, and protecting, property...", and they are in-ālien-able/un-ālien-able, which means that they "cannot be repealed or restrained by human laws[1]"; they can only be lost, either temporarily or permanently, via the express or tacit consent of their owner, or by forfeiture, that is to say, by unlawfully violating someone else's natural rights.
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[1] John Adams (1735-1826)