It is a generally accepted fact that initiation of violence is an immoral act. However, people often fail to realize what violence is and hence, they knowingly or unknowingly continue to support the initiation of violence. In order to avoid violence, the very first necessity is to understand the meaning and nature of violence. In his book Man, Economy, and State, Murray N. Rothbard offered the appropriate logical definition and interpretation of violence. Here, I am summarizing the nature of violence as mentioned by Murray N. Rothbard. Violence A person may deny resorting to violence against another person because he may realize the importance of non-aggression principle and believe that initiation of violence is immoral. However, morality cannot be the only reason behind the general acceptance of non-aggression principle. One may realize that his initiation of violence may lead the other person to retaliate and if he will attack the other person, that person may use arms against him and instead of being the aggressor; he may end up being the victim. Even if this person is strong enough to defeat the other, he may realize that in order to defeat and victimize the other person, he will have to spend much …Read the Rest
Tag: Ethics
The Myth of Utilitarian Social Contract and Issue of Natural Rights
In his book “Metaphysical Elements of Justice”, Immanuel Kant has explained the importance of a social contract by suggesting that the “idea [of social contract] alone enables us to conceive of the legitimacy of the state.1 ” Most of the social contract theorists including Plato, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, and Ayn Rand herself have emphasized over the importance of a state (howsoever minimal) to maintain a just society and to defend the state (even if it is ultra minimal) they have proposed an idea of social contract or the acceptable nature of government. Immanuel Kant further said that social contract “obligates every lawgiver to advance his statutes so that they could have emerged from the united will of the whole people, and to consider every subject, as regards his desire for citizenship, as though he had been party to accepting that will. For that is the basis of the legitimacy of every public enactment.2 ” This description of social contract justifies the compulsory taxation as a charge for the desired citizenship by every individual. However, Objectivists, and libertarian miniarchists Ayn Rand, Paul Beaird, Robert Nozick, and others do not accept this idea of Kant and they often …Read the Rest
Why do People Vote?
It is a genuine fact that humans are selfish by nature. Richard Dawkins compared humans as a robotic vehicle with an utmost motive to preserve the selfish genes they are made of as he mentioned in his book The Selfish Gene, “We are survival machines—robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known as genes…. a predominant quality to be expected in a successful gene is ruthless selfishness. This gene selfishness will usually give rise to selfishness in individual behavior…. Anything that has evolved by natural selection should be selfish.1 ” However, people often consider selfishness as an immoral attitude and many behavioral scientists have tried to establish altruism as the basic cause of human development. To some extent behavioral scientists have succeeded in establishing the idea of cooperation and reciprocal altruism which is nothing but the philosophical idea of rational self-interest that can also be explained as Tit for Tat2 . Basically, there is no contradiction between the selfish behavior of human beings and the idea of cooperation, reciprocal altruism, loyalty, honesty, and compassion. However, all this doesn’t approve the notion that altruism is moral superiority, nor altruism can be accepted as moral obligation. While explaining the idea …Read the Rest
Shenanigans of Altruism lead to Communism
Theory of communism is strictly based on the treaty of altruism which suggests that individuals are morally obliged to benefit others. The earliest theorists of utopian communism used altruism as the major force that will lead towards the success of communism. One of the earliest and major communistic works is ‘Code of Nature, Or, The True Spirit of Laws’ which was written by Morelly which was published in 1755. The book was essentially against property, marriage, state, police, and religion. Morelly described that his communistic utopia is strictly based on the moral principle, “Do good in order to receive good.” While those words may seem harmless but the interpretation of those words by Morelly was highly caustic and anti-human in nature. This work of Morelly proved to be highly influential for the later communist theorist because he not only criticized the concept of private property, but also, he asserted that where no property exists, none of its pernicious consequences could exist…1 . He suggested that all property should be owned in common and nothing in society will belong to anyone, either as a personal possession or as capital goods, except the things for which the person has immediate use, for …Read the Rest
