Where do your get your rights?
Libertarianism is inherently empathetic. Libertarians respect individual conscience in all things. We imagine how others…
- want to be treated, and deal with them accordingly (the Golden Rule)
- don’t want to be treated, and we respect their boundaries (the Zero Aggression Principle)
Empathy is a regard for others. It was empathy that motivated humans to create a legal system. We all recognize that none of us wants to be…
- Threatened
- Robbed
- Murdered
- Cheated
We support due process and the presumption of innocence because of empathy. We imagine how we would feel if we were falsely accused. Thus…
Our rights are empowered by empathy! Your neighbor could menace, steal from, or slaughter you. You could do the same to him. Instead, you each recognize that…
Empathy feels good, achieves good, and returns good.
This makes empathy a better social strategy than bullying force. Empathy fosters positive reciprocity. By contrast, The State…
- Threatens and initiates force
- Is funded by violent means
These practices negate empathy. They replace positive reciprocity with political warfare. If you lose the political contest then I impose on you, and vice versa. Empathetic libertarianism rejects political warfare in favor of non-violent persuasion, cooperation, and tolerance.
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By Doug August 19, 2015 - 8:49 pm
I really enjoyed reading your “mental levers” – thanks for all you do.
In Liberty,
Doug
By Perry Willis August 19, 2015 - 10:05 pm
Hi Doug. Thanks for the kind words and encouragement.
By Sharon Presley January 24, 2016 - 10:56 pm
Thi is excellent! I really like the way you put this. It not only makes good political sense, it is good psychology too. Psychologists see empathy as the basis of morality. More people need to understand this.