What is the central principle of politics today?

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The Pro-Aggression Principle, but there’s an alternative.

No one, except for a few sociopaths, uses aggression to impose their personal preferences on others. Most people obey the Zero Aggression Principle (ZAP) in their personal life. But in the political realm, many of these same, good people become statists. When it comes to “governance,” they embrace a…

Pro-Aggression Principle (PAP): The problems I care about are so important that my solutions justify using threats, backed by violence, to impose them on others.

Let’s be clear: One can fix a social problem using persuasion and voluntary cooperation. No aggression is required.

But the statist declares, “There ought to be a law.” Laws require penalties — all must obey or suffer arrest and punishment. The statist even thinks death is warranted in even the most passive cases of resisting arrest. Therefore…

Every person who embraces State aggression has made a choice. They are implicitly rejecting peaceful persuasion and voluntary cooperation as tools for solving social problems. They have chosen the pro-aggression path.

But is it just or accurate to call pro-aggression their “principle?” That is, do they really intend to be violent? Perhaps they were so focused on the problem that they never gave much thought to the violence. Nevertheless…

It is more than fair to say aggression is their principle. Their plans require the power to punish instead of persuade. They could’ve tried to win others to their solution using…

After all, leaders in technological, business, and charitable solutions use those persuasive approaches all the time. But the statist believes their issue is special. Aggression is necessary because not enough people will share their level of concern.

About the Author

Jim Babka

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Jim Babka is co-founder of the Zero Aggression Project and President of DownsizeDC.org, Inc. He’s an author and former talk show host. Previously, he was the President of RealCampaignReform.org, Inc., defending free press rights all the way to the Supreme Court. He and Susie are the proud, home-schooling parents of three teenagers. He enjoys theology, UFC, target practice, and Tai Chi.

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