Word Formulas Are the Wrong Path
FREEMANSPERSPECTIVE
Recently, an argument was made that libertarianism is okay with hate, since a word formula that libertarians like, the non-aggression principle, or “NAP”, didn’t exclude hate.
Therefore, I’ve concluded that it’s a good time to address the subject of word formulas and rules. And I’ll begin by being explicit about this:
Word formulas are the path to destruction. They are the wrong path.
Word formulas are the province of academia and politicians, of people trying to prove things. They are part of the “winning” game, which goes nowhere except to support domination.
Again, I will be explicit:
Liberty and life are not about proving other people wrong and proving ourselves right. That is the wrong path, and it leads back to bondage.
The case I mention above is one of many, and I’m not interested in attacking the person involved, whom I believe to be a decent man. I’m trying to make a point, not to “win.”
Why Word Formulas Fail
Liberty is a means, not an end.
Liberty matters because it is a condition in which life flourishes. And that’s all.
Our goal is not to achieve liberty; it is for life to flourish.
Hate, as you must know, is the enemy of flourishing life. So, if a “libertarian” word formula preserves hate, something is wrong somewhere. And the problem here is not the specific word formula, but all word formulas.
Words are necessary tools of communication, but they are imperfect symbols of reality and are easily abused. If then, we use these imperfect symbols in formulas and then claim that they define the most crucial things, we place the symbolic above the real, and we lose our bearings.
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