1]. What exactly is the Liberty Round Table?
LRT is a group of friends who coordinate their individual actions to produce easily understood lessons on the philosophy of freedom to the general public. The opening page of this web site sums up our position pretty well... Feel free to write to me if you still have questions.
2]. What's in it for me?
A]. Fun! Our projects allow for every level of involvement so nobody has to feel roped into doing stuff that doesn't suit them... and some of them promise to yield some pretty funny results.
B]. Friends! The type of people LRT is likely to attract are fun and freedom-loving individuals who don't like to be pushed around, and don't want to live their lives as suffering martyrs. I don't know about you, but I just love getting to meet and know such people.
C]. Making a difference! Do you ever wonder how much good it actually does to send money to organizations you think are doing good things? Do you ever wonder whether voting for your favorite candidate really does any good? Through the LRT, individuals choose the exact projects that interest them most, and spend their own money themselves. Your individual action, all by itself, will make a difference. Knowing that many others are doing similar things, or even the same thing simultaneously, just adds to the satisfaction of knowing that you are making a difference.
D]. Your future, and that of any children you may have! I believe that most people don't like the way things are going, but don't get involved because they don't think anything they could do would possibly matter. Well, you do matter! And if you care about yourself and your posterity, this is a great way to get involved without getting obligated.
3]. What's in it for you, DLT and the KNA?
I do not claim to have set the LRT in motion purely out of the goodness of my heart and my love for humankind. I do love people, my favorite animal, and I do think everyone will benefit from LRT action, but that's not why I'm doing this. I'm doing this because I don't like being pushed around, I don't like being treated like a slave. It does hurt me to think about the mind-boggling magnitude of human suffering worldwide, but it is my own--and the future condition of my children--that makes it impossible for me to do nothing.
As impossible as it would be for me to walk by a back-alley rape and do nothing, it is equally impossible for me not to put all the creativity and energy I can into stopping the systematic rape that we currently call governance. I live here too, dammit, and I am being wronged! Doing something about it, taking action, is the only thing that makes it bearable. If I don't take action, I'm no better off than the rape victim who never gets up again, saying, "I'm to blame, I asked for it".
That's what's in it for me. Call it rage, call it vengeance, call it exercising my freedom, call it intransigence, or call it love. KYFHO ("Keep Your Fucking Hands Off") applies to my body and my life as well as to yours. I don't speak for anyone else, but I would predict that most Knights of Non-Aggression think similarly.
4]. What's the scam?
There isn't one here. You either believe me, or you don't. This isn't multi-level marketing, this isn't a get rich quick scheme, this isn't an attempt to trick you into signing up for something you don't want any part in. This is just a vehicle for people who care to take action that means something, and will make a real difference.
If you want scams, go look at Social Security, or any of the "protection racket" taxpayer-fleecing schemes Uncle Sam runs!
5]. What kinds of projects are you planning anyway?
Lots! And we welcome your suggestions! So check out our project section and let us know what you think...
6]. Is this legal, will your projects break the law, and can I get into trouble just for talking to you guys?
Well, if you could get into trouble just for talking, it might be time for a third American revolution, but fortunately things haven't gotten that bad yet. Our strategy is not one of violent revolution. Ours is a battle fought with ideas... but don't underestimate the power of this approach! Happily, ideas are still legal in most countries, and so is the LRT.
While we certainly think there are many laws that ought to be broken--with great frequency and glee--that is not what we propose to do or advocate through the LRT. Organized law-breaking can get everyone into a great deal of conflict with a system designed to crush such resistance. This conflict is rarely very educational and just no fun for the participants (except maybe for the occasional thug who enjoys every opportunity to legally brutalize people), and we definitely intend to have fun!
7]. How do I join?
8]. What if I like your ideas, but don't like joining groups or having my name on too many lists?
Well, if that's the way you feel, you're probably our type of person... That's why there's nothing to join. You simply decide to participate with us, or not. If you go off and do LRT-ish sorts of things on your own, you will still be helping. You might want to check our web site from time to time in case we've got something going that you might enjoy doing with us. And if you're not too paranoid you might want to be put on the update list [coming sooon] so I can let you know when we're doing something particularly amusing!
9]. Where do I find out about others with similar points of view?
Where to begin...?! There are lots of think tanks, books, music, movies, magazines, and resources on the Web. There is no one saying exactly the same thing we are, of course, or we wouldn't feel the need to do this. Our philosophy has a very rich history and the stream of our fellow travelers is very wide, swift, and deep.
Just exploring the materials here or linked to the LRT web site would take years, so feel free to drop us a note if there is a particular area that interests you, and we'll try to hook you up. If it's like-minded people you are most interested in, you might want to join our e-mail discussion list or explore others focusing on different topics that might interest you.
10]. What are the origins of this philosophy?
This war of ideas is as old as politics. It probably started when agriculture was invented and it became expedient to pile up large numbers of people in small areas: towns, cities, polises. At that time, some people probably claimed that everyone had to do their part for the common good (and they may even have believed it), and some others probably objected, saying that they wanted to be free to decide when, how, and where they interacted with others. It's been warfare ever since.
Over the centuries, many philosophers and politicians have contributed to and subtracted from our understanding of this conflict. Among the ancients, many credit Aristotle for laying the foundation of ideas upon which our thinking stands, and blame Plato for doing the most harm. Many Eastern philosophers seem to have come upon some important truths, but they rarely seemed to consider the struggle between freedom and authority. I am not an expert on Eastern thought, but authority seems to be a pretty stable assumption. Perhaps this is because Eastern empires and other power structures are much older than those of the West; it has been far longer since they have been without the state.
The real beginnings of the freedom philosophy in its current form began with The Enlightenment that began in the 17th century and swept Europe in the 18th. Names like John Locke and Adam Smith come to mind. The first American revolution was a direct result of Enlightenment philosophy, with Franklin, Jefferson, and other founders being well-read in such thought. The 19th century saw a veritable explosion of ever more detailed and thorough expansions of such thinking, with a significant contribution made from what we might now call the Left (not all those who accepted the "labor theory of value" wanted to see the state impose their will by force upon others). Names like Henry David Thoreau, John Stuart Mill, and Benjamin Tucker come to mind.
In our century, the philosophy of freedom seems to have retreated, though not without valiant attempts to defend it by such individuals as Mohandas K. Gandhi, Rose Wilder Lane, Robert A. Heinlein, and Ayn Rand. Oddly enough, while the philosophy seemed to retreat, and even all but vanish under the great cataclysms of the two world wars and the later "cold" world war, freedom itself has advanced. I know of no thorough accounting, but it seems evident to me that a wave of increased freedom is sweeping the world, being driven primarily by market pressures, which is simply to say that human nature is asserting itself.
11]. Are you anarchists?
The answer to this depends on what and whom you mean. Many friends of LRT do not call themselves anarchists and are quite committed to electoral success. Some seem to take an almost savage pleasure in using the term and would never give the state the sanction of casting a vote. Many fellow travelers seem to desire only a smaller, more benevolent state, while others insist that the state must be abolished.
Personally, it's not government I object to, but government of some people by others. I wish to govern only myself, neither ruling nor being ruled by others. I believe government is possible without the state. I believe that social coordination is possible through voluntary mechanisms. I do not accept assertions that there must be one central authority with the power to compel obedience in order for there to be peace, prosperity, and stability in society. In fact, I tend to believe that the very existence of such power makes it inevitable that there will be trouble and strife as people struggle to gain control of it. But no one has to agree with me.
All it takes to feel at home here is some kind of awareness that the state is an institution of aggressive force and a belief that it needs to be cut back. If you have that, most of what we say and do will probably interest you. If you also believe that individual initiative and responsibility are better than state bureaucracies and programs, most of what we say and do will probably be quite exciting.
Whether we aim to abolish the state, or just make it smaller, kinder, and gentler doesn't matter much right now. We are so far from either of these destinations that it will be many years before these two paths become noticeably different. Let us not quibble over the words, let us concentrate on reducing the Leviathan!
12]. Are you Libertarians?
Well, since LRT is a bunch of individualists, there's no quick answer to this one either. One of the guiding ideas of the Liberty Round Table is to use non-electoral political action to increase liberty, so we can't be categorized as Libertarian (the 'L' meaning associated with the Libertarian Party). Many of our ideas and guiding principles are closely aligned with libertarianism, though, so it should be no surprise that many friends of LRT are affiliated with the Libertarian Party to some degree.
Although LRT isn't involved in the electoral process, that doesn't mean that people who are will not be welcome in the LRT... we are an inclusive group who welcomes anyone with a commitment to abolishing Might. If you are new to these ideas and would like to get information about politically-active groups, a great place to start is the Advocates for Self-Government... check out their "World's Smallest Political Quiz".
13]. Is this really what King Arthur had in mind?
Well, it's just a story, and just one version of it at that, but I like to think that it is pretty close. Not that I think T. H. White imagined anything remotely like the Liberty Round Table, mind you! But a group of dedicated individuals working on abolishing "Might" was exactly what the dying Arthur prophecies.
14]. What about God?
LRT is neutral to most gods. Worshipers of the god of Abraham often like to see their religious beliefs given a more central place, but LRT is not meant to function only in places dominated by the Judeo-Christian heritage. LRT is not intended to attack mysticism, but institutionalized aggression.
As it happens, I am not a christian, but my understanding of the teachings of Christ lead me to conclude that he hated "Might" as much as King Arthur did. I find it significant that he made no effort to take over the existing religious and political power structures. Instead, he tried to teach individuals to be virtuous and tried to teach some of his followers the same. There are also dire warnings in the old testament against setting up kings (a usurpation of the role of God).
I am not a scholar of world religions, but unless there exists a religion that is inherently hostile to freedom, I see no reason why people of all beliefs should not feel at home in the LRT.
Don L. Tiggre
Hard Questions on Freedom
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URL: http://www.LibertyRoundTable.org/faq.general.html