It’s Not Complicated

It’s the rallying thought, the theme behind every oppressed people in the history of man. It’s incredibly simple, yet political theorists have seemingly glossed this basic human desire for other agendas. The desire to be left alone. Moses, the deliverer of the Israelite people in the Old Testament, in the most famous of all deliverance stories, said over and over — “Let my people go.” Let us be — the rallying cry of the oppressed.

This basic human desire for exclusive control over their lives has been called many things. Nietzsche called it a “will to power”. It’s pretty simple. We want our person to be left alone. We own us, and no one else has a right to use or misuse us without our permission.

All of the political theories in the world have to factor this in. This is simple a law of human nature. It’s a law of nature. It’s a natural law. It’s pretty simple too. The legal philosopher John Locke said, “Every man has a property in his own person. This nobody has a right to, but himself.”

If someone wrongs you, the natural law will become evident to you. It’s so obvious, it doesn’t even have to be reasoned out — it’s an empirical truth. Man wants to be free and let alone. Call it “self-ownership”, “liberty”, “will to power” or what have you — it’s all the same. Thomas Jefferson said this was “self evident” when he wrote the declaration of independence.

Even the philosophers who preach the restriction of men, and the redistribution of their wealth, believe this. If a poor man forced his way into their wallet on the street, they would be upset, whether the money would be used or abused — it doesn’t matter. That was their money, dangit. Lock also talked about this, saying, “I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts.” Bingo.

This is natural law. It’s simple. There are complicated theories regarding axioms and philosophies of the individual verses the collective. But at it’s root, beyond the complicated theories and philosophy — it’s simple. Don’t hurt other people. Let them be.