Jim Burns — A Libertarian for President

The Revolution

On July 4th 1776, the Continental Congress passed The Declaration of Independence, and caused a giant step forward for human progress: the first true human Revolution. The first 111 words of the second paragraph of the Declaration establish that people should have:

equality of rights under the law,
the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,
government which protects these rights and receives their just power from the consent of the governed.

The ideals of the Revolution appear to be hypocritical and even untrue. "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal..." It is obvious that all people are not equal. We are all different. What is understood is that all people should have equal rights under the law, that no one should be held to be of greater value than anyone else under the law.

Slavery is not equality of rights under the law.

Lack of suffrage and other rights for women is not equality of rights under the law.

Oppression of Native Americans and others is not equality of rights under the law.

Nevertheless, the Revolution has acted as a beneficial virus and it is difficult to suppress. The ideals of the Revolution have never been completely implemented. Nonetheless, where and to the extent the ideals of the Revolution have been adopted, human prosperity and progress has expanded by leaps and bounds.

We now have it within our ability to bring peace, prosperity, and progress to the people of our planet. This is possible because of the power behind one word: Libertarianism.

Libertarianism is Revolution 2. Libertarianism may be defined in several ways. Webster�s New World College Dictionary (4th Edition) says a Libertarian is

A person who believes in the doctrine of the freedom of the will
A person who believes in full individual freedom of thought, expression, and action � (adjective) of or upholding either of these principles.

I believe Libertarianism is a set of rules. One rule is that people should not initiate force, threaten to initiate force or engage in fraud against their fellow human beings. Another way to say the same thing is that people should be allowed to live as they choose so long as they allow others to do the same. A corollary to the Libertarian principles is equal rights under the law and that laws should protect our rights to life, liberty, and property.

Some people say that libertarianism is radical. Libertarianism is not radical.

The libertarian rules are followed by the vast majority of us the vast majority of the time. The rules are followed in their personal life by Democrats and Republicans, Moderates, Liberals, and Conservatives... Rich and Poor, Black, White, Brown, Red and Yellow.

For the most part, people do not harm, threaten or steal from others; nor do they tell their neighbors how to live their lives.

The libertarian rules are the first step in being a good neighbor. The rules are so important that when people do not follow the libertarian rules, we have a name for such behavior: We call it �criminal.� We call it �criminal� because when the rules are not followed, it strikes at the core of our ability to live in peace with our neighbors.

The libertarian rules make it possible for people to live in peace and cooperation with each other. Peace and cooperation are essential for the division of labor and the ability to engage in trade. The division of labor and trade are the engine that makes large-scale human existence possible.

The next step in human evolution, the next step for human progress, is the implementation of the libertarian rules to our social institutions in general and the institution of governments in particular.

If you wish for your well-being and the well-being of your loved ones, your friends, neighbors and associates, your country, and the people of the world, then there is nothing more important — not Newton�s laws of Gravity nor Einstein�s theory of relativity, not the cure for cancer, nor help for the poor — than the implementation of the libertarian rules to our social institutions in general and the institution of governments in particular. The result will bring Peace, Prosperity and Progress to the people of our planet. Libertarianism is Revolution 2.

Join the Revolution.

Jim Burns

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