The Center For Self Rule is dedicated to the study and research of the philosophy of Autarchism.  The term "Autarchism" which takes it's name from the greek word "Aut" or "self and "Arch" or "rule" means quite literally self-rule.  Since this is the philosophy of self-rule then it cannot mean the rule of others in any way.  It stands to reason that if one rules himself then he alone makes decisions about where he shall live and how he will live his life.   There is, of course, a caveat to the idea of absolute self-rule.  

 

That caveat can be  found in Herbert Spencer's Natural Law based Rational Utilitarianism iterated in his monumental work Social Statics.  “The limit put to each man’s freedom, by the like freedom of every other man, is a limit almost always possible of exact ascertainment; for let the condition of things be what it may, the respective amounts of freedom men assume can be compared, and the equality or inequality of those amounts recognised. But when we set about drawing practical deductions from the propositions that a man is not at liberty to do things injurious to himself, and that he is not at liberty (except in cases like those lately cited) to do what may give unhappiness to his neighbours, we find ourselves involved in complicated estimates of pleasures and pains, to the obvious peril of our conclusions.” (Spencer, The Complete Works of Herbert Spencer, Location 40981).  A secondary law of the first principle further limits physical aggression, “It is just as clear, too, that each man is forbidden to deprive his fellow of life or liberty: inasmuch as he cannot do this without breaking the law, which, in asserting his freedom, declares that he shall not infringe ‘the equal freedom of any other.’ For he who is killed or enslaved is obviously no longer equally free with his killer or enslaver” (Spencer, The Complete Works of Herbert Spencer, Location 41541). 

 

     However, we at the Center For Self Rule believe that Murray Rothbard's Non-Aggression Axiom is a slimmed down version of Spencer's Rational Utilitarianism and further the NonAggression Principle (NAP) has become the popular terminology for this ethical guideline.  In consideration of this, it is just as good to say that Autarchism rests firmly upon the NAP.  It would also be safe to maintain that Autarchism which is a philosophy of pure Individualism maintains that only in a system which respects all private property without exceptions can an individual truly be free.   When this is followed to its logical conclusion it is obvious that Autarchism is a philosophy which holds up the rights of the Individual as primary over the rights of the collective.  Society, therefore, exists to protect and support the individual against the trepidations of others.  Because Autarchism holds the NAP as primary this rules out the violent overthrow of the state.  Instead, as Herbert Spencer stated, "Every man has the freedom to do all that he wills, provided he infringes not the equal freedom of any other man, then he is free to drop connection with the state---to relinquish its protection, and to refuse paying towards its support."  Spencer, like Henry David Thoreau, was stating that men who acted justly could ignore the state when it no longer provided justice.  Thoreau famously stated, "if the government requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law. Let your life be a counter-friction to stop the machine." 

Thus, Autarchism can be said to not only advocate solutions to man's problems which exclude the use of institutionalized aggressive physical force (which is the state), but it also refuses to grant legitimacy when the state itself is unjust in its actions or fails to provide justice.  In this way, Autarchism proposes that free men may withdraw any recognition of the legitimacy of that unjust state.   An Autarchist can in this way practice his philosophy even in the presence of the state.

 

Please check out our Center For Self Rule Academy which contains many free audio books, videos, free books, and links to purchase materials related to the philosophy of Autarchism.  Please contact us with any questions whether related to Autarchism or this site through our contact page.

 

Clifton Knox

 

Spencer, Herbert. The Complete Works of Herbert Spencer: The Principles of Psychology, The Principles of Philosophy, First Principles and More. Seattle, Washington: Amazon Digital Services, Inc., 2011. Kindle file.

 

---. The Man Versus the State. 1982 ed. Caldwell, Idaho: The Liberty Fund, 2012. Kindle File.