[Authors, please see the "Submissions" page.]

The Autonomist is a place for individuals who seek personal liberty on their own terms, who seek nothing from others, and know the purpose of their life is their enjoyment of it. It is a place for them to find ideas that fit their individual view of life, the principles by which they may live successfully in this world.

The Autonomist is Not an Organization

The Autonomist is not an organization, a foundation, or a corporation. There is nothing to join and nothing to support. The Autonomist has only one purpose, the advancement of individual liberty through truth and reason.

The Autonomist is For Profit

The Autonomist is a FOR PROFIT enterprise. The autonomist considers the concept of "non-profit" obscene. You can make contributions to The Autonomist as your way of voting and supporting this free market of ideas. We neither accept or give the unearned.

Autonomy is Not a Philosophy, a Movement, or A Way of Life.

Autonomy is not a philosophy, it is the result of a philosophy ruthlessly applied in the life and choices of an individual. The philosophy that comes closest to being the philosophy of an autonomist is Ayn Rand's Objectivism. You will find many resources and references to that philosophy here.

An Autonomist is Not an Anarchist

An Autonomist is not an anarchist. No individual has a claim on anything they have not earned or acquired by their own productive effort, including one's personal liberty. It is very unlikely any government is going provide freedom, although some limit it less than others, at least for a while, but government is nevertheless inevitable.

To be completely free means to be completely responsible for one's own life. Most people have no desire for that kind of freedom. They want security, more than anything else, and to most people, government is the means to that security.

If there must be a government, and there must, a limited capitalist republic is the least objectionable. If the kind of free society the founders of the American government intended is possible, it is only possible if all the individuals in that society are free in their persons and in their property to use and dispose of both as they choose, without the interference of any other individuals or agencies.

A Free Market of Ideas—The Autonomist Freedom Store.

In a free market, anyone is free to offer any products to others who are free to select from all the products being offered which products they value most and are willing to pay for. In a free society, ideas are the product of individual minds being offered to others who are free to examine, evaluate, and judge which ideas are of value to them and they are willing to "buy" by embracing and agreeing with them.

Just as in the commercial market, there is no guarantee the best products will be the most successful, in the market of ideas, there is no guarantee the best ideas will be most widely embraced. What is certain, when markets are not free, when what can be sold and what can be taught is determined by government or some regulatory agencies, the opportunity for the best products and the best ideas to demonstrate their superiority is lost.

The Autonomist is a market of ideas. It is a market for ideas about individual liberty and limited government. There are many different views on the best means by which individual liberty and limited government can be achieved, or even about what those concepts mean. The Autonomist does not agree with all those ideas, but believes any ideas truly promoting liberty deserve to be heard. Only if all possible ideas are open for the inspection and judgement of individuals do the best ideas have the opportunity to prove themselves the best.

For that reason, the Autonomist no only tolerates but openly invites all opinions promoting individual liberty and limited government, from the philosophical principles of individual liberty to radical activism. So long as we agree that individual liberty is the objective, we can all sell our products in, "The Autonomist Freedom Store."

Autonomy is Individual Liberty

One cannot be both free and dependent. Freedom is independence, but freedom is not license. Freedom means being able to do whatever one chooses to do, but one cannot choose to do just anything and be free. One cannot choose what is contrary to the requirements of his own nature and be free.

Choosing is not yielding to every whim and desire that comes along. That is the worst kind of slavery. Choosing means using one's reason to determine one's behavior. It means discovering what is truly best for one's self and choosing that in the face of all temptation, discouragement, or difficulty. It means discovering the truth and living according to it. It means being in rational control of one's own life for one's own benefit.

Freedom is self-discipline. Being under the control of anything else except one's self, that is, one's own best rational judgement, is slavery; slavey to passion, slavery to a desire for security, slavery to one's authorities, one's rulers, or one's peers.

Talk Back to The Autonomist

Think for yourself. We are interested in what you think, especially if you disagree; so, let us know what you think.

Please Contact us.