Excerpted from The Lion’s Roar, a Buddhist magazine.
The following is really a brief philosophical discussion of libertarianism and how it relates to Buddhism.
The Nonaggression Principle: The nonaggression principle is a central tenet of Buddhism and libertarianism. When we discuss aggression or violence against individuals or marginalized groups, we often forget to include the state in the calculation. Government, by its very nature, is an instrument of aggression. Further, it is distinct among all other institutions in that it assumes upon itself a monopoly on aggression: It creates a legal structure codifying aggression and, subsequently, absolves itself of aggression’s inherent immorality.
Voluntarism: Buddhists and libertarians agree that interactions between individuals and groups should be voluntary and without the coercive threat of aggression.
Moral Transmutation: Moral transgressions like stealing, slavery, or killing are all prohibitions within Buddhist (Five Precepts) and libertarian philosophy. Libertarians, however, view these as immoral no matter who initiates them — individuals, groups, or government. This is a difficult point for liberal-leaning Buddhists to understand. By waving a magic wand, the government transmutes theft, slavery, and killing into taxation, conscription, and war.
Libertarians believe in voluntary community engagement because we understand that centralized power structures are a very bad thing. The reason why Buddhists are concerned about Trump — and rightly so — is because of what he could do with the established power structure. If Trump, or the government for that matter, didn’t have all-encompassing power, then the occupant of the White House would be of no concern.
The problem isn’t who is on the throne. Rather, the problem is that a throne exists. You simply cannot build a bonfire and hope the wind doesn’t change. It is an illusion of control. Impermanence tells us that nothing remains constant.
Libertarians will continue working cooperatively with any group of people who are targeted for state aggression by Trump or any other occupant of the White House. I only ask that my fellow Buddhists examine what I’ve outlined and at least understand where us few libertarian Buddhists are coming from.
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Warm regards, Michael
Michael R. Edelstein, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist
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