Franc's positions

Epistemic and political positions I consider non-negociable :

* Only the individual can think and evaluate for himself. No one can do it for him, as much as he'd like to. The best we can do is consciously surrender our judgment, which itself requires judgment.

* We all have individual, personal values. To follow these values rationally is our sole, inescapable ethical imperative.

* Society, organizations, corporations, families, do not exist ontologically. They are expressions of the interactions between individuals sharing values and cooperating based on that fact. People cooperate because they desire, want and need to cooperate in order to progress. Self-interest is the greatest motor of progress and its necessary prerequisite.

* We value political institutions because they help ensure that no one is hampered in the expression of his values. Therefore, political institutions should only serve to help the expression of individual values, and stop coercive attempts to stop the expression of individual values.

* If people voluntarily agree to "harm themselves", they should be free to do so. People always have reasons to do things, even if they are not apparent to us. To assume that people have "no good reason to do" something is lunacy.

* In a free society, there is a harmony of values, in that no one's self-interest is ensured by violence, fraud, or political struggle - only by voluntary trade (whether social, economic, affective, etc).

* Democracy is epistemically, morally and politically absurd. Democracy is not individualist - it puts individual values and rights at the mercy of mob rule. A free society promotes the harmony of values, democracy forces people of different value systems to fight against each other. Forcing people to vote on basic human rights is a disgrace. Democracy must be eliminated if we are to ever live in a free society.

* Everyone should be equal under the law, regardless of income, social or economic power, race, political affiliation, or age. This is not the case in democratic systems, where individuals who have the most political clout win.

* The initiation of war is never justifiable. Interventionist foreign relations are never justifiable. Tariffs, trade disputes and barriers to entry for foreign companies are never justifiable.

* The right of one's own body is inalienable. The War on Drugs is unjustifiable. Laws against abortion are unjustifiable. Laws against cloning and other technologies based on one's genetic material are unjustifiable.

* The right of one's actions is inalienable. Laws against privacy are unjustifiable. Government monopolies are unjustifiable.

* The right of one's own property is inalienable. Taxation is unjustifiable. Eminent domain laws are unjustifiable.

* Parenting is not a right. At best, it is a highly suspicious substitute for real child-raising.

* People should be made free from dogmas and collectivist beliefs, so they can express their persona values. If they are fully conscious of what they sanction and still disagree with us, they should be left alone.

* If you don't like someone's lifestyle or choices, and they're not coercing or defrauding anyone, be responsible and let them do whatever they want. You're free to fight them with rhetoric all you want, but using government power as a tool to bludgeon others (however right you think you are) only enslaves everyone to that power, creating political struggle and social warfare.

* We only fight against collectivists because they endanger everyone's freedom and well-being, due to the fact that we live in democratic systems. In a free society, there would be no need to fight over disagreements, since everyone would be free to live in the way he desires. Therefore, we should not focus solely on why our opponents are wrong, but also on how the system can be changed.