From the page of the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights
What makes a society free? What does it mean for an individual to be free - free to pursue his rights to life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness? Just how free are we in the “land of the free and the home of the brave”? And most importantly, what must we now do to achieve the type of free society that our Founding Fathers envisioned? What did they miss that we must now fight for?
In a free society the government’s role is crucial but delimited: the government possesses only those powers delegated to it and necessary for the protection of each citizen’s individual rights against force and fraud. So long as men are voluntarily dealing with one another when they can reach agreement and going their separate ways when they cannot (i.e., exercising their individual rights), the state has no role to play in the affairs of men.
A free society is one where the government does not interfere (by penalty or reward) in thought, production or trade.
A free society requires a separation of:
- Church and State
- Science and State
- Education and State
- Economics and State
Consider the following questions: In a free society, should there be:
- regulations imposed on businesses in addition to objective criminal and civil laws?
- a public education system implementing state-influenced curricula and teaching methods?
- restrictions on free speech in the name of not offending others?
- an ability for the government to seize real estate in the name of eminent domain?
- a central banking system that holds a monopoly over the supply of money?
A free society requires a limited government that enacts and enforces objective laws for the sole purpose of protecting individual rights.
Explore the website to learn more about Ayn Rand’s answers to these and many more questions. Learn more about the principles necessary for a truly free society.
Image source here