Power is the opposite of freedom. Power is the control of people through force, wealth or knowledge. The economy is a tool of power involving all of these facets to varying degrees.
The operation of power is to take. It is to take without permission or adequate recompense. Power makes the supremely arrogant assumption that ordinary individual ownership does not exist. The act of taking without permission or recompense creates an imbalance in human affairs. In other words, it corrupts. And where it corrupts, it eventually collapses. The collapse of the former Soviet Union is a case in point.
How is the economy a tool of power? Look at your living conditions. We are conditioned through education and the media to live and behave in a certain way and to want certain things. In other words, we are conditioned to create an economy. The truth is, if we were raised to live simply, to be self-reliant, and not to need much of anything from outside, there would not be much of an economy. And there would be little opportunity for power-seekers to take advantage of all kinds of fabricated needs.
However, we find ourselves in a consumer-driven economy. The purpose of the economy is to maintain a conditioned population. A population conditioned into being totally dependent on hand-fed consumer goods. A population that can be conditioned to want anything a power-seeker decides. A docile, obedient population that can be easily controlled and milked everyday like so many cows.
How does the economy take from you? It robs you of your life. It takes it to the point that your whole life is involved in nothing but economic concerns. Like, I've got to have even more money. Or, how am I going to make the next payment? Or, I've really got to get my boss to like me. But don't blame the economy. You helped to create it.
Every economy collapses. This present one will collapse too someday. This is the natural work of power and its corruptive influence. But if your life is not dependent on the economy anyway, you are free of such a fear.
Stewardship
What is ownership? It is stewardship. Ownership is always a temporary proposition. We pass on. We eventually have to give up our lands, dwellings, bodies, and even our minds. Stewardship is a temporary contract of love and devotion to ourselves and those around us, for however long our vehicles of life last. It is like a marriage contract, and just as sacred.
Stewardship is a sacred responsibility to that which we own. If we are not responsible with that which we own, we will lose our ownership, our stewardship, our responsibility, our freedom. We own our lives. Therefore we have a sacred responsibility to ourselves to make our lives as free as possible. If we do not, we will lose ownership of our lives. Freedom must be exercised in order to remain in our lives!
Stewardship is to use what we own. And use it responsibly, for our and our loved ones' benefit. In being resonsible stewards of what we own, we give back to what we own as we take what we need. This ensures that we have a sustainable supply of what we need. We fertilize our land. We maintain our homes. We train our children in wisdom and responsible behaviour. We clean up our oil spills, our air and our water.
Stewardship allows us to pass what we owned into the next hands in at least as good a condition in which we found it.
Self-Responsibility
The other side of the coin of economic freedom is self-responsibility. Because there is no freedom without responsibility. Freedom takes initiative. Your intiative. No one else can live your life for you. You are free to take the initiative!
Economic freedom is not depending on others or the system for your livelihood. It is to take complete responsibility for your own welfare. To depend completely on yourself.
How can you be free when you are forced to behave in an unnatural way to get money? How can you be free if you're on a government assistance program? How can you be free if you're in debt? How can you be free if you're in the grips of a powerful vice?
The key to economic freedom is to increase your measure of personal space and sovereignty through ownership. This is the essence of self-responsibility. It takes work, courage and dedication. But it will give you immense freedom from the forces of economic pressure.
Wealth
Economic freedom is about freedom first, wealth second. Once you have the discipline of economic freedom down to a science, wealth will come with natural ease. In fact, wealth will be almost inevitable.
Economic freedom does not get you rich fast. It gets you free fast. Which is more important, freedom or wealth? Wealth can buy you freedom. But wealth is not easy to get, and it can disappear fast, and with it your artificial freedom. But if you learn the disciplines of freedom first, wealth and prosperity will come as sure as day. But the odd thing is, it won't matter much if it comes or not! Once you taste freedom, nothing matters more than freedom itself.
Economic freedom is about mastering the arts of frugality and sovereignty. They create freedom. Master these first, and wealth follows.
Frugality
Economic freedom is based on frugality, or the practice of the Law of Economy. Poeple are poor because they don't know how to be frugal. People get rich because they know how to be frugal. Rich people get poor because they forget how to be frugal. The difference between wealth and poverty is... you guessed it... frugality!
If you are frugal, you'll have more money. If you are frugal, you'll stay out of debt. You'll be able to go anywhere and do anything. You'll be free, and you'll remain free.
What is frugality? It is the art and science of saving money. It is making do with what you have as long as possible. It is the art of getting what you need at the best bargains. It is the practice of not buying anything you don't need.
What don't you need? Ah, that is a science! You have to experiment and find out for yourself how little you actually need, while getting rid of what you don't need. You'd be amazed how absolutely little is necessary for a sense of contentment and well-being! If you know how to live on little, you'll have a lot. Frugality is the low-cost, high-satisfaction way of life!
Sovereignty
Economic freedom is to gain sovereignty over the basic territory of privacy, shelter and livelihood. Your space, which none can dispute or violate. This is sovereignty.
Sovereignty is your protection from outside economic forces. Your first duty as soveriegn over your self is to own your mind and body. You do this by living as freely, simply and responsibly as possible.
Your second duty is to extend your sovereignty, or space, to include your home. Your home, or shelter, should be sacrosact from the ravages of economic forces. It is your foundation of freedom of expression. If you own your home, no one can kick you out. If you lose your job, your next payment is no concern, as you've none to make. Home ownership guarantees your economic freedom.
If you have some land as well, food would also be of little concern. Just a small amount of land, and you can provide for yourself and family. If your simple, basic concerns of food, clothing and shelter are provided for by you, yourself, this way, how free you would feel! How self-reliant! How self-empowered! How sovereign!
Not long ago we North-Americans were the freest people on earth! Why? Because we owned our homes, our small family farms, our businesses. We needed to answer to no man! Now look at us. We're in debt and mortgaged to the hilt! We're taxed and insured and sued to death. Every second of our lives depends on either a job or a government program! In other words, we are slaves. How did this come about? We gave up our sovereignty for a song, that's how! It's time to win it back!
Adventure
How do free countries come about in the first place? Through adventure! Through people going forth and exploring and finding freedom in the land of their dreams. And then occupying it and possessing it fair and square! Remember, possessing your own land and dwelling guarantees your personal freedom of expression. This is true anywhere in the world, wherever you are.
No land was ever for free. There are always conditions. Always a price to pay. The price, as always, is venture, and adventure. But the good news is, adventure is intensely exciting, it's aggressive, it's just plain fun! But it does take work, courage and dedication.
Okay, they don't make land the way they used to. Is it still possible nowadays to do the same thing? Yes, absolutely! In fact, it's easier now than ever before. You don't have to face death, pitched battles, starvation, thirst, disease and torment. All you have to do is be frugal, study your world and decide where you'd like to live, go there, shop around and buy some land.
What could be more fun and exciting? Could there be any greater adventure than an adventure based on love of freedom? It is the poetry, romance, song and dance of life itself!
New Life
An adventure of love is the only thing that gives meaning and purpose to life. How can your life have any meaning if you enjoy no love or freedom? True love liberates, and freedom allows you to love life fully and truly.
An adventure into freedom also gives you a new lease on life. It gives you abundant life! It makes you feel young and full of life again. How? Because you get to live close to life! The closer you get to life itself, the more rejuvenated and energized you'll feel.
Life is for living. Anything we want is only worth the amount of life we're willing to give up for it. If all we're working for is things to have, we're not really living. Because our lives are lost to those things.
Why toil under a load of debt, only to enjoy a dubious freedom at a time when you're too old to really enjoy it? Why not choose to be free now? Why not get rid of that which enslaves you? Why not step out while you're young and have the energy to make something really beautiful and free of your life?
Time
Free time means a free life. The more free time you have, the more time you have to enjoy freedom, including freedom of expression.
There is clearly a shortage of time in our lives today. Why? Because we have given up every moment of our lives for anything but freedom.
Is it true that time is money? It's true enough that time buys money, and money buys time. However, there is a grave misunderstanding in how time is perceived here that cheapens life to the point of death. Time spent making money is not free time. It is not living. Time not spent making money is not wasted time. It is time spent living. We don't just need money and things. We need time for ourselves too.
Frugality and sovereignty, the two pillars of economic freedom, together allow you to have an abundance, and a nice balance, of both time and money.
Law
The Law of Freedom is based on the twin pillars of freedom and responsibility. There cannot be one without the other. The Law of Freedom is the basic law of laws.
In his book Whatever Happened to Justice? Richard Maybury points out the two fundamental laws that all religions and philosophies teach. They are
- Do all you have agreed to do
- Do not encroach on other people or their property
All other laws stem from these two laws that deal with promises and property. The keeping of these laws is the basis of the practice of freedom.
Without economic freedom we are not free to make our own agreements. We are forced to make them according to the dictates of others. We're not in a position to bargain. This is an encroachment that we have allowed on ourselves. This comes as a result of a failure on our part to respect the basic contract (agreement) to which we are bound at birth.
What is this basic contract? It is to live as free as possible!
