Do you support the Zero Aggression Principle?

Are you a libertarian who agrees with the Zero Aggression Principle? Retweet

Today’s action: Tell your representatives to obey the Zero Aggression Principle

Many people, including us, consider the Zero Aggression Principle (the ZAP) to be the core libertarian idea. Our educational arm, the Zero Aggression Project, words the ZAP like this… 

Don’t aggress against others, personally or politically.

So what does the word aggression mean? It means more than mere assertiveness. It means acts of violence that initiate force. In other words, aggression is when you strike the first blow. Defensive force is okay. Aggression is not.

Most of us live by this principle in our daily lives. We don’t use aggression to make people obey our preferences. But most people do make exceptions to this principle when it comes to government. Many of us think it’s okay to use aggression if the government does it, nevermind that doing so violates both the Bill of Rights and the definition of legitimate governance established in the Declaration of Independence.

So what does this have to do with Congress? Well, Congress is supposed to care about the rule of law, the Bill of Rights, and the principles of the Declaration. They also pretend to care about morality. They even swear an oath to some of these things. And Downsize DC is about pressuring Congress — telling them what they should and should not do. That pressure can be about legislation. But increasingly, we think it should also be about ideas, philosophy, and fundamental values. And…

Strategically speaking, we more and more want to learn from the example set by the anti-immigration movement, using their tactics for more moral purposes. Congress is paying attention to the anti-immigration crowd (who are in the minority) because they’re loud, pushy, and persistent. It’s a lesson libertarians need to learn and act upon. Plus…

It will take far less effort to influence Congress than replace it. The key is to be loud, pushy, and persistent. Downsize DC can be your mechanism for doing that. We want to flood Congress with libertarian ideas and proposals, including the key libertarian idea. If you support the Zero Aggression Principle…

Please tell your representatives that you want them to support it too.

Help us buy recruitment ads by starting a monthly pledge or making a one-time donation. This weekend’s goals are… For new monthly pledges $101, and for one-time donations $1,225.

Thank you for being an ACTIVE DC Downsizer,

Perry Willis & Jim Babka
Downsize DC

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