92 About The Voluntary Life Part 1: More Free Is More Alive

The first in a series of podcasts introducing The Voluntary Life, both as a concept and as a podcast. This episode explains the concept of living a 'voluntary life', which is a life lived according to the principle of free choice. The extent to which we have the freedom to make our own choices about our lives (and to respect the free choices of others) is the extent to which we are leading the voluntary life. This concept applies across aspects of life, as diverse as freedom at work, financial freedom, freedom in personal relationships and psychological freedom. The following principles underpin the concept of living a voluntary life:

• Voluntary living is the highest expression of individuation possible. The deepest experience of being alive comes from our ability to express our personality and individuality in our free choices. The more free you are, the more alive you are.
• Voluntary living is the only truly moral way to live. A voluntary life is one lived in accordance with the Non-Agression Principle, which is the fundamental moral framework from which all valid morality is derived.
• Voluntary interaction is responsible for all the greatest achievements of humanity. Peaceful co-operation of individuals through trade and entrepreneurship has given us all the enlightenment, technological progress, economic development and civilisation (in the best sense of the word) that we now enjoy.
• The voluntary life must start from the individual and his or her own choices. You have to be the change you want to see in the world. This is why the show is called "the voluntary life" and not "the voluntary society".