Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman
“Self-possession as an existential (if not a moral) matter is self-evident. Only an individual can directly will his actions. No one has access to another’s will, the capacity to act. When we say that an aggressor forces a victim to do something, we don’t mean that the aggressor exercises the victim’s will. We mean the aggressor threatens harm or death if the victim doesn’t act as required. We might still ask why we must speak at all in terms of anyone owning anyone. The answer is at least implicit in Herbert’s essay. To live is to act (purposefully), to pursue objectives aimed at self-preservation, to value, that is, to prefer life to death. Life depends on such things.” (06/19/26)
https://sheldonrichman.substack.com/p/tgif-auberon-herbert-and-individual