If
you could just make up your own rules, why not rule that in
baseball, "four strikes and you're out" as you go to bat?
You were born Autonomous. Nothing has restricted your Natural Rights since your first day. Or at least there are no legitimate restrictions.
But by now, chances are you do not feel Autonomous. You do not feel Free.
Do you ever wonder what liberation looks like?
-Richard Grove
When you are Autonomous you live by your own rules.
How can this be? How could you just go around making up your own rules? And if you can, why do you not feel Free?
To understand Autonomy, we must clarify terms.
You can live by our own Law. Still, there are many laws that you can not make up.
If
you could just make up your own rules, why not rule that in
baseball, "four strikes and you're out" as you go to bat?
Because maybe the first batter on the other team makes his rule that "five strikes and you're out." The second batter, "six strikes and you're out." Meanwhile, next time you are up to bat, their pitcher makes a rule, "one strike and you're out"! Clearly, this is ridiculous. The game of "baseball" would become meaningless.
So what does it mean to be Autonomous? And who cares?
To ask these questions is the first step to Autonomy.
To live outside the law, you must be honest. -Bob Dylan
First, the simple definition of autonomy is that it literally means to make up your own rules: "auto" means self, and "nomos" means law, rule, or code from the Greek (νόμος).
“But if everyone just made up their own rules, that would be anarchy,” you can virtually hear mainstream media lament. While “anarchy” literally means “no rulers,” government textbooks and the like would have you believe that “no rulers” equates to rape and pillaging in the streets.
Upon reflection, it should not be surprising that corporate media and government schools propagate the belief that society can only be operated by rulers.
But think for yourself. Imagine your chosen future.
Who says that you can live by your own rules? You do! It is meta. By definition, Autonomous people live by their own rules.
For me, Autonomy means Freedom. As a practical matter, Freedom requires financial independence. Money can not buy happiness, but debt can cause misery. To be free to pursue your interests, you must break the shackles of unproductive debt and obligations.
Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws. -Plato
This is where the Autonomy course comes in at the University of Reason. In the words of Richard Grove, “Autonomy is a course of action for individuals who seek to ignite their potential in ways that traditional schooling, universities, and corporate life kind of extinguish.”
Autonomy requires un-schooling for you to remove the scales from your eyes and awaken to your inherent Freedom. Next, the Autonomy course lays a framework for the best cost/benefit ratios of paths to financial independence. It even introduces the student to basic techniques such as, for example, digital marketing.
Become independently wealthy.
With Freedom, you can live by your own rules.
by Doug Maly
