The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible - Bastiat Institute

248 Chapter 40 • Terra Libertas
I am the master of my
fate;
I am the captain of
my soul.
William Ernest
Henley, 1875
Brainstorming
• Should offi cials live by the same standards
as everyone else?
• Is it desirable or possible to have a society
that is free of force and fraud?
• Can a vision of utopia be forced upon
people?
• What is the process of discovery in a free
society?
• Can the end justify the means?
• Examples?
• Ethical issues?
Commentary
What alternative political, economic, and social
systems are achievable? What are the possibilities
to which we can now strive?
Your country is unlikely to be everything
you would like it to be. Yet, wherever you live
it could become a land where people are free
to choose goals that make it far better than can
presently be conceived.
This land is beyond the political system of
majority rule. It is a system that maximizes
individual freedom, allows self-respect, and
promotes respect for others. What would this
be like? How would it be run? We can only
speculate on the paths that might be taken
by millions of free people who discover new
solutions on a daily basis.
Such a land might have a small administrative
body without power, one that is restrained from
meddling in personal choices. There may still
be a desire for representative administrators
(not rulers) who are limited in the scope of
their duties. Small communities might select
administrators to carry out community wishes,
leaving individuals to get on with the business
of making a living and seeing to their family