What is the Non-Aggression Principle (NAP)? The NAP is an ethical and moral ethos that aims to avoid conflict between people. It is illegitimate to use force against any person or property. This is one of the principles in Libertarianism. You should expect that no one will assault you or your property. Unfortunately the world is not full of individuals as intelligent as you. They may be ignorant of the NAP, despite a long formation through history. St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) originated some of the ideas as a natural law theorist. Murray Rothbard expounded his NAP sentiments in 1963:
“No one may threaten or commit violence (“aggress”)against another man’s person or property. Violence may be employed only against the man who commits such violence; that is, only defensively against the aggressive violence of another. In short, no violence may be employed against a non-aggressor. Here is the fundamental rule from which can be deduced the entire corpus or libertarian theory.”
Matt Kibbe has the above quote in his New York Times Bestseller Don’t Hurt People And Don’t Take Their Stuff A Libertarian Manifesto. His book is easy to read and interesting, especially those starting to learn about Libertarianism.
LibertyCarriers will do well to keep the NAP in their defensive mindset. We must always avoid aggression. We do not start any fights, but we are always prepared to defend ourselves because we believe in everyone’s right to self defense.