About This Blog
The original intent and purpose of this blog was to enable me to begin writing political philosophy. Since then, my thoughts, ideas, and discoveries have evolved and changed over time. For example, the name of this blog is "The Existential Libertarian." At the time, I had a vague idea of what Existentialism was, grasping onto the concept of "authenticity" and "self-directed purpose." However, I do not any longer feel that Existentialism is an accurate representation of my thoughts and ideas. There may be parts that I agree with, but this is not the philosophy by which I live.
Likewise, I no longer carry the label of Libertarian. While I respect the Libertarians more than any other political party, I do not think that their philosophical views and mine are aligned. In general, I regard the Libertarian platform as a moral anarchy, which permits any concept of Individualism. The means, standards, and reason that went into arriving at the conclusion that men should be free seems to hold no particular bearing over whether or not the party will accept one's position as valid. This is expressed wholly in the Libertarians' disagreement over intellectual property rights. Some believe very strongly in intellectual property rights, while others advocate for a policy of "he who can understand an idea ought to be able to use it freely," irrespective of the mental effort or financial investments made by others in search of that idea and its first discovery.
It is on these grounds by which I divorce myself from the concept of Libertarianism, despite acknowledging that they are the best choice for the future of the government. But philosophically, I reject Libertarianism as a slog of unprincipled ideas.
To better understand what I believe philosophically, you should check out my book using the link at the top of the page. Generally speaking, I would regard myself as an Objectivist, having finally finished all of Ayn Rand's collection of works (at least as far as the most important one's go) and having observed the philosophy of Objectivism for a number of years with a passionate hunger for understanding. Even where I am hesitant to fully agree with Rand on certain issues (which is rare), it is only due to an inability to arrive at a process of thought on my own which would lead me to a definitive answer. Eventually I will have an answer, but for now it is a puzzle of reason I must work out on my own.
While I would consider myself an Objectivist in principle, I do not take part in any membership with any Objectivist organization. I have no affiliation with the Ayn Rand Institute, The Atlas Society, or even any social media group. I look to these groups only to further my own understanding of the philosophy and nothing more. In other words, I am not representative of Objectivism as a movement; rather, Objectivism is representative of my own moral convictions. I do not blindly follow Objectivism and will not solidly state that I agee with it completely. If Objectivism (which is still changing if only gradually) were to proclaim some idea I do not agree with, I would not want people to think that I shared that idea. Objecctivism is a label I hold as a shortcut to an understanding of my ideas, not something I follow religiously.
That being said, the beginning of my philosophical writing here on this blog was still in a state of developing thoughts. Just as I don't want to be associated with ideas I do not hold, I do not want people to read my older, less-developed ideas and to think that those ideas are a reflection of my current philosophical position. There were many mental challenges I had to work through to get to where I am now, and many of my ideas have been replaced with better integrated principles. The only exception to this is my views on Alternative Voting Systems, and that post has been left up (both to attract readers and because it is a useful process of thought towards developing a better political system in the future).
However, overall, this blog has been largely retired. Now that I have finished my first book, this blog has ceased to have much useful function for me. Now, rather than adding new articles whenever I have ideas of things I would like to write about, I just edit my book and include those ideas in future editions. However, there are, perhaps, some things about which I would like to write that I do not care to include in my book, and for that purpose alone, I will continue to maintain this blog.