Non-aggression principle
The non-aggression principle (NAP), also known as the non-aggression axiom, is a foundational principle in right-wing libertarianism and other petite-bourgeois tendencies which holds that "aggression" against private property is illegitimate and punishable by the society.[1]
The non-aggression principle serves to protect private ownership of the means of production over human life. It is a deeply-flawed position which runs in contradiction to freedom for the masses.
Examples
The following are examples of the non-aggression principle in practice:
- Under the NAP, taxation would be considered a form of "theft" and regarded as illegitimate, yet abject forms of extortion such as rents and landlording would be considered perfectly viable.
- Social murder would be perfectly accepted under the NAP. Because right-libertarianism places property above human life (and therefore prioritizes the interests of those with the most property), a landlord evicting tenets to potential death on the streets[a] would be considered legitimate and the fault of the tenets.
- On that note, collectivization, any and all attempts by the workers to seize the means of production would be considered utterly "aggressive" and therefore illegitimate in the eyes of the NAP.
References
- ↑ Walter Block (February 17, 2003). "The Non-Aggression Axiom of Libertarianism". LewRockwell.com. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
Notes
- ↑ which is only ensured by a libertarian system's lack of accessible healthcare.