Live and Let Live’s Lineage #

On the shoulders of giants #

Live and Let Live is the latest manifestation of an ancient progression towards human freedom, peace and prosperity. Its roots are as ancient as the Nile is long. Like the Nile River, Live and Let Live reconciles two main tributaries: the great freedom lineage and the great peace lineage.

Freedom

The broad trajectory of human freedom has been an evolution towards egalitarianism; from slavery → serfdom → . It has been a meandering path that at times feels like its going backwards, but humanity has increasingly recognized ‘self-ownership’; you entirely own your body and all your peacefully acquired property.

• Slavery was ubiquitous in many of the ancient civilizations – Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Ancient India, etc, and was accepted for millennia. Rather than self-ownership, some humans were deemed to be the property of others. Forced against, their will, we now recognize these slaves as victims of aggression. Emancipation from slavery was a giant leap towards living in a Live and Let Live society.
• Under feudalism, the ‘serfs’ (working peasants) were not deemed to be property, but still were not able to own land; they still lacked equality under the law. The peasant uprisings that demanded these equal freedoms, giving way to upward mobility enabled by capitalism, was the next clear progression. Today, many companies offer Employee Stock Ownership Plans such that the workers and the company’s owners are often the same people.
• In more modern times, Live and Let Live’s lineage includes universal suffrage and civil rights movements and also the Classical Liberal philosophers that deepened our theoretical understanding of humanity’s potential for freedom.
• No country today is totally free. To the extent that people still do not get to keep their peacefully acquired possessions or do not enjoy equality under the law, Live and Let Live picks up the baton for advancing freedom. When all societies benefit from abidance with the Live and Let Live Legal Principle, prohibiting all forms of aggression, whether by any person, group, corporation, or government, then all humanity will at last be free at last.

Peace #

Live and Let Live’s peace lineage combines the best of Western and Eastern civilization, which both feature the Golden Rule; treating others as you with to be treated. Just as the Live and Let Live Moral Principle is not prescriptive, there is not one path to trace its origins; there are many. There is much commonality with all the great spiritual traditions like Taoism, the Abrahamic faiths and Buddhism, and with great philosophical traditions, particularly with stoicism. The roots of the Moral Principle are both immeasurably deep yet beautifully simple.

While freedom is theoretically simple to achieve, peace is more nuanced, requiring tolerance, authenticity

Sitting near the confluence of these western and eastern civilizations, the Nile River serves as an excellent metaphor for the peaceful reconciliation that is the spirit of Live and Let Live.

Honoring our roots #

We appreciate and treasure how these lineages have transmitted insights to us that allow human beings to live more consciously; with more peace and freedom. We continue to take inspiration and wisdom from those before us who had the courage to envision and bring forth a better world. 🤙

Freedom

The broad trajectory of human freedom has been an evolution towards egalitarianism; from slavery → serfdom → . It has been a meandering path that at times feels like its going backwards, but humanity has increasingly recognized ‘self-ownership’; you entirely own your body and all your peacefully acquired property.

• Slavery was ubiquitous in many of the ancient civilizations – Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Ancient India, etc, and was accepted for millennia. Rather than self-ownership, some humans were deemed to be the property of others. Forced against, their will, we now recognize these slaves as victims of aggression. Emancipation from slavery was a giant leap towards living in a Live and Let Live society.
• Under feudalism, the ‘serfs’ (working peasants) were not deemed to be property, but still were not able to own land; they still lacked equality under the law. The peasant uprisings that demanded these equal freedoms, giving way to upward mobility enabled by capitalism, was the next clear progression. Today, many companies offer Employee Stock Ownership Plans such that the workers and the company’s owners are often the same people.
• In more modern times, Live and Let Live’s lineage includes universal suffrage and civil rights movements and also the Classical Liberal philosophers that deepened our theoretical understanding of humanity’s potential for freedom.
• No country today is totally free. To the extent that people still do not get to keep their peacefully acquired possessions or do not enjoy equality under the law, Live and Let Live picks up the baton for advancing freedom. When all societies benefit from abidance with the Live and Let Live Legal Principle, prohibiting all forms of aggression, whether by any person, group, corporation, or government, then all humanity will at last be free at last.