Charles T. Sprading Quote - Liberty Quotes Blog

The Law of Equal Freedom, as Adopted by The Libertarian League

Since life itself contains the impulse of physical growth and the development of faculties and therefore needs room and freedom to function; and since liberty is necessary to the exercise of faculties; and since the exercise of faculties is essential to happiness; therefore, to attain happiness one must have liberty. And since liberty, being essential to the individual, is also necessary to the race; and since this necessitates limiting the liberty of each to the like liberty of all, we therefore arrive at the sociological Law of Equal Freedom.

Libertarian Principles

Freedom of thought is essential to the discovery of truth.
Freedom of speech is essential to the vindication of truth.
Freedom of the press is requisite for the dissemination of knowledge.
Freedom of assembly is essential for the discussion of public questions.
Freedom in education is essential to the development of correct principles of study and teaching.
Freedom in science is essential to the demonstration of fact, through investigation and experimentation.
Freedom in literature, art and music is necessary for the highest expression of conceptions and emotions.
Freedom in amusements and sports is essential to the fullest enjoyment of recreation.
Freedom in religion is necessary to avert persecution (as, e.g., for adopting and professing religious opinions, and for worshiping or not worshiping, according to the dictates of conscience).
Freedom of initiative and association is necessary for efficiency and economic in individual or co-operative enterprise.

by:	Charles T. Sprading (1871-1959) Libertarian activist, writer
Source:	Freedom and Its Fundamentals (Los Angeles, Libertarian Publishing Company, 1923, pp. 9-10)
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Reader comments about this quote:

-- jim k, Austin, Tx
Good start (aside from the grammatical errors), but it is foolish to focus on freedoms without at least mentioning the responsibilities that come with them. -- Greg Raven, Apple Valley
Okay but I like to see some more love of these principles by contributors on this site. They seem to be one way when it comes to expressing a free opinion. -- Waffler, Smith
Well Waffler...perhaps what you're referring to is the adament rejection of all things communist...which seems to be the basis of all of your opinions. The principles here demand that we respect each others rights...responsibility is built into these by design. -- J Carlton, Calgary
Freedom is not having liberal government forcing their ways upon us. Congress and the Federal courts seem to have passed many laws and interrupted our original Constitution to HELL. -- cal, lewisville, tx
Your freedom ends where my nose starts and the same is true for me! And the way I read this quote is BIG Government is the answer and it sounds like that welfare scumbag and idiot Maxine Waters! -- Ray, Graysville
Great start; and Greg, you're right, responsibilities are an inherent major portion that makes up the definition of freedom and liberty. Ray, I agree with you, BIG government is antithetical to freedom and liberty. Waffler, those of us that have been expressing our opinion here these several years can always increase in love (you and I are no exception). Your theocratic views of a totalitarian democracy diametrically oppose my desired application of personal freedom and liberty so, you have to expect colorful banter; anything less would not be heart felt freedom of speech. -- Mike, Norwalk
I think Ray has missed the point. Libertarians are not for legislating these principles but embodying them personally and individually for their own sake -- all these 'rights' are already inherent, there is no need to 'grant' them via 'laws.' Waffler has nothing but freedom to try and convince the rest of us of his opinions -- we are not, however, obligated to share them. The communist strategy is to keep trying to break down the independent and individualist thinker to accept the social dogma of the likes of Marx, Lenin, Hitler -- all of which place the State as the ultimate authority and regulator of all the rest. Libertarians know that this is untenable as it is merely a different form of totalitarianism. The facts that Hitler was elected, and the people could vote even in communist Russia, just show that democracy is no protection against genocidal policies of socialism. Socialism is the war between the classes -- it can never be equalized without servitude for all. It is a system of enslaving the masses. -- E Archer, NYC
This pretty much says it all for me. The key line in the 'preamble' that the Liberty of the individual is limited by the equal Liberty of all has to be understood. Ray may have missed this even as he described perfectly in a physical sense. Big government cannot grant or enforce this, it can only get in the way of it. -- J. B. Wulff, Bristol, CT
-- Kimo, USA

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