Most Americans agree that the United States government is corrupt and does not serve the interests of the American people. Many people agree that our political system is broken and has gone off the rails. Many people also feel disenfranchised and apathetic. They are unsure of how they can be valuable in improving the world and creating change.
Change and improvement won’t happen overnight or in one fell swoop, rather it happens bit by bit, small victory after small victory. Here’s how you can advance liberty and do your part to create a free society for yourself and for future generations.
The Spread of Ideas
If freedom and prosperity is something you’re passionate about, the first thing you can do to advance liberty is to become educated and knowledgeable about the ideas of a free society. Learn why some countries are prosperous and others aren’t. Read about economics and the market economy. Read about different political philosophies, about the history of capitalism, socialism, and authoritarian government.
Some good starting points would be to read “The Law” by Frederic Bastiat, “Economics in One Lesson” by Henry Hazlitt, and “Basic Economics” by Thomas Sowell.
Tons of resources online also exist such as educational videos like the ones LearnLiberty.org creates. Other authors and ideas to start with or to take a look at also include classical economists and philosophers such as Adam Smith, David Ricardo, David Hume, John Stuart Mill, the Founding Fathers, and other natural rights theorists such as John Locke. And of course the Austrian School economists like Ludwig von Mises, F.A. Hayek, and Murray Rothbard.
On top of constantly educating yourself, also begin engaging in open-minded discussions and civil discourse about societal problems with the people you are close with and the people you know would be interested in these sorts of discussions. Also try finding people in your community who are into open discussions and debates.
Coming across these ideas of freedom for the first time can be incredibly important and potentially life-changing. We each have enormous power to influence the people around us for the better, so attempt to introduce these ideas to the people who are important to you.
Each opportunity you get to introduce these ideas to someone, seize that opportunity. Be an effective communicator and advocate of these ideas by being a good listener and storyteller, and by being empathetic, kind, and rational.
The more people that are sympathetic to the ideas of a free society, the easier it will be to actually create a free society. More people than ever are open to political and economic freedom and we must continue this trend by being the messengers who introduce people to these important ideas.
Be The Change
Arguably more important than spreading the ideas and the intellectual understanding of freedom is to take action and live life fully.
By pursuing your happiness, creating your reality, and empowering yourself to be precisely the person you want to be, you create massive prosperity for yourself and others, and you also inspire others and give them encouragement to do the same. The more people we have taking control and responsibility for their lives and the more people we have being free-thinking, entrepreneurial individuals, then the more free and prosperous our society will be.