Finding Your Freedom Your Own Way

Libertarian Presidential Candidate of 1996 and 2000, the late Harry Browne and author of How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World, believed that finding freedom was easier done alone than changing society. Browne wrote that there are only two alternatives in reaching your goal: the direct and the indirect alternatives. His major premise in his book, found in chapter six, “The Group Trap,” is that an individual does not need to change others to find freedom. It can be done alone.

The direct alternative requires only direct action by myself for the desired result. The indirect alternative requires me to find others to help in achieving the desired goal. The direct alternative means that only one person has to change his or her thinking and actions, while the indirect alternative means finding a way to change the thinking and actions of others.

He gives the example of having to fight higher taxes. Using the indirect alternative, I must enlist the cooperation of others to join in a political campaign to lower taxes. The direct alternative, in contrast , means I find a (legal) way to avoid paying high taxes. Another example would be a club with certain rules and activities that are no longer to my liking. The indirect alternative would require me to change the minds of other members in order to change the rules and activities of the club. The direct alternative would be to quit the club and find a new club I like better. Another example would be a college student using the indirect alternative by trying to use student government to change the curriculum or tuition, or using the direct alternative, the student could just find a better school .

Browne believed that it is much easier to use the direct alternative in attaining goals than to use the indirect alternative. He wrote, “This principle applies whether the group consists of you and one other person or you and thousands of others. In every case, your objectives and plans are diluted as they merge with those of other members of the group.” Despite this obvious point, people automatically think in terms of the indirect alternatives to achieve change. But this, he says is useless, because it is based on remaking others.

A free person instead looks at a situation and asks, “Is this what I want for myself.” If yes, then there is no problem. If no, then the free person automatically thinks of a direct alternative, taking responsibility for the desired goal, and searching for ways to bring the needed change. “A free man,” Browne wrote, “doesn’t need groups, because he’s in a position to take advantage of the numerous direct alternatives that require only his decision, not the changing of others.”

I believe he was right. I was not happy with my job. I certainly could not fire half the faculty. I wasn’t the principal, plus he was first on my list to go. I had to find my own way. Wanting others to change for your sake is futile. It’s the way of the serf. As Ezra Pound wrote, “A slave is one who waits for someone to come and free him.” I’m no longer a serf; I changed myself and my life. You can too.

Finding Your Freedom Your Own Way