Notes from How I Found Freedom

How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World

by Harry Browne, my cliff notes

Freedom is the opportunity to live your life as you want to live it.

Most of the rest of the world will remain unfree during the rest of your life. Most people
will continue to lead what Thoreau called "lives of quiet desperation"1paying high taxes,
bowing to social pressures, working long hours with little to show for them, never having
the time to do what they want to do, resigning themselves to loveless compromises that
masquerade as marriages.

Fortunately, that doesn't have to be your life. Even in an unfree world, you can be free.

PART I Why you are not free

Identity Traps

There are four basic principles whose recognition can help to avoid the Identity Trap:

1. You are a unique individualdifferent from all other human beings. No one else has
the exact same nature that you have; no one else reacts to things in exactly the way you do.
No one else sees the world exactly as you do. No one can dictate what your identity should
be; you are the best qualified person to discover what it is.

2. Each individual is acting from his own knowledge in ways he believes will bring him
happiness. He acts to produce the consequences he thinks will make him feel better.

3. You have to treat things and people in accordance with their own identities in order to
get what you want from them. You don't expect a stone to be a fish. And it's just as
unrealistic to expect one person to act as someone else does. You don't control the identities
of people, but you can control how you deal with them.

4. You view the world subjectivelycolored by your own experience, interpretation,

and limits of perception. It isn't essential that you know the final truth about everything in
the world; and you don't have the resources to discover it.

Instead, the test to be applied to any idea is: does it work? Does your identification of
things lead to the consequences you expect? If it does, what you've perceived was true
enough for that situation. But recognize the context of the situation and be skeptical when
generalizing from that test to draw broader conclusions.

These observations can help to keep you out of the Identity Trap. You don't have to try to
live a life that isn't yours. What others say you should be is based either upon what they are
or upon the way they feel you'd be of more value to them. Neither can be a valid basis for
determining how you should live your life. They're doing and saying what makes them
happy, and their conclusions are drawn from their own limited, subjective experience.

"As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live."
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE

"Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed."

FRANCIS BACON

Emotional Traps

Your intellect and your emotions are both essential, real parts of you. Each has a function;
neither can be disregarded if you're to get what you want in life. To deny either of them is
to fall into one of the traps.

You're in the Intellectual Trap if you let your intellect tell you what you should feel.

You're in the Emotional Trap if you let your emotions make important decisions for you.

Both traps lead to trouble.

You have to know what you're doing and why. The Emotional Trap blinds you to what
you're doing because you can't see the consequences clearly. And the Intellectual Trap cuts
you off from the only important why connected with your actionsknowing that what
you're doing will lead to what you know will create happiness.

To achieve genuine, durable happiness, you have to recognize your emotional nature and
intelligently think ahead to create situations that will trigger happy emotions from your
unique nature.

Then, when your plans have produced what you wanted, you can disregard your intellect,
relax, and just feel. You'll be able to act spontaneously within that context because you've
eliminated any possibility of bad consequences.

Then you can allow yourself to be engulfed in a flow of genuine positive emotions. And
that's what makes life worth living.

"No one has ever talked himself (or anyone else) out of an undesired emotion by hurling
insults or by delivering a moral lecture."
NATHANIEL BRANDEN

Morality Traps

You are responsible for what happens to you (even if someone else offers to accept that
responsibility), because you're the one who'll experience the consequences of your acts.
You are the one who decides what is right and what is wrongno matter what meaning
others may attach to those words. You don't have to obey blindly the dictates that you grew
up with or that you hear around you now. Everything can be challenged, should be
challenged, examined to determine its relevance to you and what you want.

As you examine the teachings of others, you may find that some of it is very appropriate to
you, but much of it may be meaningless or even harmful. The important thing is to
carefully reappraise any moral precept that has been guiding your actions.

As you examine each of the rules you've been living by, ask yourself:

Is this rule something that others have devised on behalf of "society" to restrain
individuals? Or have I devised it in order to make my life better for myself?

Am I acting by an old, just-happens-to-be-there morality? Or is it something I've

personally determined from the knowledge of who I am and what I want?

Are the rewards and punishments attached to the rules vague and intangible? Or do
the rules point to specific happiness I can achieve or unhappiness I can avoid?

Is it a morality I've accepted because "someone undoubtedly knows the reason for it"?
Or is it one I've created because I know the reason for it?

Is it a morality that's currently "in style" and accepted by all those around me? Or is it
a morality specifically tailored to my style?

Is it a morality that's aimed at me and against my self-interest? Or is it a morality

that's for me and comes from me?

All the answers must come from younot from a book or a lecture or a sermon.

When you decide to take matters into your own hands, someone may ask you, "Who do you
think you are? Who are you to decide for yourself in the face of society and centuries of
moral teachings?"

The answer is simple: You are you, the person who will live with the consequences of what
you do. No one else can be responsible, because no one else will experience the
consequences of your actions as you will.

If you're wrong, you will suffer for it. If you're right, you will find happiness. You have
to be the one to decide.

"Who are you to know?" It's your future at stake. You have to know.

"Freedom comes only from seeing the ignorance of your critics and discovering the
emptiness of their virtue."
DAVID SEABURY
"Volumes might be written upon the impiety of the pious."
HERBERT SPENCER

Unselfishness Trap

Everyone is selfish; everyone is doing what he believes will make himself happier. The
recognition of that can take most of the sting out of accusations that you're being "selfish."

Why should you feel guilty for seeking your own happiness when that's what everyone else
is doing, too?

The demand that you be unselfish can be motivated by any number of reasons: that you'd
help create a better world, that you have a moral obligation to be unselfish, that you give up
your happiness to the selfishness of someone else, or that the person demanding it has just
never thought it out.

Whatever the reason, you're not likely to convince such a person to stop his demands. But it
will create much less pressure on you if you realize that it's his selfish reason. And you can
eliminate the problem entirely by looking for more compatible companions.

To find constant, profound happiness requires that you be free to seek the gratification of
your own desires. It means making positive choices.

If you slip into the Unselfishness Trap, you'll spend a good part of your time making
negative choicestrying to avoid the censure of those who tell you not to think of yourself.
You won't have time to be free.

If someone finds happiness by doing "good works" for others, let him. That doesn't mean
that's the best way for you to find happiness.

And when someone accuses you of being selfish, just remember that he's upset only
because you aren't doing what he selfishly wants you to do.

"Poke any saint deeply enough,and you touch self-interest."

IRVING WALLACE

Group Trap

The Group Trap is the belief that you can accomplish more by sharing responsibilities,
efforts, and rewards with others than you can by acting on your own.

You waste precious time, effort, and money when you attempt to achieve freedom through
the efforts of a group. You can achieve far more for yourself by using direct alternatives to
free yourself of government interference, social pressures, and other conditions that restrict
you.

There are easier waysways in which you can go as far as you're willing to and be
rewarded accordingly.

Down to Gehenna or up to the Throne, He travels the fastest who travels alone.
RUDYARD KIPLING

Government Traps

The Government Traps ensnare many people because they never stop to recognize what a
government is. It's an agency of coercion that's accepted as necessary by most people
within its area of influence. It differs from the Mafia only in that the Mafia isn't usually
considered necessary by the people in the communities it "serves."

Governments usually do enjoy that respect. Even those people who want the "ins" replaced
by the "outs" consider the institution itself to be necessary.

I don't expect to see a world in which there would be no theft, aggression, or coercion. But
it would be refreshing to live in one in which no agency of coercion had the acceptance of
most of the people around me. Dealing with an agency of coercion would be much easier if
you didn't have to cope also with "law-abiding" neighbors who act as unpaid functionaries
of the state.

I believe a world without "government" would be a better place to live. However, that
doesn't tell me how to deal with the world in which I do live.

But a realistic understanding of government keeps you out of the Government Traps. You
won't waste precious time and energy trying to work through the government to become
free. Nor will you allow blind allegiance or patriotism to keep you from living your life as
you want to live it. Nor will you be deterred by the government's apparent powers.

There's nothing to be gained by trying to make the government more efficient, by trying to
get the "bad guys" out and the "good guys" in. The government has nothing to offer you.

And therein lies the answer to the famous clich, "The government should do for the people
only what they cannot do for themselves."

There's nothing the government can do for you that you can't do for yourselffar less
expensively, far more easily, and far more securely. And you can do it for yourself without
first having to obtain the approval of the electorate, the establishment, or anyone else.

... the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one class of
citizens to give to the other.

VOLTAIRE

Despair Trap

You're in the Despair Trap if you believe that you have to stay where you are and work
things out somehow. Or if you believe that you couldn't be any better off if you were to
change your situation. Or if you think that the government or society can stop you from
being free. Don't be depressed by what others say about your freedom and happiness. They
aren't the whole world, and they don't have all the answers.

There is a better world to find when you're free to look for it.

Little souls wish you to be unhappy. It aggravates them to have you joyous, efficient and
free. They like to feel that fate is disciplining you. It gives their egos wings if yours are
clipped. You can ruin your life in an hour by listening to their puerile opinions.
DAVID SEABURY

THE RIGHTS TRAP

THE RIGHTS TRAP is the belief that your rights will make you free.

It's not hard to fall into this trap and become preoccupied with your rights as a way of
getting what you want. You've probably heard since childhood that you have certain rights
to life, liberty, property, the freedom to pursue your happiness.

In addition, it's easy to feel that someone owes you certain things in a relationshipsuch as
respect, honesty, or fair play.

Unfortunately, rights exist only in theory. In practice, they don't accomplish muchno
matter how much people may discuss them.

By implication, a right to something means that someone else must provide that something,
whether or not he wants to. A right to your property, for instance, means that you should be
allowed to keep your propertyeven if others want to take it. A right to a job means that
someone must provide a job for you even if he prefers not to.

Rights are invoked only when there's a conflict of interest. Otherwise, there's no need for
them.

One reason it's so easy to walk into the Rights Trap is that it sometimes seems to be the
only way to deal with a conflict. But that's only one of three methods of handling such
situations. You can:

1. Rely upon your rights to get you what you want.

2. Find a way to make it in the other person's self-interest to provide what you want.
3. Find a way of getting what you want without his being involved.

In my experience, I've been involved in many situations in which the second or the third
method has worked for me. But I've never found a situation in which the first method has
been useful.

We've seen that an individual acts in ways that he believes will provide the most happiness
for himself, based upon his own knowledge of the alternatives available. He'll do what you
want him to do only when he thinks that's the best alternative for him. If he thinks there are
better alternatives for him, he won't do what you want.

It's as simple as that.

You have so much control over your life, it would be a shame to throw it away. But you do
just that if you hope to get what you want by involving your rights or by trying to change
others.

By using the control you do have, you can reduce your taxes, adopt the lifestyle you want,
and establish valuable relationships that won't bring problems. There are numerous direct
alternatives available to youmany of which will be suggested as we go along.

No one owes you anything; everyone you deal with will choose the best alternatives for
himself.

Try forgetting about your rights. They haven't made you free. They didn't bring you the
good things you've achieved in your life. Why count on them in the future?

There are far easier ways to get what you want.

We are much beholden to Machiavel and others, that write what men do, and not what they
ought to do.
FRANCIS BACON

Might is a fine thing, and useful for many purposes; for "one goes further with a handful of
might than with a bagful of right."
MAX STIRNER

THE UTOPIA TRAP

This is the belief that you must create better conditions in society before you can be free.
The Identity Trap is the assumption that someone else will react as you would. The Utopia
Trap is that assumption carried to its logical conclusionthe expectation that you can make
the rest of the world correspond to your dreams.

You can't. And when you try to do so, you succeed only in throwing away the very real
opportunities for freedom that you already possess.

A free man uses his tremendous power of choice to make a comfortable life for himself.

#FFP05: HARRY BROWNE'S FREEDOM

PRINCIPLES
By Frederick Mann
[How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World by Harry Browne is back in print. The new 387
page hardcover edition has the complete original text, with a new afterword by Harry
Browne. The book is available for purchase at
http://www.bookzone.com/bookzone/10001105.html.]
Introduction
In his superb classic How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World, Harry Browne defines
freedom as living your life as you want to live it. He claims that you can enjoy a high
degree of freedom right now. He indicates that:
"Hoping to be free, many people engage in continual social combat joining movements,
urging political action, writing letters to editors and Congressmen, trying to educate people.
They hope that someday it will all prove to have been worthwhile.
But as the years go by they see little overall change. Small victories are won; defeats set
them back. The world seems to continue on its path to wherever its going. Until they die,
the hopeful remain just as enslaved as theyve always been.
The plans, the movements, the crusades none of these things has worked. And so the
unfree man continues to dream, to condemn, and to remain where he is.
There must be a better way
Fortunately, there is such a way
Theres a way that depends entirely upon what you choose to do. You can live your life as
you want to live it no matter what others decide to do with their lives."
By trying to change others in order to become free youre always trying to do something
out of your control. On the other hand, you can use methods to free yourself that are
completely under your control.
There are two basic reasons why most people remain enslaved:
1. Theyre unaware of the many options and alternatives available to them;
2. They accept without challenge certain assumptions that restrict their freedom.
Harry calls these assumptions traps. As long as you dont challenge these assumptions,
they can keep you enslaved.

If you want to increase your freedom, Harry Brownes How I Found Freedom in an Unfree
World is must reading. I dont know of any other book that even comes close to providing
you with such powerful self-liberating information. Here I can only present you with a brief
overview.
Traps
Identity Trap #1: The belief that you should be someone other than yourself. You need to be
true to yourself. Find out who you are; be yourself; do things your own way.
Identity Trap #2: The assumption that others will do things the way you would. You cant
control others, but you can control how you deal with them. Harry Browne says, "you have
tremendous control over your life, but you give up that control when you try to control
others."
Intellectual Trap: The belief that your emotions should conform to an intellectually
preconceived standard. Emotions are best regarded as signals that tell you how youre
doing. (For the most powerful techniques to achieve emotional control, see Report #TL12:
How to Achieve Emotional Control.)
Emotional Trap: The belief that you can make important decisions when youre feeling
strong emotions.
Morality Trap: The belief that you must obey a moral code created by someone else. In
order to become more competent (and free) you need to strengthen your understanding of
the cognitive links between your actions and the consequences you produce. Morality is
basically a set of very general rules concerning what to do and what not to do, generally
involving large consequences. Blindly using someone elses moral code, tends to reduce
your competence, because it prevents the forming of proper cognitive links between actions
and consequences. To be free you need to create your own moral code.
Unselfishness Trap: The belief that you must put the happiness of others ahead of your
own. A world of maximum value is a function of the total of maximum individual value.
You know yourself and what you value far better than you know others and what they
value. Therefore, you are much more competent to increase your own value than that of
others. So, maximum value is achieved by each individual maximizing his or her own
personal value.
Because we live in an "expanding-pie" world, its possible to maximize personal value
while at the same time adding to the value of others. We maximize personal value by
creating values for others to freely choose. The assumptions that "selfishness" and "greed"
are evil need to be questioned. I recommend two books: The Virtue of Selfishness by Ayn
Rand and The Art of Selfishness by David Seabury. Richard Bach, author of Jonathan
Livingston Seagull, wrote this testimonial to How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World:
"THE GREATEST GIFTS ARE GIVEN BY THE TRULY SELFISH. FROM THIS
MANS LOVE OF FREEDOM, THEN, HAS COME THIS BOOK, A GIFT OF POWER
AND OF JOY FOR WHOEVER YEARNS TO BE FREE."

Group Trap: The belief that you can accomplish more by sharing responsibilities, efforts,
and rewards with others than you can by acting on your own; the belief that anyone can
speak on behalf of another.
To overcome the Group Trap organizations can be organized in such a manner that the links
between actions, results, and rewards are as direct as possible. For example, instead of
hiring additional personnel, work can be subcontracted.
Government Trap #1: The belief that governments perform socially useful functions that
deserve your support.
Government Trap #2: The belief that you have a duty to obey laws.
Government Trap #3: The belief that the government can be counted upon to carry out a
social reform you favor.
Government Trap #4: The fear that the government is so powerful that it can prevent you
from being free.
The above are Harry Brownes Government Traps. I add the following:
Government Trap #5: The belief that government people can do anything better than other
people. Government people dont have any special magical powers.
Government Trap #6: The belief that governments will produce beneficial results. Because
government people essentially collect their income at the point of a gun, they dont have to
produce anything worthwhile to survive. In fact, their incentive is to make all problems
worse so they can demand more taxes to "solve" the problems.
Government Trap #7: The belief that government represents the people. Individuals always
represent themselves (Unselfishness and Group Traps). To think otherwise is a delusion.
Government Trap #8: The belief that government can conjure up resources from thin air.
Everything government has, was essentially stolen at the point of a gun.
Government Trap #9: The belief that government provides protection. Just look at the crime
statistics.
Government Trap #10: The belief that certain activities or functions must be done by
government. Government consists of people. These people dont have any special magical
powers.
Government Trap #11: The belief that government must or can control people. Because
only individuals control the energy that animates their bodies, its really impossible for
anyone to control anyone else. However, people can relinquish self-control by choice or
unwittingly.

Government Trap #12: The belief that you have to do something about solving the problem
of government. You are best off solving your own problems. In addition, you may also want
to persuade a few others to solve their own problems. If enough people solved their own
problems, the problem of government will disappear.
Government Trap #13: The belief that government exists as a volitional entity. This is an
aspect of the Group Trap. When having to deal with "government," you always have to deal
with individual human beings. Realizing this helps make you much more effective in
warding off any attempts by individual government people to violate your freedom. Rather
than having to handle "the government," you have to handle one or a few specific
individuals. Frederic Bastiat said. "The State is the great fictitious entity by which
everyone expects to live at the expense of everyone else." [emphasis added]
Government Trap #14: The belief that the governments constitution is a valid, legal
contract. All the government constitutions I know of are fraudulent hoaxes. For a contract
to be valid it must be entered into knowingly, intentionally, and explicitly. Have you ever
signed any so-called "constitution" of any supposed "country?" What if all coercive
political systems are fraudulent hoaxes? See Report #TL07: The Constitution of No
Authority.
Government Trap #15: The belief that government can make laws. In the final analysis, the
noises and scribbles that emanate from the mouths and pens of government officials are just
noises and scribbles. The power you ascribe to these noises and scribbles is your choice.
Obviously, the vast majority of people believe that the noises and scribbles of government
people constitute "the law." There are also hordes of bureaucrats, police, and judges who
regard "the law" as sacrosanct. If they suspect you disrespect their "law," they tend to feel
very threatened and may become extremely vindictive. There are times when your freedom
depends on your ability to convince them that you respect the noises and scribbles they call
"the law." See Report #TL07B: The Nature of Government.
Despair Trap: The belief that other people can prevent you from being free. You are always
free to move on and start a new life.
Rights Trap: The belief that your rights will make you free. The U.S.A. is supposed to be a
country where certain individual rights are guaranteed by the Constitution and government
officials are supposed to swear an oath to uphold the Constitution. Yet there are thefts,
robberies, rapes, murders, etc. every day. Furthermore, government officials violate
individual rights with abandon in the form of taxation, regulation, more taxation, and more
regulation.
In choosing your actions, you are far better off carefully considering the consequences to
yourself, rather than acting in accordance with your "rights." As Max Stirner said, "Might is
a fine thing, and useful for many purposes; for "one goes further with a handful of might
than with a bagful of right."

Utopia Trap: The belief that you must create better conditions in society before you can be
free. Youre far better off and much more powerful if you concentrate on changing and
improving yourself and creating your own personal utopia of freedom and wealth
rather than trying to transform society. As Harry writes:
"The world-changers are powerless. They dream of remaking the world; but they cant, and
so theyve placed their emphasis where they have no power at all.
Free men recognize that they cant change the world. and so they concentrate on the power
they do have which is enormous. They realize that they can choose not to be involved in
situations that dont suit them.
So they look for situations that do suit them. And they discover far more opportunities for
such situations than most people imagine exist.
A free person doesnt try to remake the world or his friends or his family. He merely
appraises every situation by the simple standard: Is this what I want for myself? If it isnt,
he looks elsewhere. If it is, he relaxes and enjoys it without the problems most other
people take for granted.
A free man uses his tremendous power of choice to make a comfortable life for himself.
The power of choice. You have it. But you forfeit it when you imagine that you can choose
for others. You cant.
But you can choose for yourself from hundreds of exciting, happiness-producing
alternatives.
Why not use that power?"
Burning Issue Trap: The belief that there are compelling social issues that require your
participation.
Previous-Investment Trap: The belief that time, effort, and money spent in the past must be
considered when making a decision in the present. You know the old saying, "Dont throw
good money after bad." Harry Browne says:
"In every case, the question is: With what you have now, what is the best way to use that to
get the most in the future?" What youve paid to get where you are now is irrelevant; those
resources are gone and cant be retrieved, no matter what you do."
This is very important in determining your next step for moving forward from where you
are now. Its also related in Robert Ringers Present Living Habit see Report #FFP01:
Robert Ringer's 'Million Dollar Habits'.

Box Trap: A box is any uncomfortable situation that restrains your freedom. The box trap is
the belief that the cost of getting out of a box is too high to consider. The problems
associated with maintaining a false image are part of the box trap.
To get out of a box, consider three factors, that is, the disadvantages of the box:
1. The price you pay for remaining stuck in the box;
2. The cost of escaping from the box; and
3. What you could do after escaping the box, that is, the benefits you gain by escaping
the box.
Obviously, a marriage could be a box. Theres a very important principle: the sooner you
pay the price to get out of a box, the less it costs you. In other words, the longer you stay
in a box the more it costs you.
Certainty Trap: The urge to act as if your information were totally certain. Firstly, our
perception is limited and subject to error. Secondly, information evolves continuously.
Tomorrow well know more than today. Some of what we know today will be proved
wrong by what we discover tomorrow.
Because we always act on incomplete or on at best partially correct information, we take
risks in everything we do. Harry Browne says:
"The individual who ignores these risks can lose his freedom in three important ways:
1. Hes likely to take risks that would be unacceptable if he were to recognize them; and by
acting rashly he can get himself into boxes that restrict his freedom.
2. When things dont go his way, his previous certainty can turn quickly to despair and
depression: after all, he was "so sure." Now that hes discouraged, his emotions can tempt
him to run from his bad consequences into a worse situation. In other words, hes fallen into
the Emotional Trap.
3. By accepting opinions as absolute fact, he can allow his freedom to be restricted by
information that may not be true."
Harry Browne identifies five "information principles":
1. Popularity isnt proof. The fact "everybody knows" could mean little or nothing.
2. Be skeptical about new information.
3. Dont expect to have an explanation for everything. To some extent, you always
have to act in the dark.
4. You cant see everything; recognize that you see only part of the picture.

5. Recognize the risks and liabilities. Action always involves risk.

Harry writes:
"You are the sovereign authority for your life. You are the ruler who makes the decisions
regarding how you will act, what information you will accept. You do it anyway but if
you recognize that you do it, you can gain much greater control over your future
But whether or not you accept it, you are sovereign. You rule one life and you rule it
totally.
You decide which information you will accept or reject. You decide what your next action
will be. You decide what moral code youll live by
To be free, you have only to make the decision to be free. Freedom is waiting for you
anytime youre ready for it."
WHY HARRY BROWNE COULD BECOME THE NEXT U.S. PRESIDENT
by Frederick Mann
Introduction
Throughout much of history and evolution change has occurred very gradually and in
small steps. This phenomenon has been called "continuous change."
But sometimes, a major change or upheaval can occur suddenly and rapidly. This has been
called "discontinuous change." An earthquake is a discontinuous change.
If every minute you put an additional straw on a camels back, the load very gradually gets
heavier and it slowly becomes more difficult for the camel to carry it. This is continuous
change. Eventually a point is reached, where if one more straw is added, the camels back
breaks and it collapses the proverbial "last straw that broke the camels back." This is a
discontinuous change.
Harry Browne might just turn out to be the last straw that finally breaks the terrocrats back.
(Terrocrat = terrorist bureaucrat.)
Why Harry Browne Could Win
There are a number of reasons why Harry could actually win:
1. A Powerful Message. Harry Brownes basic message is "government doesnt work." I
believe the number of people in America who are ready to hear this message is exploding.
More and more people are becoming disillusioned and disgusted with government every
day.

2. The Democrat Party is Over. The November, 1994 elections demonstrated wide-scale
rejection of the "dems." Not even one new democrat was appointed to Congress. Its
unlikely that Clinton and his cronies will be able to reverse this tide away from tax-andspend big government.
3. The Republicans will Fail to Deliver. Its extremely unlikely that the "gops" (Grand Old
Party politicians) will succeed in doing anything that will significantly improve the
economic situation of the average person. They wont even come close to balancing the
federal budget. When faced with the wrath of powerful special interests, theyll continue to
back away from their "contract with America." Theyll continue to violate the U.S.
Constitution and the Bill of Rights, as they did in their legislation to allow government
agencies (except for some limits on the IRS and ATF) to search private property without
warrants and to use anything found as evidence.
4. Collapse of the US$. The gradual collapse of the dollar, pushed by the trade and federal
deficits, will continue and neither the gops nor the dems will be able to do anything about
it. At some stage its likely that Greenspan and his buddies will feel compelled to raise
interest rates in an attempt to bolster the US$. This could plunge the economy into
recession. Harry Browne could blame it on the gops and dems.
5. Harry Browne is Well-Known and Respected. Harry will be the most credible candidate
by far that the Libertarian Party (LP) has ever fielded. Hes written several best-selling
books and has made hundreds of radio and TV appearances. His book on the breakdown of
government will be published by a major publishing house later this year. Harry probably
has a greater ability and potential to turn millions of people onto freedom than anyone else.
Harry is also one of the most eloquent and persuasive spokesmen for freedom.
6. Harry Browne Can Raise the Money. Harry is a member of an "inner circle" of wealthy,
influential, freedom-loving investment advisers with thousands of wealthy contacts. I
expect theyll be able to raise at least $10,000,000 for an extensive campaign.
Given the above factors, and the fact that there have occasionally been huge political
swings in the past, its certainly possible for Harry Browne to win. The extent of the
support for third-party candidates such as John Anderson and Ross Perot also indicate that
its possible for someone like Harry Browne to win.
The Major Obstacle
Most American political elections are rigged. I strongly recommend that you read
Votescam: The Stealing of America by James M. Collier and Kenneth F. Collier (Victoria
House Press, NY; 1993). The terrocrats in control can press a few buttons, make "votecounting" computers "break down" at strategic times, and in many cases make the "vote"
come out as they want. In most American political elections there isnt necessarily any
correlation between the reported vote counts and the actual votes.
What Harry Browne has to Do to Win
The foundation for Harrys campaign is already in place. All I want to suggest here are two
factors I believe warrant careful consideration.

1. Rigged Elections. It may be possible to develop a strategy to use the rigged-elections

factor to greatly increase the general disgust with the dems and gops, and swing their
support to the Libertarians. I have no idea what this strategy might be.
2. Irwin Schiff as Running Mate. Irwin Schiff is also running for Libertarian President.
Whereas Harry is the libertarian intellectual, Irwin is the battle-hardened fighter whos
taken on the beast, namely the IRS, in the trenches. Hes lost some and won some. They
couldnt crush him and hes stronger than ever. Hes selling tens of thousands of his
uncompromising books and reaching more thousands via talk radio.
Harry should persuade Irwin to run as his vice-presidential candidate. Harry Browne can
get the Libertarian vote. Irwin can add a big slice of the Patriot vote. I believe the
combination greatly increases the probability of victory.
Moral Arguments
In the March, 1995 issue of Liberty magazine theres an article by John Pugsley under the
title "Harry, Dont Run!" This isnt the place to systematically address all Johns
arguments, however, I would like to indicate the following:
1. The falsely-called "U.S. Constitution" was never signed or adopted by anyone in any
manner to make it a legal contract binding anybody. (See Lysander Spooners No Treason:
The Constitution of No Authority.)
2. The entire political system in this part of the world has been a hoax and a fraud since the
outset. As Spooner indicated, all the pretended "presidents," "secretaries," "generals,"
"ambassadors," etc. have been liars and impostors.
3. Again, as Spooner indicated, all the supposed "oaths" of these liars and impostors have
been meaningless and "given to the winds."
4. Playing along with this farce by "running for office" or "voting" does not appoint
anybody to anything or authorize anybody to aggress against another or others.
5. If Harry Browne were indeed to "become President," we should simply regard him as the
latest in the line of "nobles." And if he were to take an "oath of office," nobody in their
right mind should regard it as anything but a farce "given to the winds." (As Douglas Casey
wrote in the March, 1995 issue of Liberty magazine, "Politics is a dirty business, but
somebody has to undo it.")
6. The compelling reason to participate in this farce is to turn millions of people onto
freedom while we have this wonderful opportunity.
7. Then we can turn them onto Build Freedom and real freedom! (What could be more
moral?)