Don’t Tread On Others
Libertarianism and self-restraint.
Recently on Facebook someone posted an image of the famous Gadsden flag: the yellow banner with a coiled rattlesnake ready to strike. Instead of the famous “Don’t Tread On Me,” however, the poster had substituted: “Don’t Tread On Others.”
Both are warnings, but whereas “Don’t Tread On Me” is clearly directed at someone other than the “Me,” the poster clearly meant to aim “Don’t Tread On Others” at herself. (It could also be aimed at you of course, but I don’t think that was the intent because then the substituted slogan would lose all its oomph.) I like this alternative version a lot.
Antisocial Libertarianism?
I realize there’s an historical reason for “Don’t Tread On Me.” But many today — both defenders and detractors of libertarianism — believe it captures the essence of the philosophy. They may have a point, but they’re also missing something important.
My sense is that many, including people who call themselves libertarians, associate libertarianism with “rugged individualism.” Again, they’re not wrong to do so but it’s a mistake to think that it ends there.
Not long ago Sheldon Richman said on this website that the free-market philosophy central to libertarianism is about social cooperation just as much as it is about individualism. He wrote:
I understand the value of the terms “individualism,” “self-reliance,” and “independence,” but we should realize that they can easily lead to undesirable caricatures. Let’s not encourage anyone to think that the libertarian ideal is Ted Kaczynski minus the mail bombs.
Being a libertarian means different things to different people and it does accommodate those who just want to be left alone – by everyone. But there’s nothing inherently antisocial about libertarianism.
You may prefer “Don’t Tread On Me” depending on your mood or particular circumstances. There’s nothing inconsistent about liking both versions. But I do think there’s an important difference between them.
There is a threat in the “Me” version: Don’t tread on me . . . or else. Don’t violate my rights . . . or else. Don’t try to take something from me without my permission . . . or else . . . or else you will get it with both fangs, buddy! Attack me at your peril! You don’t want to be my enemy!
It is defensive, protective, threatening. Those aren’t qualities that I particularly like, even when I’ve felt I had to adopt them, and I wouldn’t want to live my life by them. By themselves they do not promote social cooperation.
Pro-social Libertarianism
“Don’t Tread On Others” is a warning aimed at oneself and places the locus of control in one’s own hands. Its demands self-restraint. It is pro-social. It is considerate, almost compassionate. It is a creed that I can live by, and it promotes social cooperation and civil society.
Each of us lives in a politico-economic system that uses political power to redistribute wealth. In the sphere of freedom that remains, a libertarian tries to avoid expanding that power and even to shrink it. I confess that my “best” is not as good as the “best” of some others.
As I’ve said before, I work for the state of New York as an economics professor. I believe I offer a service that would be provided even in a completely free society. Still, my salary comes from taxes and I benefit from many other things that taxpayers, today and in the future, should not be forced to give me. I know it’s wrong to use violence to take from others what doesn’t belong to me, and I work toward a world in which I won’t have to tread on others so that I can live the way I want to. And I know that to get there I have to be vigilant toward myself.
Leonard E. Read, the founder of FEE, taught us that the only way to truly change the world is first to change oneself; that liberty begins in one’s heart and that it’s ultimately fruitless to try to force others to behave as one wishes they would. Threatening to retaliate has its place in a free society – we should be free to defend ourselves in proportion to the aggression – but civil society, social cooperation, takes so much more. It takes discipline, self-restraint, and I believe also the wish to live happily and in harmony among our fellows.
“Don’t Tread On Others” goes to the heart of what it means to be a libertarian: the commitment to refrain from initiating violence.
Comment by Norman on 1 November 2011:
Do on to others as if you were an other
Comment by Lester Hunt on 1 November 2011:
Bravissimo! I agree.
Comment by AntiCollectivistChris on 1 November 2011:
Mr. Ikeda, teaching real economics for the state is an invaluable service to the community. At least your students will get some benefit from their state-sponsored indoctrination camps.
Our (if I may be so bold) economics would probably be the only type offered in a truly free market. I do not believe you should consider the fact that the money is being stolen. As the great Walter Block says, “You cannot steal from a thief.”
I believe libertarians have a duty to relieve the state of its ill-gotten gains provided we do not advocate for more “boodle” as Murray Rothbard used to call it. As much as I think the welfare/warfare state is inherently evil, I believe it will be the thing that brings down Leviathan.
If people like you continue to do yeoman’s work, we may just have a citizenry that will see that the state was the problem all along.
Comment by Dan on 1 November 2011:
It is important to balance the two views. It could be easy for the “Don’t Tread on Others” to morph into an entitlement, collectivist mentality. I have seen it happen before. “Don’t tread on others” becomes “we have a responsibility toward others” becomes “tread on the rich to benefit the poor” – with many baby steps in between.
Thus we must balance the two. Do not tread on others – nor allow them to tread on you. As Ayn Rand said: “When ‘the common good’ of a society is regarded as something apart from and superior to the individual good of its members, it means that the good of some men takes precedence over the good of others, with those others consigned to the status of sacrificial animals.”
Comment by TNAR on 1 November 2011:
You have brought up a number of important points but I feel you have not encapsulated the whole meaning of the original “Don’t Tread on Me”. The “Me” on the Gadsden flag is an arbitrary placeholder. Every individual has the right to qualify himself as the “Me” referenced therein which then takes the effect of “Don’t Tread on Others”. In other words, a person carrying a Gadsden flag cannot morally allow himself to “tread” on others since they also lay claim to “Don’t Tread on Me”. It serves as a reminder that everyone rightfully benefits from personal Liberty.
Regardless of which version a person decides to choose, they both espouse voluntary social cooperation and a respect for mutual Liberty.
Comment by jcalton on 1 November 2011:
If you tread on a snake, it will bite you. Pretty straightforward.
But a snake can’t tread on anything. To have the meaning everyone is inferring from “Don’t Tread on Others,” it would need to have an elephant and a mouse or something.
Comment by Jim Hull on 1 November 2011:
Libertarians tend to suffer from bad press, and Sandy’s idea is a good start in a better direction.
Another buzz word that fails is “capitalism”, which most people nowadays seem to regard as a catchword for fat-cat monopolists. (As in: “Capitalism is a much more responsive system than–” but already you lost them at “capitalism”.) Perhaps “free market” or “open market” would work better.
A third buzz word that seems to lose people is “deregulate”. When we say, “We must deregulate to free up our economy,” often the listener hears an excuse to let fat cats out of the bag. Most people want _some_ sort of control over dishonest businesses, and most people think of that control as a government-only process. It might work better to suggest that America can “decentralize regulation”, pointing out ways in which the market can do so without government bureaucracy gumming up the works.
Comment by AntiCollectivistChris on 1 November 2011:
Jim – I never use the word “Capitalism” when first trying to convert people. I always use “free-market” to make my point since Marx was the one who coined the term “capitalism”. I agree that it has a negative conotation and I think “we” should, for the most part, avoid the term.
On the other hand, some people, as Walter Block also says – “Need to be slapped in the face with a wet fish.” For those, I use the most abrasive terms I can find in order to force them to think about it.
Comment by Tom Langley on 1 November 2011:
Thank you for sharing these thoughts Sandy. A great way to look at it. Helpful.
Comment by Sheldon Richman on 2 November 2011:
Actually, the use of “capitalist” predates Marx. In fact, that word was used disparagingly by the laissez fairist Thomas Hodgskin (mentor of Herbert Spencer) to indicate that owners of capital were privileged under the laws of England. State socialists were far from the only ones who saw “capitalism” as a bad system.
Comment by Bob on 2 November 2011:
The porcupine version of the “don’t tread on me” flag is my favorite.
Comment by D. Saul Weiner on 3 November 2011:
I really wonder if the average, modern American has any idea what the phrase “Don’t tread on me” means.
Pingback by Sandy Ikeda | Collectivism as Apartism | The Murph Report on 23 February 2012:
[...] own voluntary collectives. But it’s not the simplistic individualism that begins and ends with “just leave me alone.” The doctrine of individualism indeed rests on the protection of individual rights – to person, [...]
Comment by Ross on 15 March 2012:
This is exactly the discussion I have to explain the founding of our project “Don’t Tread On Meme” which we conceived while at Libertopia in San Diego 2011. I saw a shirt that read “Don’t Tread On Me (or Anybody)” and I knew that we needed to produce a marketing effort for liberty that emphasized the concern that if you’re not free, I’m not free!