NaturalLibertyRequiresAdherenceto Truth 327thinkand act freelyand peaceablyin orderto thinkthroughthe matterif he is to accept
atheismhonestlyone day.
To attemptto coerce—by forceof governmentallaw—anyoneto be wiseror more
rational,is a contradictionin terms.As wisdomis accumulatedthroughinductivelearn-
ing fromexperience,whichincludesexperiencingthe consequencesof unwisechoices,
thereis no freedomto holdor exercisewisdomunlessthereis the complementaryfree-
domto be unwiseandto exercisefoolish-but-peacefulchoices.As we haverecognized
throughoutthischapter,of course,yourfreedomto behavepeaceablybut unwiselyis
contingentuponthoseunwiseactionsbeingbasedon beliefsyougenuinelyholdand
beliefsothersgenuinelyheldwhenexposingyouto them.Whensomeonedeliberately
providesyou falseinformationin orderto harmyou or someoneelse,that obstructsyour
libertyto act peaceablyon yourownjudgment,and thereforedoesnot countas an exam-
ple of someoneexercisingthe freedomto be unwise-but-peaceful.Still,libertyand induc-
tive reasonare conjoined.
JournalistBrookeAllencorrectlyobservesthatthe laissez-faireliberalfoundingof the
USAarosenot fromreligiousdogmaor otherirrationalities,but arosefroma specific
philosopher’s inductivereasoning.“Themostimportantpoliticalthinkerof the Enlight-
enmentandcertainlythe onewhohadthe greatestimpactin America”—indeed,the
“manwhohad the greatestsingleinfluenceon the UnitedStatesConstitution”—“was not
Jesusbut JohnLocke.. .”^16 AndLocke“did as muchas any theoristhas everdoneto
loosenpoliticsfromthe bondsof organizedreligion.” Allenalsoaddsthatthe virtuesof
GeorgeWashington“owedmoreto Aristotlethanto Christianwritings...”^17 But we need
not takeAllen’s wordfor it; we can consultthe writingsof ThomasJeffersonhimself.
Whenaskedaboutthe sourceof the night-watchman-stateprincipleswithinthe Declara-
tionof Independence,Jeffersonattributedthe historyof rational,natural-lawphilosophy,
specificallynamingAristotle,MarcusTulliusCicero,JohnLocke,andLocke’s laissez-
faireistcontemporaryAlgernonSidney.^18 Andas we haveobservedthroughoutmy trilo-
gy, bothCiceroand Lockefoundinspirationin Aristotelianinductivereasonand formed
pro-private-property-rightsconclusions.^19 Moreover,AlgernonSidneywasof the early
Enlightenmenttraditionthatemphasizedinductivereason.^20 JohnAdams,as well,con-
sidersAristotle—alongsideSidneyand Lockeand classicalliberals—to be an architectof
the philosophyof freedom.Theprinciplesof liberty,impartsthe secondU.S.President,
amountto “revolutionprinciples.Theyare the principlesof Aristotle.. ., of Livyand
Cicero,andSydney,... andLocke.Theprinciplesof natureandeternalreason.The
principleson which” any legitimatelyfree republic“... stands.”^21
ThatJeffersonandAdamswouldcite thisset of philosophersas the earlyadopters
layingthe foundationfor the Declaration’s Enlightenment-Eralaissez-fairethesis,sug-
geststhatthis duoof Foundersagreeswithme thatlaissez-faireliberalphilosophyde-
rivesfromAristotelianinductivereason.It maybe on a similarbasisthat,despiteAristo-
tle’s recommendationsfor specificandregrettablegovernistprecepts,H. L. Mencken
considersAristotleto be a heroof pro-libertyphilosophyin the finalanalysis.Hence,
Menckenplacesthe Atheniansagein the samecategoryas figuresmorefamouslyasso-
ciatedwithlaissezfaire—“Theidealgovernmentof all reflectivemen,fromAristotleto
HerbertSpencer,is one whichlets the individualalone.. .”^22 Andin agreementwith
Jefferson,Mencken,and myselfis AynRand.Aristotle’s philosophy,Randwrites,was the
original“intellectualDeclarationof Independence.Aristotle,the fatherof logic,shouldbe
giventhe titleof the world’s firstintellectual, in the purestandnoblestsenseof that
word.... If we considerthe fact that to this day everythingthat makesus civilizedbeings,
everyrationalvaluethat we possess—includingthe birthof science,the industrialrevolu-
tion,the creationof the UnitedStates,eventhe structureof our language—is the resultof
Aristotle’s influence,of the degreeto which,explicitlyor implicitly,menacceptedhis