You have probably heard the popular tale in our circles that if you want to defeat the Leviathan, you should head to the forests, have ten children, homeschool them using sacred books to bypass state schools, and you will find freedom. Many libertarians, especially those of a conservative bent, view religion, and Christianity in particular, with great sympathy. At first glance, the logic here seems ironclad. Historically, the Church has built magnificent parallel institutions. It is capable of snatching children from the tight grip of the state education system, where they are drummed with statism and the belief that “taxes are the price of civilization” from the cradle. To some, this may seem like the ideal shield against totalitarianism.
However, even the sun has spots, and in closed communities, these spots sometimes turn into actual black holes. We are talking about violence against children, elegantly masked as “divine purpose.”
A large-scale psychological study was recently conducted, and the figures were quite terrifying. It turns out that if a child is beaten for no reason (which is abhorrent in itself), that is one story. But if they are whipped with a belt while being told, “You are a sinner, God will punish you,” or forced to remain silent about the violence for the sake of the “honor of the community,” the trauma is multiplied a hundredfold. The sense of guilt simply burns out the psyche from within.
And this is where the hope of a significant number of libertarians shatters. Many of us fantasize that proud freethinkers will emerge from closed traditional communities—little John Galts who will give the stationary bandit the middle finger. But in reality, this is how broken, intimidated people with skyrocketing levels of anxiety and depression grow up. A child who was “broken” from childhood in the name of higher powers will not go and shake the state, because they simply don’t have the strength for it. They will grow up into a person accustomed to obeying an authority that hits them on the head with a boot or a sacred book. They will find themselves a new master, and the state loves such people.
Now for the main point—the Non-Aggression Principle (NAP). Violence against a child is a direct and gross violation of the NAP. Children are not the property of their parents, like a chair or a crypto wallet. They have rights. And if a father sets up a branch of the Inquisition at home because a child prayed incorrectly or asked an inconvenient question, that is not “freedom of religion,” but banal, blatant aggression.
Now, many true anarchists might cringe at this, but libertarians need to keep a very close eye on what is happening behind the high fences of “parallel institutions.” If we see overt physical or cruel psychological violence against children, there is absolutely nothing shameful about unleashing child protective services on such parents.
Yes, some may strongly dislike the idea of calling the state for help. But let’s stay in reality. We do not yet have private detective agencies for the protection of children’s rights that offer them shelter and a proper foster family, and offer aggressors a dose of a drug to enhance their violence inhibitors. Saving a victim from an NAP violation in the moment is more important than theoretical purity. If a domestic tyrant is maiming the life of a defenseless person, using an existing protection mechanism (even a state one) is normal and morally justified. This is the protection of the basic right to life and inviolability. You do not become a statist by saving a child from beatings. You become a human being.
Decentralization and freedom from the state are wonderful. But we cannot allow tyrants to hide behind the Bible or anything else, turning their families into sovereign totalitarian sects. True freedom begins not with our refusal to pay taxes, but with the recognition of every person’s right, even the smallest, to a life without violence.
