A Self-Sovereignty Document

---

Declaration of Individual Independence (Draft)

---

SPECIAL NOTE:
For the first time reader it is probably best to not use the links from the words in this document beginning with a capital (which are technical terms whose links point to their definitions within the Natural Social Contract). Instead, for a first reading it is strongly suggested that the reader should simply attempt to use the vernacular meaning of a word which seems appropriate to the context in which it is used in this document. After in this manner obtaining a glimmer of what the Declaration of Individual Independence is about and continuing on to do the same for both the Theory of Social Meta-Needs and the Natural Social Contract, the reader will then be in a better position to delve into the full nuances of the definitions and their meanings within all these documents. Even though related, these meanings and usages are often quite significantly different than any vernacular usages of the capitalized words and such differences will only become fully clear by using a circular approach to learning. Only by doing so will it be possible to fully understand the meaning and operation of these documents.

General Notes

This is the version of this document for execution (signing). An annotated version which explains its content is also available. In addition, there is a dialogue of discussion of the Self-Sovereign Individual Project with George H. Smith in which the part related to an earlier version of this document begins at Section 3 of George H. Smith Dialogue.

All questions, comments and/or criticisms should be made to the annotated version, not to this document! Furthermore, there is additional amplification in the Natural Social Contract (NSC) and its annotations of many of the ideas expressed in this document including its annotated version. In addition, the theoretical basis for all the ideas in these documents is presented in the Theory of Social Meta-Needs. Therefore, all of the Theory of Social Meta-Needs, the Natural Social Contract and its 37 annotations should be read before questions, comments and/or criticisms are made to this document.

The words in this document beginning with a capital are linked to their definitions within the NSC (as they are intended to be understood in the entire Project). However, the reader should be warned that these words are technical terms within the NSC written as an axiomatic system (see the NSC Introduction and the annotation to that Introduction for detail on what this means). The definitions are therefore only a beginning to understanding the meanings of the words, which meanings will only become fully apparent when the Theory of Social Meta-Needs, the entire NSC document and all its annotations have been read. The links from this document to those words are therefore only for the purpose of gaining an initial idea of how such a word is being used in the context of this document, if that is not clear.

---

The Declaration of Individual Independence

When in the course of his life any individual achieves a clear understanding that the realization of his human potential for the ultimate promotion of his Lifetime Happiness is being 

severely Constrained and UnPermittedly Modified by the regulations of those governing his life, and at the same time he appreciates that increasing his Lifetime Happiness is solely his own responsibility, then it becomes necessary for him to declare his refusal to sanction the necessity, Effect and the very Existence of such regulations over him, to unilaterally dissolve those Connection Attributes by which he has been Involved with his governors, and to assume his place among other Freemen with the independence of thought and sovereignty of Action which his and their nature entitles and requires of them as shown by the Theory of Social Meta-Needs.

Since a reasonable person will both respect the opinions of other thoughtful individuals, and also realize that optimally increasing his Lifetime Happiness requires their individual cooperation in specialization and division of labor and in mutual Exchange to the best interests of all, such a Declaration should thoroughly explain and justify the reasons that have caused the Declarer to take this Action to no longer bind himself with them in obedience to the state. Finally, in order to make it abundantly clear that his Declaration of independence is not merely a license to do as he pleases according to his whims, the Declarer's respect for and need of the cooperation of Freemen necessitates that he state his Personal Responsibilities to them in a Contract form to which he unilaterally agrees and which he unilaterally Executes, at the same time imploring those who are not yet Freemen to make the same Declaration and to reciprocally Contract with him by becoming Freemen.

I, the Declarer, hold these truths to be self-evident:

I. that as a human, I am an individual Person, essentially separate from every other human with a uniquely different mind, and a uniquely different set of physical and mental Attributes.

II. that as a human, I have the potential for self-awareness, introspection, abstraction, Rational thought and volitional Action directed toward optimally increasing my Lifetime Happiness.

III. that although my evolutionary purpose, as an animal, is merely the survival of my genome, now that I have matured to adulthood, as a human adult, this evolutionary purpose has been superseded by the desire to optimally increase my Lifetime Happiness in accord with my individual abilities and the Evaluations directed by my Rational thought.

IV. that one consequence of my human separateness is that the Information contents of my mind cannot, with any significant degree of completeness or accuracy, be transferred to or determined by another human without my cooperation, and even then, with only limited completeness and accuracy except for very simple things, because of the small bandwidth of Outward communication compared with Inward. In particular, my individual purposes are both uniquely different from, and cannot be significantly determined ahead of my Actions by any other human.

V. that another consequence of my human separateness is that all of my mental and physical abilities for thought, Evaluation, Choice and Action are not to any significant degree under the Control of anyone but myself - that I am Master of MySelf.

VI. that even though all humans have separate and uniquely different individual purposes, there exists a set of Social Meta-Needs, Responsibilities and Entitlements which, each of us agreeing to, mutually, consistently and concurrently (ie. compossibly from "com" - together and "possible") optimizes the potential of each of us to achieve his individual purposes; and that to enable that optimization of potential, this compossible set needs to be recorded as a manifest mutual understanding, a Social Contract, specifying the Relationships between Self-Sovereign Individuals, and Executed by each.

VII. that such a Social Contract requires, at the least, that each Executor:

a) accepts the Entitlement of each Freeman to be Sovereign over himself;

b) declares his desire that the Person or Property of no Freeman should be Harmed, and his Intent not to be the Effective Cause of any such Harm, with the Harm being judged solely by the Harmed Freeman; and

c) will hold himself fully Responsible for restoration of the Lifetime Happiness of each Freeman for whom he is the Effective Cause of Harm, to the best of his ability and with such Restitution being determined solely by the Harmed Freeman.

VIII. that whenever any human or group of humans, whether calling themselves a government or not, becomes destructive of my Self-Sovereignty, then my individual purposes allow, nay even require me to resist and to terminate this destruction by whatever means I Decide, and, together with other humans of like mind, to mutually bind ourselves to a Contractual Relationship which shall seem to each of us most likely to Effect our individual safety and our individual potential to optimally increase our Lifetime Happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that social forms and arrangements long established should not be abolished for light and transient causes; and accordingly many people may consider it better to suffer an abusive government while reduction of their ability to achieve their individual purposes is sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing a government to which they are accustomed and potentially also terminating the social order concurrent with that government, however imperfect and incomplete that social order may be. But when a long train of laws, regulations and abuses pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce me under absolute state control, my individual purposes make it my personal responsibility and duty to myself to refuse to obey such laws and regulations as are not in accord with any of my individual purposes, and to Contract with others of like mind for our joint security and InterAction. Having suffered (often impatiently) such government abuses of my Self-Sovereignty all my life, I now realize that the optimal increase of my Lifetime Happiness necessitates that I must reject all government rule to the best of my ability.

The history of all governments and their agencies is a history of repeated legislation and actions against people which Violate their Self-Sovereignty, in particular which Violate their life (Person), Liberty and Property, and even their voluntary InterRelationships by replacing them with other, far less optimal arrangements. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

1. Government actions Constrain each person or UnPermittedly Modify the Choice Estimations of each person from making use of whatever lifeforms, substances, natural or manufactured objects that he Estimates will most increase his Lifetime Happiness by acquiring and to using them and which do not by themselves Harm any other person. Governments do this not only by forbidding or highly regulating the importation, production, sale, distribution, Possession and Control of such items, but also by their monopoly granting of patents, forbidding certain kinds of non-Violational research and obstructing the free flow of Information.

2. With respect to various services, government actions Constrain each person or UnPermittedly Modify the Choice Estimations of each person from providing or using whichever of these he Estimates will most increase his Lifetime Happiness and which do not by themselves Harm any other person such as:

1. prostitution,
2. pornography,
3. abortion,
4. cloning,
5. sale of human organs, and
6. any services which require certification and licensing.

3. With respect to Property, government agencies either confiscate, or strongly control its usage by each adult human by means of all forms of:

1. taxation,
2. price controls,
3. import and export controls and duties,
4. license fees,
5. zoning,
6. expropriation,
7. impounding of property both at the border and when under suspicion,
8. control of the money supply,
9. regulation of interest rates, and
10. lack of full restitution of all lost value resulting from unproven charges both criminal and civil.

4. With respect to Liberty, government laws UnPermittedly Modified the non-Harmful Actions of human individuals by threatening Constraints through such laws as:

1. compulsory jury duty,
2. conscription,
3. subpoena power,
4. contempt of court penalties,
5. detention or arrest without charge or trial, and without full Restitution to the detainee upon release without charge or trial, or after a verdict of not guilty,
6. denying people the right of Defense of Person and Property,
7. denying Victims full Restitution by the Violator for all their Harm due to losses of time, Liberty and Property caused by his Violation,
8. restricting the movement the immigration or visits of persons living outside its jurisdiction,
9. restricting the movement of all people across its borders,
10. forbidding many InterPersonal activities fully Permitted by the participants,
11. prohibition of many activities when they can be sensed by others, and
12. allowing criminals to escape prosecution through:
    • denying the validity of evidence "wrongfully" obtained,
    • Violation of them during the investigation, arrest or trial, and
    • plea bargaining (including the reduction/dismissal of charges against those who provide information leading to the conviction of other criminals).

5. With respect to the Availability of Actions, government created monopolies so distort the free market that the creation of new Choices of uniquely different goods and services, each competing for the purchaser's money according to his individual purposes, is effectively prevented. Examples of this are:

1. enforcement agencies of all kinds,
2. civil and criminal courts,
3. the promulgation of law,
4. coast guard, army, navy and air forces,
5. the creation of money,
6. the granting of charters,
7. mandated standards of weights and measures,
8. postal mail,
9. public utilities,
10. public health care,
11. public education,
12. public roads and other transportation systems,
13. the allocation and use of the electromagnetic spectrum,
14. exploration and development of space,
15. patent granting, and
16. copyright and trademark granting.

6. Government wastage of scarce resources by maintaining many people in tasks which produce nothing that a reasonable person would Choose to purchase, prevents the application of those man hours and monetary resources to create and produce products and services that people do want. Such distortion of scientific, technological and industrial productivity by governments has been growing exponentially in recent years as per capita income increases enable it to do so.

7. Government actions outside of its territory have not only wasted the resources of its citizens but have caused its citizens to be the targets of aggressive retaliation by those who have been Harmed by these extraterritorial actions. Thus, rather than enhancing the security of its citizens, government has, through its actions, directly decreased this security and the Freedom of its citizens to travel outside the country without being Violated.

8. Governments have made a mockery of the principle that all adult humans are to be treated equally under the law by granting to many of its agents and employees privileges (in effect, additional entitlements), including immunity from prosecution or from required Restitution to their Victims. A blatant example of this is allowing police agents to break the law during "sting operations" and to not be prosecuted for precisely the same actions for which other citizens are being prosecuted.

9. Governments have forbidden or heavily restricted travel, trade and information flow with certain areas of the world.

In every stage of these oppressions many people have petitioned for redress in the most sincere and honest manner, but their repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injuries of a worsening nature. A government, whose only reasonable purpose should be as a mutual benefit organization, the character of which is thus marked instead by every act which may define a tyranny, is unfit to be voluntarily supported by reasonable persons.

I, therefore, an adult human with nothing but the best of intentions toward all those who refrain from initiating or threatening violence against me, my property and my loved ones and from defrauding me, do, by my life and reality and my love of both, solemnly publish and declare:

A. that my essential human Characteristics make me a Self-Sovereign Individual with the use and Control of my own body and mind and the need to use and Control the product of my body and mind according to my individual purposes;

B. that as a Self-Sovereign Individual, I no longer sanction, nor have any duty to obey the laws, regulations or agents of any governments, and that all authority of government agencies over me, is and ought to be totally dissolved;

C. that in order to promote my Lifetime Happiness, it is my desire, my Intention and my responsibility to not Violate the Person or Property of any human, to Defend my Person, my Property and the Persons and Property of other humans whom I Value, to Contract with other Self-Sovereign Individuals for services and for Trade according to mutually agreed Terms, to be fully responsible to Restitute any other human for any actual Harm done to them by my physical Actions, and to Perform all other Acts which I alone Decide are most likely to optimally increase my Lifetime Happiness according to the laws of Reality; and

D. that in order to promote the conditions under which my Actions and the Actions of others will optimally contribute to the Lifetime Happiness of each of us, I acknowledge the Self-Ownership of every other human and his entitlement to act in the same manner as I Stipulate that I will do within this document;

E. that in order to implement these Declarations as a clear consistent mutual manifest understanding of the compossible set of Responsibilities and Entitlements which optimize the potential of each Self-Sovereign Individual to achieve his individual purposes, I have Executed and Published a Social Contract which binds me to all others who do likewise.

F. that in order to make my declared Self-Sovereign Status evident to other humans and to promote the ideas within this Declaration and my Social Contract, I will henceforth place the word Freeman after my name, unless I clearly Estimate that doing so might be significantly detrimental to my Lifetime Happiness.

And for the support of this Declaration, I beseech others of like mind to sign this Declaration, to also Execute the same Social Contract, and with me, as Self-Sovereign Individuals, together to this joint cause, pledge our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

Declared and Executed on this ____ day of _________ (month) in the year ____ AD,
by ____________________________ (print name),
a Self-Sovereign Individual accessible via email address:__________________


(Signature image)
_______________________________________

Attestor:
I, ____________________________ (print name),
a Self-Sovereign Individual accessible via email address:__________________,
have seen a picture identification (ID) of the Declarer and I Attest to the best of my ability that he/she and his/her signature above match that ID.


(Signature image)
_______________________________________

Published on the Internet (a Universal Communications Network) on: ___________ (date)

---

Note: An annotated version of this document which explains its content is also available.
All questions, comments and/or criticisms should be made to the annotated version, not to this document!

---

---

Declare Individual Sovereignty

8,043 Messages Sent So Far

A Declaration of Individual Sovereignty

Be it known that I, _______________________, the undersigned, do hereby declare myself to be a sovereign individual under the provisions of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America and that I reserve for myself all the rights and powers conferred upon the People of the United States of America by the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, which states:

?The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution,

nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively,

or to the people.?

Recognizing that both the Federal Government of the United States of America and the governments of the several States derive their just powers to govern from the consent and will of the People, and that the People may reserve the right to throw off the bonds of servitude and oppression of a tyrannical government, as per the guarantees made in the Constitution of the United States of America and the Bill of Rights, it is the incumbent duty of all the People to declare such tyrannical governments null and void according to the provisions and limitations imposed upon those governments by the Constitution of the United States of America and to either seek to establish a new and just government in adherence to the Constitution of the United States of America or, if that has become no longer possible, to declare themselves, each one, an individual sovereign entity beholden to no governance save for their own.

In accordance with these aims and purposes as stated herein, I hereby and herewith declare myself to be free of any and all governance by either the Federal Government or any of the several States of the United States of America and I hereby and herewith reserve and reclaim all the rights enumerated by the Constitution of the United States of America and the Bill of Rights, as well as all natural rights not enumerated by the Constitution or the Bill of Rights, such as they are recognized to be inherent conditions of human existence. These rights shall include, but are in no way limited to the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, as well as the right to keep and bear arms, which shall be construed to mean any and all types of weaponry that may be necessary, in defense of my life, liberty and property from all aggressors whoever they may be.

Signed ______________________________ this ______ day of ______, 20___

Pro Deo et Constitutione – 

Libertas aut Mors Semper Vigilans Fortis 

Paratus et Fidelis 

Joseph F Barber

https://www.facebook.com/FREEDOMORANARCHYCampaignofConscience

https://twitter.com/toptradesmen