Statement of Philosophical Beliefs

Fundamentally I believe that all self-aware entities have the right to be treated as equals; that all have the right to life, to liberty, and to property. These rights carry with them the responsibilities to observe and protect those rights for all others. One must exercise the latter to claim the former.

A large number of beliefs fall out of this fundamental structure:

• I believe in the freedom of individuals to decide their own destinies: economic, social, & philosophical. I acknowledge that we don't live in this idealised state, and accept that we are unlikely to reach there in the short to medium term. Thus I believe that we should evolve the social institutions within which we work towards that end. [Evolution in this sense is a generally gradual process of trial "of" error, punctuated with occasional breakthroughs and transformations.]
• I believe that no individual has the right to own or control another, and that contracts freely and knowingly entered into have binding consequences.
• I believe that no social system should sanction the intentional killing of individuals within it, yet accept the roles of police and defence forces in our current world, and encourage them to be a little more lateral in their thinking. [The best defence that anyone can have, is having everyone else happy with their own lot. It's hard to get people to steal, or to wage war when they are well fed, well educated, and free to do whatever they reasonably & responsibly choose; but even then it is sensible to make effective defence alliances, and to maintain a technical edge over potential aggressors - because some people's dominant behaviour is just plain nasty.]
• I believe that the best technical, economic and social structures are those which support individuals in their explorations of the potential available to them.
• I believe government's only role is to limit social and technical experiments where they can be demonstrated to be dangerous to others, but to encourage innovation and experiment at all other times. [It's a brave man who tries to predict what avenue of research will provide the next major breakthrough. The rate of technical evolution is continuing to accelerate on an exponential growth curve. It is now technically possible for us to develop a space-born culture available for all humanity (not just the elite) and to make transformations in the areas of health and longevity; all within the next two decades. It is not a matter of making new discoveries, simply of re-organising and aligning our existing knowledge and technology (what might be possible in 20 years time is anyone's guess). Few individuals are aware of the possibilities of the whole, as most are tightly focused on their speciality, as economic needs dictate.]
• In the area of cleaning up our environment, I am a supporter of education, and the use of codes of practice, but am not a supporter of the bureaucratic power conferred under the Resource Management Act. I support actions which prevent environmental destruction where that damage can be demonstrated to be harmful to others, but do not support the overly cautious approach promoted by many so called "environmentalists". As a trained ecologist myself, I am aware of the natural ecosystems, and our reliance upon them; and I fully support moves to raise the level of awareness of ecology, and our interrelationship with the rest of the biosphere. I do not support legislation which inhibits the freedom of individuals, where the "threat to the ecology" is purely or substantially in the minds of some individuals, and can not be demonstrated "beyond reasonable doubt". Requiring a written consent to paint one's own woolshed, and having council by-laws determining the colour of the paint which can be used, is patently ludicrous (and is our current situation in some areas).
• I completely support education programs which allow individuals to make informed choices, having regard to their specific circumstances (always better than blanket regulation).
• I am a firm believer in honouring the wisdom of the ages, and stretching the bounds of possibility within which individuals live.
• I believe that the democratic system of representatives which we have works well if the people involved listen, speak, and choose their paths, with integrity. It works best if representatives put all cases clearly, and choose options after considering the best information available.
• I believe that we can solve any problem facing us.
• I believe that we are not yet finished exploring what is possible for human beings, or what the universe has to offer. {For example - one of the basic tennants of relativity is that one cannot distiguish an accellerating frame of reference from one at rest in a gravitational field. This is clearly false, as a simple arm with a pendulum at each end will do it. If you are in a gravitational field, both pendulums will point to the center of mass, and accelerating them up will cause them to swing outwards with respect to each other. In a pure accelerating frame there would be no swing. In a centripital frame the swing would be inwards.}

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