Philosophy
Too many applicants overlook this page and the videos below. Improve your odds of winning funding by immersing yourself in The Philosophy of Human Respect. Yes, it is about freedom and reducing the threat of violence, but it is much more than that. Our project leads should be able to show how their projects either communicate or apply the philosophy. So they learn it.
We commit to a moral principle at our foundation.
To promote happiness, harmony, and prosperity, I will neither threaten or initiate violence against others nor diminish their wealth through theft, fraud, or property destruction.
We commit to this because happiness diminishes every time someone is victimized. This is a fundamental feature of reality, like gravity. So, we belong to a community that seeks to minimize suffering and maximize happiness through Human Respect.
What if everyone on Earth were to operate according to this commitment?
Ideally, everyone would undertake more projects that either spread our philosophy or help to replace the apparatuses of coercion.
That’s why we support private innovations and creative projects that would replace the function of coercive monopolies. At a minimum, it means our partners will propose ideas that reduce institutionalized compulsion.
The core idea is straightforward: Harmful acts such as theft or violence invariably diminish happiness, harmony, and prosperity. Self-evident premises support this idea:
People inherently seek happiness and fulfillment
Physical violence and theft of property always cause suffering
The more people are harmed, the less happiness there is in society.
It doesn’t matter who threatens or steals from us. Happiness goes down—like gravity.
So many of our life decisions revolve around our objectives. People pursue happiness in the short term, such as eating ice cream, or over the long term, like obtaining an education, raising a family, or engaging in fulfilling work.
Most of us understand that we shouldn’t harm anyone in that pursuit.
Until it comes to politics.
Too many people forget these self-evident truths because of politics. Some think it’s okay to delegate immoral or violent acts to authorities. Maybe they believe that, because they voted for a politician, they are not responsible for his wrongdoing. Whether you call it “democracy” or “politics,” this mindset creates a vicious cycle.
We outsource responsibility to politicians.
Social issues remain unresolved. And eventually,
We all become less happy, less harmonious, and less prosperous.
Still, once we understand the core idea—that threatening harm reduces happiness, harmony, and prosperity—it’s easy to discover a related moral principle:
Refrain from delegating or carrying out actions that cause innocents to suffer.
Rather than relying on agents to do the dirty work, we must voluntarily tackle social problems, which means consistently applying Human Respect. Sadly, too many people can’t imagine a world like that.
That’s where you come in.
The world has two primary forces for making change: persuasion and compulsion. We believe the world would be better if more people used persuasion, as dire consequences follow when we make too many exceptions. The more the few compel the many, the less happiness, harmony, and prosperity there will be.
HUMAN RESPECT LABS is committed to creating peaceful alternatives to coercive political institutions. We think real collaboration can give rise to a new era. Because, at root, the pursuit of happiness is due for everyone on earth.
Will you rise to the challenge?
Learn the Philosophy (Video Series)
The following video series provides a vital overview for project leads and supporters. Each video is approximately 5 minutes long, for a total of 25 minutes.