Definition

To aggress is to deny another’s ability to exclusvily control their body.

Discussion

Overview

When someone limits another’s freedom of choice to live an any peaceful way they want, that person is aggressing.

Aggressing is contrary to freedom. Accordingly, Live and Let Live follows the Legal Principle to not aggress.

This also means that no valid legal framework can enable people to aggress against others.

Forms of aggressing

1. Initiating nonconsensual physical force against another person or their property
2. fraud
3. coercion
4. creating a substantial risk or threat of initiating nonconsensual physical force against another person or their property
5. rejecting legal fairness, such as obstructing justice or failing to give due process
6. breaching a contract
7. engaging in unreasonable conduct causing harm to another person or their property
8. breaching a fiduciary duty.

Explanations

Whoever aggresses is in breach of the Legal Principle.

Imposing your preferences upon someone’s body, autonomy, or property without consent creates a victim.

For example, a transaction to which at least on party has not consented is aggressing.

Shouting insults is never aggressing unless it occurs in violation of a property owner’s rule prohibiting it.

3L’s Aspirational Values, which include voluntary kindness, honesty, and civility, are key to achieving a peaceful society. However, imposing such moral standards upon others requires acts of aggressing.

Using force to defend yourself or another against someone who is aggressing is not initiating force. Rather, this is a response to someone else aggressing. Self-defense is not aggressing.