What is Economic Freedom?

Economic freedom is not about capitalism or socialism directly. It more generally refers to the absence of coercion in economic life. One may voluntarily choose to live in a socialist community, the important point is that the person had the economic freedom to make that choice.

Voluntary capitalism and voluntary socialism are both compatible with Live and Let Live.

What Live and Let Live rejects is forcing people into participating in certain economic institutions.

Private property is a foundational concept of economic freedom. Again, one may choose to delegate their rights to their property, including by choosing to live in a socialist system. However, the starting point must be that everyone owns their body — see self-ownership — and what they have justly acquired.

This means all forms of theft must be prohibited, as is the standard under the Legal Principle.