How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World

1 How I Found Freedomin an Unfree WorldHarry BrowneiHOW I Found Freedom IN AN Unfree World 1973, 1998, 2004 by rights in the United States of part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever withoutwritten permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articlesor information, contact: Pamela Wolfe Browne @ 0965603679 First edition: 1973 Second edition: 1997 Internet edition: 2004iiHarry Browne / How I Found Freedom in an Unfree WorldFreedom in an Unfree Worldiiito PamelaAlso by Harry BrowneHow You Can Profit from the Coming Devaluation (1970)You Can Profit from a Monetary Crisis (1974)The Complete Guide to Swiss Banks (1976)New Profits from the Monetary Crisis (1978)Inflation-Proofing Your Investments (with Terry Coxon, 1981)Investment Rule #1 (1985)Why the Best-Laid Investment Plans Usually Go Wrong (1987)The Economic Time Bomb (1989)Why Government Doesn t Work (1995, 2003)Fail-Safe Investing (1995, 2003)The Great Libertarian Offer (2000)Liberty A to Z (2004)ivHarry Browne / How I Found Freedom in an Unfree WorldContentsForeward to 2004 Edition.

2 71 PrologueFreedom in an Unfree World ..22 Part I Why You Are Not FreeThe Identity Traps ..103 The Intellectual and Emotional Traps ..214 The Morality Trap ..295 The Unselfishness Trap ..396 The Group Trap ..457 The Government Traps ..548 The Despair Trap ..719 The Rights Trap ..7510 The Utopia Trap ..81 11 The Burning-Issue 89 12 The Previous Investment Trap ..96 13 The Box Trap .. 9914 The Certainty Trap ..10715 You Can Be Free ..117 Freedom in an Unfree WorldvPart II How You Can Be Free16 Freedom from Government ..12617 Freedom from Social Restrictions ..13718 Freedom from Bad Relationships ..14519 Freedom from Marriage Problems ..15120 Freedom from Jealousy Problems ..16521 Freedom from Family Problems ..17222 Freedom from Business Problems ..18423 Freedom from Insecurity ..19024 Freedom from Exploitation ..19825 Freedom from the Treadmill ..20426 Freedom from Pretense.

3 214 Part II How You Can Be Free27 Who Are You? ..22428 Your Own Morality ..23229 Is Your Life What You Want It to Be? ..23930 A Fresh Start ..24631 A Fresh Start (continued) ..25432 Making Changes ..259 Epilogue28 Freedom in an Unfree World ..272 AppendicesA. Afterword to the 1997 edition ..283B. Acknowledgments ..288C. Glossary ..290D. Recommended Reading ..294E. About the Author ..300viHarry Browne / How I Found Freedom in an Unfree WorldForeword to the 2004 EditionThis book was first published in 1973. The hardcover edition fell out of print in theearly 1980s, and the paperback version went out of print around 1990. After that iswas available only through used book I was very pleased when LiamWorks published a new edition in rereading the original edition, I was happy to see that the book stillreflected my view of how the World works and the principles that guide my and large I resisted the temptation to tinker with the text for the 1997, and Iagain resist that temptation in 2004.

4 I know from experience that any attempt tomake changes would have led to my writing a whole new book. And that isn t how Iwant to spend the next few years of my corrected some grammatical flaws, and I rewrote a few phrases that seemedambiguous. I also eliminated references to books and other sources that are no longeravailable. And in 1997 I replaced the Recommended Reading section with a new listprepared by Michael Cloud. It contains books available now that provide additionalinsights and strategies related to the ideas presented in this the rest of the words remain as they were in the first edition. I haven trewritten the examples to make them more contemporary, nor have I adjusted anymoney amounts for the intervening years of inflation. And I didn t change words toconform with today s fashions; thus I still use he to refer to someone who could beof either book s only new element is an Afterword that updates my thinking on this is essentially the same book published in 1973.

5 I happily stand by it. And I hopeyou enjoy itFreedom in an Unfree WorldviiPrologue11 Freedom in an Unfree WorldFreedom is the opportunity to live your life as you want to live urge for Freedom is so much a part of human nature that it can never besuppressed by laws, slogans, or commandments. There is a difference, however,between the urge and the most people, Freedom remains a pleasant fantasy something to dream ofwhile carrying out daily obligations in the real World . They spend their lives talkingvaguely of what they want in life, what they think they re missing, why they don thave it, and who it is that prevents them from being most people, Freedom is an if only. If only it hadn t been for my wife, I wouldhave been a success. Or If only it hadn t been for Roosevelt (or Nixon orwhomever), the country would be free.

6 The Unfree person can never fully repress his urge for Freedom whether heconsiders his jailer to be his family, his job, society, or the government. And so, fromtime to time, halfhearted attempts are made to break free from the unfortunately, those attempts usually depend upon the individual s ability tochange the minds of other people and so optimism eventually turns into frustrationand to be free, many people engage in continual social combat joiningmovements, urging political action, writing letters to editors and Congressmen, tryingto educate people. They hope that someday it will all prove to have been as the years go by they see little overall change. Small victories are won; defeatsset them back. The World seems to continue on its path to wherever it s going. Untilthey die, the hopeful remain just as enslaved as they ve always plans, the movements, the crusades none of these things has worked.

7 Andso the Unfree person continues to dream, to condemn, and to remain where he must be a better must be a way to be free without having to wish for a miracle. It must be away by which an individual can change things without having to rally the rest of theworld to his has to be a way through which he can get rid of exorbitant taxes, have the timeto do what he wants to do, enjoy love without tiresome complications, removeirritating social restrictions, and free himself from the hundred and one burdens thatothers daily hand it must be a way that doesn t require that he re-educate all the other , there is such a isn t necessary to join a massive campaign to reconstruct the society in whichyou live, nor do you have to patiently re-educate everyone you deal s a way that depends entirely upon what you choose to do. You can be freewithout changing the World .

8 You can live your life as you want to live it no matterwhat others decide to do with their It Possible?If that doesn t seem possible, I m not all, how can you live as you want to live when there are so many peoplewho won t let you?How can you spend your money as you please when the government takes so muchof it in taxes? How can you do what you want to do when the government and societyhave prohibited many of the things you d like to do?How could you live your own life when you have responsibilities to your family,your friends, your job? How could you possibly ignore the demands that others makeupon you?I realize that the odds against a free life must seem pretty formidable right yet there are already individuals who live their lives as they choose. Some ofthem may have begun with greater problems than you face now. But in spite of theirproblems, they ve Found Freedom without waiting for the World to be be free in an Unfree World isn t nearly as unrealistic as it might seem atfirst glance.

9 After all, it s commonly assumed that there can be free nations ina World that contains enslaved nations. Why, then, can t there be free stateswithin a nation that isn t free? Or free towns within an Unfree state?Most important, why can t there be free individuals within Unfree towns,states, or nations? Freedom is possible, and you can have it if that s what you really in an Unfree World3I can t know which specific Freedom you crave most Freedom from socialrestrictions, family problems, high taxes, bad relationships, the treadmill,governmental repression. Whichever one is most important to you, we ll cover it andmore. And I think you ll find that the principles to be stated will apply to any type ofsituation that may be restraining s not likely that you ll ever gain your Freedom by joining, marching, picketing,or complaining because all those methods rely upon changing the attitudes ofothers.

10 What I have in mind concerns the use of methods over which you have You Are Not FreeFreedom is the opportunity to live your life as you want to live it. And that ispossible, even if others remain as they you re not free now, it might be because you ve been preoccupied with thepeople or institutions that you feel have restrained your Freedom . I don t expect you tostop worrying about them merely because I suggest that you do hope to show you, though, that those people and institutions are relativelypowerless to stop you once you decide how you will achieve your Freedom . Thereare things you can do to be free, and if you turn your attention to those things, no onewill stand in your way. But when you become preoccupied with those who areblocking you, you overlook the many alternatives you could use to bypass Freedom you seek is already available to you, but it has gone probably are two basic reasons you haven t taken advantage of that reason is that you re unaware of the many alternatives available to don t have to go to jail to avoid exorbitant taxes.