What's Been Forgotten
Autonomism isn't a new idea. It's the original American idea. We just forgot.
"Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others."
That's it. That's "your autonomy ends where another's begins" — written over 200 years ago by the author of the Declaration of Independence.
This isn't a modern invention. It's not a radical departure. It's the principle America was founded on — and then slowly, steadily abandoned.
The Founders Said It Clearly
"The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time; the hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them."
"If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary."
This is the accountability principle: government exists because people violate each other's autonomy, and government itself must be constrained because it will too.
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
"Government is not reason, it is not eloquence — it is force. Like fire it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."
"He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself."
Your autonomy depends on respecting others' autonomy. Paine understood this. Madison understood this. Jefferson defined it explicitly.
"The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite."
Limited, enumerated powers. The federal government can only do what we explicitly allowed. Everything else belongs to the states — or to you.
The Declaration Itself
The Declaration of Independence isn't just poetry. It's a philosophical framework:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Unalienable means these rights cannot be taken away. They exist prior to government. Government doesn't grant them — government exists to protect them.
"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."
Government is a tool we created to protect pre-existing rights. Its only legitimate power comes from our consent.
"That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it."
The ultimate autonomy: the right to reject a government that violates your rights.
The Bill of Rights
Every single amendment is about limiting government to protect individual autonomy:
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1Your thoughts, speech, beliefs, assembly Government cannot control what you think, say, believe, or who you associate with.
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2Your capacity to defend yourself Autonomy requires the ability to protect it. The right to bear arms shall not be infringed.
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3Your home from military occupation Your home is yours. The government cannot quarter soldiers in it.
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4Your person, property, papers from search You are "secure in your persons, houses, papers, and effects." No warrantless searches.
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5Your right to due process No deprivation of life, liberty, or property without due process. No self-incrimination.
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6Your right to fair trial Speedy, public trial by impartial jury. Right to counsel. Right to confront accusers.
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7Your right to jury in civil cases Trial by jury preserved in common law disputes.
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8Your body from cruel punishment No excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishments.
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9Rights not listed still belong to you The enumeration of certain rights shall not be construed to deny others retained by the people.
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10Powers not given to feds stay with states and people Powers not delegated to the United States are reserved to the States, or to the people.
The 9th and 10th Amendments are explicitly autonomist: the government only has powers we gave it. We retain everything else.
What the Founders Would Recognize
| Autonomist Position | Founder Precedent |
|---|---|
| Your body is yours | "Life, Liberty, pursuit of Happiness" |
| Limited government | Enumerated powers, 10th Amendment |
| Accountability for officials | Impeachment, no titles of nobility |
| Armed citizenry | 2nd Amendment, distrust of standing armies |
| Privacy | 4th Amendment, "secure in their persons" |
| Due process | 5th, 6th, 7th Amendments |
| Federalism | 10th Amendment, state sovereignty |
| Right to exit | Declaration's right to "alter or abolish" |
The Philosophical Roots
The Founders drew heavily from John Locke, who wrote in 1689:
"The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges every one: and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind, who will but consult it, that being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions."
No one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.
That's the non-violation principle. Your autonomy ends where another's begins. Jefferson borrowed directly from Locke — and the entire American experiment was built on this foundation.
Natural Rights Theory
The Founders believed rights are:
Natural — they exist by virtue of being human
Pre-political — they exist before government
Inalienable — government cannot legitimately take them
This is the autonomy framework: you own yourself. Government exists to protect that ownership from others — and from itself.
The Honest Caveat
The Founders were not perfect autonomists:
- They allowed slavery — a catastrophic violation of autonomy
- They limited suffrage to property-owning white men
- Some (Hamilton) wanted more centralized power
But the framework they created was autonomist — and it was the framework that eventually ended slavery, extended suffrage, and constrained government. The principles were right even when the Founders failed to fully apply them.
This Is a Return
"Your autonomy ends where another's begins" is not a new idea. It's the original American idea — stated by Jefferson, embedded in the Declaration, encoded in the Bill of Rights, defended by Madison.
What Autonomism proposes is not a departure from the Founding.
It's a return to it — applied consistently, without the compromises and contradictions that history has accumulated.