Voluntary vs Volunteer

Far too often, people who for whatever reason don't "get" being libertarian, feel the need to bash the very notion of it because of misunderstandings of terms like "voluntary" as related to "volunteer".

When libertarians talk about voluntary, we are talking about something being a choice without coercion or force.  We do something because we choose to do it of our own free will or we choose not to do something of our own free will.

This is obviously not the same thing as volunteering to do something as opposed to being conscripted, drafted, enslaved, given few or no other options.  No one should be picked up off the street, tossed into a truck and forcibly taken to a military induction center.

For example, our military is a voluntary military.  That means that people join the military by their own choice.  People who have joined the military are not volunteers though because they are being paid to do the job.  As opposed to being told that they have to do everything with only the basics provided but with no pay or other compensation.

There can be are frequently are things people do which are both voluntary and volunteer.  For example, say you join a local beekeeping club and when the opportunity comes up to be part of an unpaid team to regularly maintain a property used for keeping "training hives", you participate in that project.

You have made a voluntary choice to join because no one made you, forced you, corrected you into agreeing to participate in that project.  You are participating as a volunteer because the only compensation you receive is for your personal satisfaction and sense of community.

Often it is lamented that people nowadays are neither very interested in voluntary association nor volunteer participation.  Quite frequently, inducements have to be made to incentivize participation or in some cases, threats and negative consequences.

Here is where the idealistic libertarian contrasts to a progressive or conservative.  A libertarian is involved because they see something they want to see done isn't being done, and so because they want it and don't mind sharing, they do it.  They will usually do it until one of a few things happens.

• They get burned out trying to do it all by themself and it's simply too much for one or few people.
• They get what they want out of it and there is no one else come forward expressing interest in the same.
• Enough other people participate that the project can keep going without them to "keep it alive"
• Their interest or need wanes.

The main point is that the libertarian believes or sets the ideal that something"should" be done and they set themselves to do it in order to achieve their goals.  They will try to recruit others to help but not "make" anyone else participate if they don't want to be there.  To libertarians, if someone does something they really don't want to do or doesn't believe in, they will not fully invest themselves and the effort will be minimal at best.

The progressive believes something "should" be done but doesn't want to do it alone or themselves.  There they make the effort to "make" others participate even if against their will.

Conservatives also believe something "should" be done and that everyone should do it or others should be made to do it as well because of tradition or nationalism or some religious doctrine demands it, etc...

Libertarians figure that people shouldn't have to be bribed to do something they "should" be doing.  They also shouldn't be forced to do those things either.  If people don't want to do the work, they take the risk of missing out on something they might need or want.

Progressives and Conservatives think that if something is important enough to a majority of people or even to enough of the "right" people, then it's justifiable to "make" everyone or certain groups of people do that.

That is the guts of talking about voluntary vs volunteer.  Libertarians believe in voluntary association and we believe in letting people take the consequences related to their free will choices. Whether those consequences are "good" or "bad" is something the person making the choice should have taken into consideration when making that decision.

That of course leads us into ensuring that people have the necessary information available and accessible to make an informed decision.  Another discussion for another time.