Plunder -
Any increase in happiness acquired by immoral means, that is, by the employment of coercion.
Politics -
Politics and ideology are two entirely different things; one involves coercion and the other involves ideas. While this is not a definition, it is an important distinction.
Postulate -
A postulate is a proposition with a truth content which you did not derive from any earlier set of propositions by logical reasoning, but whose validity you accept as an input into the subject that you are developing.
A successful postulate must contain not only a true proposition, but also a universal application.
Postulate of Volitional Science, First -
All volitional beings live to pursue happiness.
First Corollary: Morally acting volitional beings seek to profit; immorally acting volitional beings seek to plunder.
Second Corollary: All volitional beings live to acquire property.
Postulate of Volitional Science, Second -
All concepts of happiness pursued through moral action are equally valid.
Power -
Control over action.
Profit -
Profit is any increase in happiness acquired by moral means.
Progress -
A change which increases an individual's overall happiness and betters his or her overall condition.
Property -
Property is an individual's life and all non-procreative derivatives of his life, including thoughts and ideas. NOTE: For an expanded definition of property see Chapter 5, text accompanying note 1.
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