So easy to fall into hopelessness and nihilism. Thanks for the inspirational essay. I'm going to push the boulder up the hill--whether it makes any difference or not is beyond my control.
I wonder if you differentiate sovereignty from agency--it seems sovereignty has to do with a right to self, or power over self, whereas agency involves controlling and directing our behavior toward our goals. Can you be sovereign without agency? Can you have agency without being sovereign?
Agency is the capacity to meaningfully choose in a comprehending and informed way, and thus take responsibility for yourself - it is general discernment, self-reliance and self-regulation - it is not perfecting knowing and immunity from mistake, but it is *effectively understanding what is going on, and what that entails*. Although by this definition, the agency of most adults is questionable.
That being said, I'm sure we can all agree someone who doesn't truly understand what is going on, or cannot reason in a clear way, is of reduced agency and thereby respectability, capacity and ultimately, authority.
So sovereignty is agency, but likewise the ability to serve as an axis of stability for others - to lead, govern and rule in a righteous and effective way - and do so sustainably without internal collapse.
I think this is about the simplest way I can define it.
But if anyone thinks they've noticed gaps in my reasoning, I'm welcome to being challenged just in case there's something I've inadvertently missed.
Thanks for the response. When it comes to definitions I think we search for the one that is most useful, or meaningful to convey a message or understand the world, but they affect the content of what we write, so I was interested in how you would differentiate the two, which you have done.
I think I consider animals to be sovereign—so long as they are not confined or domesticated. But I’m less certain animals have agency. They have decision-making criteria: they don’t hunt everything they see, predators target weaker animals if there are multiple choices, but they lack the ability to determine their ends. What is it they should aim their behavior at achieving? Though many men also seem to avoid this question and instead do as society instructs.
So I’m inclined to classify agency as a derivative of action. In other words, agency is a way to question or evaluate our actions and iterate on our own behavior.
Sovereignty is the ability to act as we see fit. Agency is the power to determine what actions are fitting. So agency can only be practiced if we are sovereign.
But how does one not feel like the pursuit of a woman is not worth the hassle? The amount of lousy women you have to sift through in order to find the right one, it's a literal needle in a haystack. Is the time and effort truly worth it in today's world?
This piece nails it. During my divorce, the concept of sovereignty stopped being abstract—and became embodied.
It wasn't about being free. It was about becoming the axis my daughter could orbit, even as the world around me collapsed. That’s when I stopped trying to win arguments and started building a kingdom—beginning with myself.
I always feel like a warrior ready for battle after reading your work. Thank you.
A pleasure.
So easy to fall into hopelessness and nihilism. Thanks for the inspirational essay. I'm going to push the boulder up the hill--whether it makes any difference or not is beyond my control.
I wonder if you differentiate sovereignty from agency--it seems sovereignty has to do with a right to self, or power over self, whereas agency involves controlling and directing our behavior toward our goals. Can you be sovereign without agency? Can you have agency without being sovereign?
Agency is the capacity to meaningfully choose in a comprehending and informed way, and thus take responsibility for yourself - it is general discernment, self-reliance and self-regulation - it is not perfecting knowing and immunity from mistake, but it is *effectively understanding what is going on, and what that entails*. Although by this definition, the agency of most adults is questionable.
That being said, I'm sure we can all agree someone who doesn't truly understand what is going on, or cannot reason in a clear way, is of reduced agency and thereby respectability, capacity and ultimately, authority.
So sovereignty is agency, but likewise the ability to serve as an axis of stability for others - to lead, govern and rule in a righteous and effective way - and do so sustainably without internal collapse.
I think this is about the simplest way I can define it.
But if anyone thinks they've noticed gaps in my reasoning, I'm welcome to being challenged just in case there's something I've inadvertently missed.
Thanks for the response. When it comes to definitions I think we search for the one that is most useful, or meaningful to convey a message or understand the world, but they affect the content of what we write, so I was interested in how you would differentiate the two, which you have done.
I think I consider animals to be sovereign—so long as they are not confined or domesticated. But I’m less certain animals have agency. They have decision-making criteria: they don’t hunt everything they see, predators target weaker animals if there are multiple choices, but they lack the ability to determine their ends. What is it they should aim their behavior at achieving? Though many men also seem to avoid this question and instead do as society instructs.
So I’m inclined to classify agency as a derivative of action. In other words, agency is a way to question or evaluate our actions and iterate on our own behavior.
Sovereignty is the ability to act as we see fit. Agency is the power to determine what actions are fitting. So agency can only be practiced if we are sovereign.
Brilliant, brick wall smashing clarity of what course we, as men, have laid out before us. I needed this today, IM! 🫡
But how does one not feel like the pursuit of a woman is not worth the hassle? The amount of lousy women you have to sift through in order to find the right one, it's a literal needle in a haystack. Is the time and effort truly worth it in today's world?
"You should not think of yourself as but a mere man, but as an emissary of God striving to impose divine will on Earth."
What a masterpiece this article is! The warrior within has been awakened.
This piece nails it. During my divorce, the concept of sovereignty stopped being abstract—and became embodied.
It wasn't about being free. It was about becoming the axis my daughter could orbit, even as the world around me collapsed. That’s when I stopped trying to win arguments and started building a kingdom—beginning with myself.
I call it Sovereign Fatherhood: https://www.deadbeatzaddy.com/p/the-sovereign-fatherhood-model