No Kings — And No Commissars Either: A Liberty Perspective on the Protests

Millions marched yesterday under the banner "No Kings" — reportedly 8-9 million people at 3,300+ events across all 50 states and internationally. The stated goal: reject authoritarianism and affirm that power belongs to "We the People." On its face, that's a sentiment any liberty-minded person can respect.

But here's where it gets complicated.

The Right Slogan, the Wrong Coalition

The "No Kings" movement is organized by a coalition of progressive groups — Indivisible, MoveOn, ACLU, SEIU, AFT, and hundreds of others, backed by millions in funding from outfits like Open Society Foundations. The issues on their signs tell the story: "ICE Out," anti-war chants, demands for more government intervention in living costs, and opposition to "billionaire-first" politics.

In other words: they want to dethrone one king and install a committee.

Kings and Socialists: Two Flavors of the Same Poison

Here's what the "No Kings" crowd won't say: concentrated state authority is the problem regardless of who wields it. A king rules by divine right. A socialist bureaucracy rules by collective mandate. The boot on your neck feels the same either way.

• A king taxes your labor to fund his wars. A socialist state taxes your labor to fund its programs. You weren't asked in either case.
• A king censors dissent to protect the crown. A progressive administration pressures platforms to suppress "misinformation." The speech dies just the same.
• A king grants monopolies to loyal nobles. A regulatory state grants monopolies to compliant corporations. The small competitor is crushed regardless.

The founders didn't just reject monarchy — they rejected the idea that any centralized power, however democratically dressed up, should dominate the individual. The Constitution isn't a blueprint for a better king. It's a cage meant to restrain all government.

What Liberty-Minded People Can Do

If you watched yesterday's marches and felt conflicted — good. That means you're thinking clearly. Here's the play:

1. Steal the slogan, mean it harder. "No Kings" is a fantastic principle. Own it completely — no kings, no commissars, no czars, no unelected agency heads rewriting law by memo. Apply it to every administration, not just the ones your team dislikes.

2. Show up locally. Two-thirds of yesterday's events were outside major cities, including red states. That's where liberty wins — at the county commission, the school board, the sheriff's race. Progressives figured out grassroots organizing. We should have invented it.

3. Build, don't just protest. Homeschool co-ops, mutual aid that doesn't route through the state, parallel institutions, local commerce, sound money advocacy. Every structure you build outside government control is a vote against all kings.

4. Resist the tribal reflex. When 9 million people march against executive overreach, the worst response is to defend executive overreach because your guy holds the office. Principles aren't principles if they have a party affiliation.

The Bottom Line

The "No Kings" movement has the energy and the turnout. What it lacks is consistency. You can't march against authoritarianism on Saturday and demand a massive federal apparatus on Monday. Liberty means limiting all concentrated power — whether it wears a crown, a red tie, or a blue campaign button.

No kings. No commissars. Just free people, voluntarily cooperating, with a government small enough to drown in a bathtub.

That's the version of "No Kings" worth marching for.