The philosophy of the state is domination, and its currency is coercion. It is up to those friends of freedom to resist that coercion and end that domination. In Ayn Rand’s magnum opus Atlas Shrugged, Ellis Wyatt is pushed over the edge by the coercion of the state, and refuses to cooperate. He refuses to exist in a position where the state may coerce him any longer. Instead of surrendering his business to the grubby hands of the looters, he chooses to destroy it, leaving nothing to reward the state’s theft. Left, ablaze in the heart of his Colorado oil fields, stands Wyatt’s Torch. The Torch is a testament that the victim will yield no ground to his victimiser, and grants him no sanction or power to coerce him any longer. The Torch is a testament that we refuse to be victims.

This is John Galt speaking. I am the man who loves his life. I am the man who does not sacrifice his love or his values. I am the man who has deprived you of victims and has thus destroyed your world, and, if you wish to know why you are perishing - you who dread knowledge - I am the man who will now tell you.
- John Galt in Ayn Rand: Atlas Shrugged (1957)

Despite it not being its official symbol, the Olympic movement’s most recognisable icon is that of the Torch, eternally alight and eternally vigilant. Its fire mirrors the fire within the heart of the athlete, always striving for betterment.  The competition, inspired by the flame of the Torch, proves the value of the self, and the superiority of the individual over the collective.  It marks the everlasting values of the Olympic Games, and of humanity, of the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and property, and of the worth of man himself.

The Olympic Spirit is neither the property of one race nor of one age. May joy and good fellowship reign, and in this manner, may the Olympic Torch pursue its way through ages, increasing friendly understanding among nations, for the good of a humanity always more enthusiastic, more courageous and more pure.
- Baron Pierre de Coubertin

Prometheus stole fire, the basis of all human achievement and industry, from the gods, and presented it to humanity, borne by a Torch of fennel. Prometheus had no undue respect for the gods, and openly defied their false logic. When a sacrificial gift was demanded of man against his wishes, Prometheus tricked Zeus, for which mankind was punished by the deprivation of fire. By recovering that which was unjustly lost, the Torch is the weapon by which Prometheus and humanity fight back against the unreasoned tyranny of above.

To defy Power, which seems omnipotent;
To love, and bear; to hope ’til Hope creates
From its own wreck the thing it contemplates;
Neither to change, nor falter, nor repent;
This, like thy glory, Titan, is to be
Good, great and joyous, beautiful and free;
This is alone Life, Joy, Empire, and Victory.
- Percy Shelley: Prometheus Unbound (1820)

The Torch is held aloft by the Statue of Liberty, whose proper name, ‘Liberty Enlightening the World’, stands as a testament to its purpose and the purpose of the nation to whom it is dedicated. Possibly the most famous structure in the world, fittingly,

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
- Emma Lazarus: The New Colossus (1883)

The Torch stands out, in the dark of night, distinct and clear. When all around is consumed by the abyss and darkness of oppression, of ignorance, of fear, the Torch is testament to the freedom of man, his unquenchable thirst for knowledge and truth, and for the indomitability of his spirit. Not only does the Torch identify its bearers, but casts light, enlighting and enlightening all those around it.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
- John McCrae: In Flanders Field (1915)

Welcome to the inauguration of the Torch, the official blog of the University College London Libertarian Society. We’ll be written by student libertarians, and providing free opinion and free debate, from our own backgrounds, courtesy of the Free Society.

Obviously, we’ll be keeping on top of current affairs, both British and international, and providing our opinions on the issues of the day from a non-party political, but always libertarian-biased, point of view.

However, we’ll also be adding to that a mix of other posts. Local issues are particularly important to this, whether on a London basis or from our own contributors’ respective hometowns. Furthermore, as students, we’ll add to the mix goings-on at UCL: in the Society, in the Student’s Union, and in the university generally.

On top of that, we’ll be discussing issues related to the philosophy of libertarianism and to its advocacy in the UK and around the world. In particular, watch out for the ‘This Day in Liberty’ sections, dedicated to commemorating particular events in history important to the advance of freedom, wherever or whenever they have been made.

With all that happening and more, consider Lady Liberty’s Torch well and truly lit. Long may it enlighten the world.