Individualism
Reconsidered
by Joe Peacott, with a bibliography by Jerry Kaplan
This
pamphlet is made up of two sections. The first is an essay by Joe Peacott which
argues the case for individualist anarchy, a school of anarchist thought which
is generally forgotten, ignored or misrepresented among anarchists today. The
second section is a bibliography by Jerry Kaplan which lists, with some
annotations, a large number of books and articles by and about individualist
anarchists, primarily those of the past. This, and the bibliography at the end
of JoeÕs article, which lists some contemporary individualist sources as well
as some non-individualist publications mentioned and/or criticized in his
article, are included to enable the reader to explore the ideas in this
pamphlet, and other strains of individualist anarchist thought, past and
present, in more depth.
Introduction
The purpose of this pamphlet is to give a brief
introduction to individualist anarchist ideas. Having read a wide variety of
both american and international anarchist publications for over ten years, and
having participated in continental anarchist gatherings, we have been struck by
the overwhelmingly collectivist outlook of most anarchists, as well as the
widespread hostility towards or lack of knowledge about the individualist
tradition in anarchist thought and practice. Because of this present trend in
the anarchist movement, we felt it was important to come out with a defense of
individualism.
Throughout the nineteenth century and the first decade of
the twentieth century, the individualists made up a major part of the anarchist
movement in the united states. There were individualist communities like New
Harmony and Modern Times organized by Josiah Warren and his fellow-thinkers,
and publications like Liberty, an
individualist newspaper published by Benjamin Tucker, were widely read
throughout the united states. Additionally, most of the prominent figures in
the sex radical movement, such as Lillian and Moses Harman and Angela and Ezra
Heywood, were individualist anarchists.
Collectivist anarchists of this period were familiar with
the individualist tradition and considered it a valid part of the anarchist
movement. Alexander Berkman briefly discussed individualism in his What is Communist Anarchism?, and,
although rejecting it as impractical and erroneous, considered individualism a
legitimate branch of anarchist thought. Errico Malatesta, in Property, while calling himself a
communist, discussed the possibility of individualist economic arrangements in
an anarchist society and envisioned a world where differing economic forms
would coexist and cooperate. Another communist anarchist, Emma Goldman,
differed with the individualists about economics and tactics, but associated
and/or worked with a number of individualist anarchists. In her writings,
especially The Individual, Society, and
the State and Minorities and
Majorities, Goldman frequently emphasized the importance of individuality
and individual freedom. Additionally, the collectivist Rudolf Rocker gave an
extensive, positive overview of the american individualist anarchist tradition
in his book, Pioneers of American Freedom.
Today, however, there is almost no mention of
individualism, individuality, or individual freedom in most of the anarchist
press, except in the context of, and subordinate to, the needs and desires of a
larger social collective. For instance, in an article called ÒWhat is
Anarchism?Ó published in the magazine WhatÕs
Left in Boston in 1989, the writer devotes only one half of one sentence to
the ideas of individualist anarchists, stating simply that ÒIndividualist
anarchists place primary importance on the freedom of the individual,Ó a rather
obvious point. (Later in the same article, however, she writes three paragraphs
about the influence of non- anarchist ÒcurrentsÓ within the modern movement
such as feminism, unconventional sexuality, spirituality, and punk.) Her only
response to the concerns of individualists is that, ÒIn an ideal anarchist
society, the needs of the community as a whole can be met in a just manner
without unduly impinging on the individualÕs free will;Ó there is no discussion
of the potential conflicts in such a community. Like the author of the above
article, most anarchists speak primarily of the liberation of peoples, classes,
nations, races, sexes, or other Òoppressed groups,Ó just as the statist left
does. In fact, most anarchists seem to differ from statist socialists only in
their rejection of the state, while sharing their view that the ÒcommunityÓ or
group should take precedence over the individual. Their vision of communist
anarchism or libertarian socialism leaves little room for individual freedom
and difference. They seem to feel that the economic and social equality they
expect to achieve in their collectivist social system will eliminate conflicts
and differences between people, who then will all wish to cooperate and live
harmoniously with everyone else.
Anyone who rejects the collectivist utopia is seen as anti-
social, right- wing, or not a ÒrealÓ anarchist, and is generally not taken
seriously by other anarchists. Many anarchist papers will publicize books and
newspapers published by statists while ignoring individualist publications such
as those of the BAD Brigade. Additionally some anarchists are more willing to
sponsor lectures by statists than by individualist anarchists. For example,
here in Boston, some members of the anarchist Black Rose group were opposed to
having an individualist anarchist speak as part of their lecture series,
although they have in the past sponsored many non-anarchist speakers, including
Stephen Bronner, author of a biography of Rosa Luxemburg, who explicitly
ridiculed anarchist ideas during his speaking engagement. Even though all of
the writings of the BAD Brigade have been explicitly anarchist, apparently our
individualist outlook makes us too heretical for most other anarchists, who
would rather associate with and promote other leftists.
With this pamphlet, we intend to initiate a critique of the
collectivist bias of most anarchists, and hope to rekindle an awareness of and
interest in issues of individuality and individual freedom within the anarchist
movement. Hopefully a renewed discussion of these issues will promote a more
open atmosphere in the american and international anarchist movements.
What is individualism?
There are a number of misconceptions about individualists
widespread in the anarchist movement which hinder discussion of the ideas of
individual freedom. They are seen by many collectivist anarchists as greedy
capitalists who simply wish to get the government off their backs so they can
more easily rob the helpless workers. Additionally, they are often viewed as
uncaring about the problems of anyone other than themselves, and totally
opposed to cooperation between people. These are myths which need to be
dispelled before any worthwhile dialogue can take place between the
collectivists and the individualists.
Individualists feel that the way to maximize human freedom
and happiness is by abolishing not just the state, but all other involuntary
relationships and organizations as well. Although I reject mandatory
participation in any organization or society, I am not opposed to cooperation
between free individuals to better satisfy their desires and needs. I oppose
the welfare state and support private property, but encourage interested people
to voluntarily help others in need of assistance. And, while I oppose any
restrictions on voluntary economic activities, I am opposed to the theft of the
labor of others, which is called profit. I feel that peopleÕs desires can be
fulfilled, and a just society achieved, without the oversight of either the
state or the community.
The individualist view of the person is quite different
from that of the collectivist. The individualist views people as responsible
agents who, even in present-day, unfree society, have to take at least partial
responsibility for the situations in which they find themselves, and therefore
are capable of changing their situation, at least in part. Through gradual and
often small changes in the way people think and lead their lives today, and
through a continual expansion in the number of people adopting a libertarian
outlook, government can be abolished and the world changed to a free one.
Collectivists, on the other hand, often seem to view people
as perpetual victims of an evil social system, which strips them of the ability
to make choices, and therefore frees them of all responsibility for their lives
and problems. This view of people leads to an elitist attitude towards people
and their problems. Collectivists often end up in the unanarchic position of
regarding people as ignorant and immature, and therefore in need of protection
from themselves and others by continued regulation and laws. Rarely, for
instance, do collectivists endorse decriminalization and deregulation of drugs
as a solution to the violence and illness associated with the use of illegal
pleasure drugs. In their view, apparently, it is only after the revolution
(made by the enlightened collectivists) has been achieved, and the economic
levelling of libertarian socialism has allowed other people to develop their
reasoning faculty to an adequate level, that they should be allowed to make
unsupervised decisions.
Because of their different outlook on people,
individualists look at peopleÕs problems and their solutions in a vastly
different way. The primary idea in individualist thought is that the individual
person should be free to do whatever they wish with their body or property,
provided it does not interfere with the equal freedom of other non-invasive or
non- coercive persons. Additionally, individualists support the freedom of
people to engage in whatever activities they wish with other consenting persons
in all spheres of human interaction. People should be free to choose any kind
of economic, sexual, medical, or any other sort of relationship with any person
who consents to it.
Along with this freedom, however, comes responsibility.
Individualists recognize that a free society and a free life would be more
risky in many ways than a controlling welfare state, and accept that as the
price of freedom. Although an anarchist society would likely be a much less
violent society, we would be without some of the safeguards of a mandatory
political state. Getting rid of governmental and non-governmental regulation of
individualsÕ activities will produce a society that is free, but also one in
which there is no longer a coercively formed Òsafety netÓ. In a free society,
and, to a large extent, even now, people who wish freedom must be willing to
accept the consequences of their actions. People should not be protected from
themselves by coercive laws, but other persons should not be forced to come to
the aid of people who have, through their own free action, inconvenienced
themselves, harmed themselves, or put themselves at risk. If laws against the
free use of drugs, both medicinal and recreational, were abolished, it is
possible (although not likely) that more people would hurt themselves with
drugs than is currently the case. However, this is no argument for retaining
these laws. People who use these drugs must use them responsibly, or take the
consequences. My freedom to medicate myself however I choose should not be abridged
simply because I or someone else may use these drugs in ways of which others
disapprove or which may be dangerous. But, on the other hand, I cannot hold the
drug maker or drug seller responsible if I later regret the consequences of my
decision. Similarly, women should be free either to have children, if they
wish, or choose abortion or any form of contraception they desire to use to
terminate or prevent a pregnancy. But, once someone has decided to have a
child, they should not be able to coerce disinterested others into helping
support that child by extorting money from them in the form of taxes for school
or day care.
Because individualists emphasize freedom over all other
values, they are also more willing to tolerate some degree of inequality between
people than are collectivists. A voluntary society would offer all people
essentially unlimited opportunities to make a life for themselves in any way
they wish, but, because of differences between people and their desires, it is
likely that some people would end up with more possessions than others,
healthier than others, or happier than others. However, in the absence of a
state which enforces the privileges of monopolies through restrictions on
access to credit and entry into the market place, the wide discrepancies in
wealth, and the consequent extreme differences in standards of living, in
contemporary society would not exist. People need or want different things, and
there is no reason to think that absolute economic equality is necessary for a
just society.
What would an individualist society look
like?
There are all sorts of people who label themselves
individualist anarchists and we often disagree among ourselves both about what
to do now and what the future might look like. For instance, the capitalist
anarchists, like Wendy McElroy, Sam Konkin, Murray Rothbard, David Friedman,
and the Voluntaryists, are individualists. However, there are other
individualists, like myself and the individualists of the past, such as
Benjamin Tucker, Josiah Warren, and John Henry Mackay, who reject capitalism as
much as they reject communism. An anarchist society, based on voluntary
agreement between autonomous individuals, would probably be a mix of
communities and individuals who follow different economic systems, some
communist, some capitalist, some individualist or mutualist. These societies
could exist side by side in peace as long as none of the various societies or
individuals interfered with those who chose to live differently from
themselves. (p.m., in the book, boloÕbolo,
presents one model of how a world of such diverse communities and individuals
might function.) I, for instance, would prefer to live in an individualist
society, but respect the freedom of others to participate in capitalist or communist
economic arrangements, providing, of course, that participation in all of these
societies is strictly voluntary.
Without a state there would be no monopoly on credit or
money. Any group of persons could come together and form a mutual bank, as
described in the writings of William B Greene and P-J Proudhon (whose writings
were first translated into English by the individualist Benjamin Tucker). The
members of such a bank could acquire credit by mortgaging their property or
labor to the bank and receiving bills of exchange in return, which other bank
members would agree to honor. Competition in the unregulated banking business
would drive interest rates down to the level sufficient to cover the actual
operating expenses of the bank, eliminating the unearned profit in interest
charges. With this increase in the availability of credit, now accessible to
virtually everyone, people would be able to start their own businesses or
launch cooperative projects with others and vastly expand their range of choices
in types of work and business. Because of this widespread competition in the
market place, those who choose to continue to sell their labor to others would
be able to demand wages that reflected the full value of their labor, since the
easy availability of credit and, therefore, other economic options, would free
them to settle for nothing less. This would eliminate profit.
This expansion in economic freedom would lead to a huge
increase in the numbers and kinds of economic enterprises and a consequent increase
in the numbers and kinds of products and services available in the market
place. People could make, do, buy, or trade whatever they like as long as they
could find a buyer, seller, or trader who wished to deal with them. The
competition produced by free access to the market place would result in low
prices and good quality. However, the lack of a regulatory state that licenses
and ÒapprovesÓ products, businesses, services, and people would mean that the
individual would have to take responsibility for finding out about the quality
or reliability of the products or services they wish to purchase, and become
more knowledgeable about other people and businesses in order to protect their
interests in the market place. Individual enterprises or organizations like the
Consumers Union would likely arise to investigate businesses, products, and
services and provide the information they have gathered to consumers, better
enabling them to make informed choices.
People would own only the land they use and occupy. There
would be no landlords and no rent. There would also be no zoning regulations
which interfere with housing, agriculture, and other economic and social
activities. If people were able to own their residences and homestead and build
where and what they chose, their freedom to live as they please would increase.
There would be no shortage of housing and no involuntary homelessness.
In addition to total economic freedom, individualists favor
complete freedom in all other areas of life: freedom to say, publish, paint,
photograph, display, or broadcast whatever one wishes, with no regulation of
the press or airwaves, and no copyright; freedom to have sex with or love
anyone who consents to the interaction, even if money or gifts are exchanged as
part of the agreement, with no legal age of consent; freedom to medicate
oneself, whether for therapeutic or recreational ends, with no regulation of
drug manufacture or sales; freedom to bear or not bear children, including the
freedom to abort or not abort an unwanted fetus; freedom to terminate oneÕs
life when and how one chooses; freedom to arm oneself with whatever weapons one
wishes, without being subject to the regulation or oversight of others; freedom
to believe in anything one wishes, no matter how foolish, whether god/dess,
gaia, or the cosmic muffin; freedom to live where one chooses, anywhere in the
world, as long as there is unoccupied, unused land or space in or on which to
live; freedom from compulsory education; freedom from cops, courts, taxes, prisons
and jails, and all other manifestations of government. Anything voluntary is
acceptable. Anything coercive or invasive is unacceptable and to be resisted by
any means the individual chooses.
This view of individualist society was shared by many
american and a few european anarchists of the past, but is held by a much
smaller number of contemporary anarchists. However, those of us who believe in
these ideas feel that an individualist society would serve most people better
than the alternatives offered by the communist anarchists and libertarian
socialists.
Some problems with collectivism: an
individualist critique
The most serious problem with the collectivist view of
people and the world is what I call ÒgroupismÓ, the idea that categories of
people are more important than, and fully represent the needs and aspirations
of, individual members of these categories. The collectivist anarchist press,
like most of the rest of the leftist press, is filled with references to
ÒwomenÕs issuesÓ, Òcommunities/people of colorÓ, Òthe working classÓ, Òthe
lesbian and gay communityÓ, Òpeople with AIDS (PWAs)Ó, etc. (See the political
statement published in every issue of Love and Rage for a perfect example of
this tendency among collectivists to ghettoize people into such groups.) The
assumption is made that self-proclaimed representatives of these supposed
communities or groups are somehow able to speak for all the individual members
of these huge groups of people. I have frequently heard people start their
presentations at conferences and other events with the formulation, ÒSpeaking
as a woman (or black person, or gay man, or lesbian, etc)...,Ó and then go on
to speak as if they are representative of all other persons who share the
description in question. And a writer in Mayday
#6 stated that Òpeople of color have their own struggle; it may not be ours.Ó
No recognition is given to the reality that these alleged communities and
groups are made up of vastly different individuals with a broad range of
interests and viewpoints.
One cannot speak meaningfully about the interests or ideas
of black people or women or homosexualists or workers, because the different
individuals described by these labels are often very unlike most members of
their ÒgroupÓ, just as they are frequently very much like many persons who are
of a different class, sex, color, or sexual proclivity. Much to the dismay of
leftists, anarchist and otherwise, there are large numbers of anti-abortion
women, anti-union workers, anti-sandinista nicaraguans, and anti-ANC black
south africans. Collectivist anarchists who make assumptions about people based
on their color or sex are just as racist and sexist as non-anarchists who also
make assumptions about people based on these criteria; they simply make
different, but equally invalid, assumptions.
These people also judge peopleÕs activities differently
based on what ÒcommunityÓ a person is a part of. For instance, in Reality Now
#8, animal liberationists, who otherwise condemn killing animals for fur,
defended american indian people who are engaged in fur trapping. According to
these people, the fact that indian people are ÒoppressedÓ makes it acceptable
for them to engage in conduct that non-indian americans would be criticized
for. Similarly, collectivist anarchists defended the hierarchical and
authoritarian social structure of dine/navajo people at Big Mountain in Open Road #20, encouraging non- indian
people to ÒÔtak[e] directionÕ from the traditional Native American leadershipÓ.
Defending authority based on the color of those who wield it is simply racist.
The groupist outlook also leads many collectivists to
assign collective blame to all members of a group when some members do
something of which they disapprove. This was exemplified many times during the
San Francisco anarchist conference in 1989. There, in workshop after workshop,
and at the open mike, ÒmenÓ were constantly criticized for the sexist behavior
of some men. And, at one session at the open mike, heterosexualists in general
were blamed for the obnoxious anti-homosexual behavior of a few conference
participants. The daily conference bulletin reported that during this speakout
about ÒhomophobiaÓ the speakers Òinsisted that there will continue to be a gay
anarchist movement, there is no ensuring that there would be a straight
anarchist movement if behavior did not change.Ó Blaming all men or all
heterosexualists for the misdeeds of some men or some heterosexualists, besides
being incorrect, serves as a bully tactic to stifle real discussion about the issues
of sexism and heterosexism by intimidation.
Groupism frequently leads collectivist anarchists to
support and/or apologize for some very authoritarian movements and
institutions. For instance, many collectivist anarchists support the right of
nations to self-determination, and tend to be sympathetic to authoritarian
socialist and nationalist governments that proclaim the same principle, as in
the case of the author of the front-page article published in Emancipation #60 defending the
sandinistas (which also includes a statement that the author voted for
Mondale). Additionally, I was criticized in Instead
of a Magazine #34 for an article I wrote criticizing the sandinistas, who
refused to decriminalize abortion, attacked indian people on nicaraguaÕs Atlantic
coast, and instituted a military draft. This collectivist anarchist support for
nationalism even led some members of the Sabotage collective in New York to
place a poster of Nelson Mandela in the window of their bookstore and post a
sign containing a quote from Fidel Castro outside. The problem is that such
nationalist groups and leaders no more represent the interests of individual
members of these ÒnationsÓ than the united states government represents the
interests of individual united states residents. However, leftists in the
united states, including many anarchists, tend to be fearful of being labelled
pro-imperialist or racist if they donÕt support the Òlegitimate aspirationsÓ of
the various nationalist groups. These groups have always replaced the
governments they oppose with other hateful states that continue to abuse some
and favor others and never produce the equitable society that the collectivists
envision. Supporters of these nationalists thus often end up in a position of
de facto support for authoritarian practices which they would oppose if engaged
in by the united states government or its allies. They donÕt seem to see that
it is racist to apologize for latin american (and other) governments that
engage in practices that the collectivists would never accept if enacted here
in the united states.
An individualist outlook produces a much different
position. While opposing united states (and other imperialist) interventions in
the lives of people in other countries, I am equally opposed to intervention in
their lives by homegrown governments of whatever political description.
Opposition to imperialism does not require support for authoritarian
anti-imperialists. Just as I criticize the various anti-freedom and
anti-individualist activities of the united states government here and abroad,
I am equally opposed to similar activities on the part of other governments
(and individuals). There is no more justification for the murder of indian
people, the criminalization of abortion, a military draft, and restrictions on
the market place in nicaragua than there is in the united states. We must be
consistent in our critique of the state, wherever it exists. When
individualists support self-determination, we are speaking of the self
determination of persons, not peoples: the freedom of individuals to make all
the decisions in their lives. The Òright of nations (or peoples) to
self-determinationÓ invariably conflicts with this goal.
Here in the united states, collectivist anarchists also
tend to support feminism, another groupist ideology. As with their support of
nationalists, the collectivists make the mistake of taking feminists as
representative of all women, and are frequently willing to support or excuse
sexist attitudes and behavior on the part of feminists, while intolerant of
sexism exhibited by men. They support exclusivist women-only ÒspaceÓ, as was
set up during the San Francisco anarchist conference, and women-only
conferences like the Obnoxious WimminÕs Network gathering before the San Francisco
conference; frequently spell woman and women in strange ways, like womyn and
wimmin, apparently to distance themselves from even the words man and men, as
in the pages of Love and Rage, Reality Now, and the San Francisco
conference newsletter; and are unwilling to criticize sexist writings by
feminists, like the writer in Mayday
#6 who says she Òlearned that in this period of my life I cannot work
politically with men.Ó (With this statement she implies all men are a problem,
just because she worked with some men who were assholes. Imagine the reaction
in the anarchist press if she said something similar about black people.)
Another writer, in the Mayday of
October, 1989, in addition to many other sexist comments about men, stated that
Òwimmin donÕt lie about sexism.Ó (Contrary to feminist orthodoxy, women are no
less likely to lie than men.)
Women and men often have trouble working together. Some men
demonstrate sexist attitudes and behavior towards women, including at anarchist
events and in anarchist writings. Some women do not assert themselves,
especially around men. But there are many people of both sexes who dominate
others, and many more, again of both sexes, who allow themselves to be
dominated. There are also many women and men who work well together and respect
other people without regard to sex, preferring cooperation to either domination
or submission. Describing all conflicts between men and women as caused by
sexism is both inaccurate and anti-individualist. Not all men behave alike, and
neither do all women. While we need to oppose ideas and actions based on sexist
thinking, we also need to look at people as individuals to better understand
their actions and problems. Substituting one sexist ideology for another is not
the way to freer relations and understanding between women and men.
This support for nationalism and feminism, and groupism in
general, is based on a view of individuals and groups that differs greatly from
the individualist perspective. Collectivists feel that groups have rights that
supersede the freedoms of individuals who disagree with them. Individualists,
on the other hand feel that groups of individuals should have no more rights or
freedoms than the individuals themselves do. An individual should not be free
to kill another, steal from another, enslave another, or rule another.
Therefore, a group of individuals, whether the state, the collective, or the
community, should not be free to execute (kill) others, tax (steal from)
others, draft (enslave) others, or Òcarry out the peopleÕs willÓ on (rule)
others. Only the individual should be free to decide what they wish to do with
their life and property. As long as the individual is non-coercive, their
activities should be no business of the Òcommunity.Ó
Decision-making in collectivist groups
Besides supporting groupist ideologies and the
anti-individualist activities of other groupist organizations and institutions,
the collectivist anarchists themselves tend to be intolerant of individual
differences in their own organizations. Obviously, organizations, which
individualists are not opposed to, need to be able to make decisions.
Consensus, voting, and other forms of group decision-making are all useful at
certain times and in certain situations (although I feel consensus, especially
in larger groups, is often used as a way either for the majority to wear down
the minority to eventually get its way without the formality of a vote, or for
a minority to obstruct the decision-making process and paralyze the group). My
experience with the collectivists, however, mainly around the north american
anarchist gatherings is that they are more than willing to manipulate group
decision-making, whatever specific format they adopt at a specific time, to
enable them to enforce decisions they support, and suppress ideas with which
they disagree. This is a problem inherent in any organization, but when the
majority of members share a collectivist and groupist outlook the problem tends
to become more serious, since in such organizations the Ògood of the groupÓ can
always be invoked as a justification for the suppression or dismissal of
minority points of view.
I had an instructive encounter with the workings of a
collectivist anarchist group during the planning meeting for Haymarket Ô86 in
November, 1985. At this meeting, a controversy developed about whether
representatives of ShiMo Underground should be allowed to participate in the
planning for the conference, since they were not anarchists and worked with
leninists as well as anarchists. Most of those present were strongly opposed to
ShiMoÕs participation, fearing that they would steer the conference in
unanarchic ways (note that there were only two of them and about 40 anarchists
present), or even that they would Òsteal our ideasÓ. They seemed to feel that
they needed to ÒprotectÓ the conference from non anarchist ideas. I felt that
the ShiMo people should be allowed to stay since I am not afraid of debate,
feel it is important to discuss differences of opinion, and think it would be
great if others ÒstoleÓ or adopted anarchist ideas. So, when it came time for a
decision, I blocked consensus, which was the process agreed on to make a
decision. Since they didnÕt get their way, the collectivists decided that we
should make the decision by majority vote, and, of course, ShiMo was prevented
from participating in the decision-making process. I have no objection to a
group deciding who can and cannot join it. I do, however, object to
manipulating group process to achieve oneÕs own ends, while claiming to be
operating in a principled and open fashion.
This view, that it is alright to use unprincipled means to
achieve oneÕs desired ends, is apparently shared by many collectivist
anarchists. Individualists feel that means are as important as ends, or, as the
Voluntaryists (an individualist anarchist organization) state in the masthead
of their magazine, The Voluntaryist, ÒIf one takes care of the means, the end
will take care of itself.Ó I feel that each non-coercive individual is
important in and of her/himself, and that disregard of the views or welfare of
an individual for the sake of the group is never justified. While voluntary
organizations should be free to conduct their business as they see fit, those
that lose sight of the views of their individual members will become
hierarchical and authoritarian, as virtually all organizations, anarchist or
not, have always been.
Conclusion
I have shown above that individualist anarchists like
myself differ from collectivist anarchists in that we view the individual
person as the most important part of human society. We feel that individuals
should be free to engage in any voluntary activity they choose, with whomever
they choose, whenever and wherever they choose, unless, by so doing, they
violate the freedom of other non-coercive persons. People should be free to own
the land and space they use and occupy and participate in whatever non-coercive
economic enterprise they wish. Individualists also think, however, that people
should be free to live in communist, syndicalist, capitalist, or any other
kinds of communities they choose, as long as they do not coerce others into
participating in these societies against their will. In short, individualists
feel that a society in which non-invasive people are free to choose in all
areas of their lives, unregulated by any state or community, will best serve
the needs and desires of individual human beings.
These ideas are just as important for collectivist
anarchists to consider and discuss as they are for individualists. Collectivists
and individualists share one important and fundamental set of ideas, our
critique of the state, and we can work together on our shared goal of
abolishing government. However, in order for us to effectively cooperate in
this project, collectivists need to take individualist ideas more seriously
than they do at present. Hopefully this pamphlet will contribute to this
process of re-examination and re-evaluation of these ideas.
Bibliography
ÒAnarchist Economics.Ó The Alarm, Spring, 1990. Article in collectivist anarchist
newspaper that advocates pluralistic economic forms in anarchist society.
Armand, E. Selected Writings of an Outsider.
Special Issue of The Storm, 1981.
Individualist writings on anarchy, sexual freedom, individualism, etc.
ÒAttack the Real Sources of Suffering.Ó Reality Now, Winter, 1988- Spring, 1989.
Article defending killing of animals by american indian people in pro-animal
liberation anarchist magazine.
B, Nina. ÒAnother View of the WomenÓs
Gathering.Ó Without Borders Chronicle,
July 22, 1989. Discussion of separatist womenÕs gathering prior to San
Francisco anarchist gathering.
Berkman, Alexander. What is Communist Anarchism? New York: Dover, 1972. Contains brief
chapter on non-communist anarchists which deals with individualist and
mutualist ideas.
Black Cat Collective. What Ever Happened to Sabotage? New York: Black Cat Collective,
1990. Account of events at Sabotage Books by anti-leftist faction.
Coughlin, Michael E, Charles H Hamilton, and
Mark A Sullivan. Benjamin R Tucker and
the Champions of Liberty: a Centenary Anthology. Writings by modern
individualists on the individualist anarchist movement and individualist
writers.
Cozy, David. ÒAn Open Letter to the Readers
of I.O.A.M.Ó Instead of a Magazine,
Winter, 1984. Pro-sandinista criticism of anti- sandinista article by Joe
Peacott in previous issue of I.O.A.M.
Epton, Terry. ÒIndividualism and/or
Communism.Ó Instead of a Magazine,
Fall, 1987. Defense of pluralism within the anarchist movement.
Ervin, Lorenzo Komboa. A Draft Proposal for the Founding of The International Working Peoples
Association. New York (?): Anarchist Black Cross (?), n.d. Collectivist
anarchist pamphlet calling for separatist unions for black people and women.
ÒFacing Up To Racism.Ó Open Road, Fall, 1986. Urges non-indian people to Òtak[e] direction
from the traditional Native American leadershipÓ at Big Mountain.
Flannery, Maureen. ÒUnion of Egoists: a
Recollection.Ó The Storm, Winter,
1982-1983. Memoir of experience with individualist anarchist labor union.
Freebird. ÒAnimal Liberation and Native
Struggles.Ó Reality Now, Winter,
1988-Spring, 1989. Animal liberationist defends killing of animals by american
indian people.
Friedman, David. The Machinery of Freedom: Guide to a Radical Capitalism. Second
edition. LaSalle, IL: Open Court, 1989. Exposition of anarchist capitalist
ideas.
Goldman, Emma. Anarchism and Other Essays. New York: Dover, 1969. Includes the
essay ÒMinorities Versus Majorities.Ó
_______. Red
Emma Speaks: Selected Writings and Speeches by Emma Goldman. Ed. Alix Kates
Shulman. New York: Vintage Books, 1972. Contains the essay, ÒThe Individual,
Society, and the State.Ó
Greene, William B. Mutual Banking. Worcester, MA: 1870. Treatise on free banking,
currency, and credit by individualist anarchist. (For an overview of GreeneÓs
ideas on mutual banking, see MartinÕs Men Against the State in Jerry KaplanÕs
bibliography.)
Harms, Tracy B. No Proxy: a Radical Individualist Proclamation. Boulder, CO:
Anarchist Propaganda Ebullition (APE), 1982.
Hess, Karl. ÒAnarchismÓ. The Spark, May/June, 1984. Brief introduction to individualist
anarchist ideas.
Highleyman, Liz. ÒWhat is Anarchism?Ó WhatÕs Left in Boston, May, 1989.
Standard collectivist introduction to anarchist ideas which barely mentions
individualism.
ÒHomophobia...at an Anarchist Conference? in
San Francisco?Ó Without Borders Chronicle,
July 24, 1989. Account of anti-homosexual incidents at and around San Francisco
anarchist gathering and homosexist speakout at gathering.
ÒIndividual Choice and its Enemies.Ó The Alarm, Spring, 1990. Individualist
defense of freedom of choice in abortion.
Kernochan, Jim. ÒOn the Subjection of
Children.Ó The Storm, 1980.
Individualist look at children and the family.
King, Susan, et al. ÒDemocratic Convention
Comments by Participants.Ó Mayday,
October, 1988. Includes statement by King that she wonÕt work politically with
men, as well as an unsigned comment that Òpeople of color have their own
struggle.
ÒKronstadt, A. The Betrayal of Sabotage. New York: Shadow Press, 1990. Account of
events at Sabotage Books by leftist faction.
ÒLove and Rage Political Statement.Ó Love and Rage, April, 1990. Veritable
glossary of groupist labels in collectivist anarchist newspaper.
Malatesta, Errico. Property. Mountain View, CA : SRAFprint Co-op, undated. Discussion
of different forms of property ownership, by communist anarchist who supports
peopleÕs freedom to choose individualist economic and social arrangements.
Mackay, John Henry. The Freedomseeker: the Psychology of a Development. Freiburg/Br:
Mackay Gesellschaft, 1983. Individualist anarchist novel.
Manning, Caitlin. ÒNicaragua Visited.Ó No Middle Ground, Fall, 1983. Defense of
sandinista state in an Òanti-authoritarianÓ magazine.
McElroy, Wendy, ed. Freedom, Feminism, and the State: an Overview of Individualist Feminism.
Washington: Cato Institute, 1982. Anti- sexist writings by individualists
and/or anarchists.
_______. ÒIndividualist Anarchism vs
ÒLibertarianismÓ and Anarchocommunism.Ó New
Libertarian, October, 1984. Anarchist capitalist review of individualist
anarchist tradition.
Nicole. ÒNicoleÕs letter.Ó Anarchonotes #2, 1986. Critical of
sexist behavior against some men by some women at Haymarket Ò86 gathering.
ÒNovember Conference Summary.Ó Haymarket Ô86 Bulletin #1, 1985 (?).
Report on Haymarket Ô86 planning conference which fails to discuss the details
of the banning of ShiMo Underground from participation in decision-making.
ÒObnoxious WimminÕs Network.Ó Without Borders Chronicle, July 20,
1989. Report on separatist womenÕs gathering prior to San Francisco anarchist
gathering.
OÕKeefe, Steve. ÒThe Challenge for
Anarchism.Ó The Spark, May/June,
1984. Anticommunist article by anarchist individualist.
Parker, SE. ÒThe Anarchism of Max Stirner.Ó Freedom, November 22, 1980.
_______. ÒThree European Anarchist
Individualists: Some Notes on Armand, Martucci and Novatore.Ó The Storm, Summer, 1978.
Peacott, Joe, ed. Against Separatism. Boston, MA: BAD Press, 1990. Collection of
essays, most by anarchists, critical of separatism, especially in the feminist
and gay/lesbian liberation movements.
_______. ÒAnarchist Individualism.Ó Instead of a Magazine, Fall, 1985. Brief
introduction to individualist ideas.
_______. ÒJoe Peacott Replies to David Cozy.Ó
Instead of a Magazine, Winter, 1984.
Response to pro-sandinista letter in same issue of I.O.A.M.
_______. Letter to New Libertarian, June 1985. Anticapitalist individualist response
to article by Wendy McElroy in October, 1984, issue of New Libertarian.
_______. ÒThe Sandinistas.Ó Instead of a Magazine, Fall, 1984.
Individualist anarchist critique of the sandinista state. p.m. boloÕbolo. New
York: Semiotext(e), 1985. One vision of what a pluralistic, stateless society
might look like.
Potts, Corey. ÒFighting Sexism in the
Movement.Ó Mayday, October, 1989.
Includes numerous sexist statements, including ÒWimmin donÕt lie about sexism.Ó
Proudhon, P-J. ProudhonÕs Solution of the Social Problem. Ed. Henry Cohen. New
York: 1927. Collection of ProudhonÕs writings on mutual banking and currency.
_______. Selected
Writings of P-J Proudhon. Ed. Stewart Edwards, trans. Elizabeth Fraser.
Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1969.
Sears, Hal D. The Sex Radicals: Free Love in High Victorian America. Lawrence,
KS: The Regents Press of Kansas, 1977. Many of the sex radicals were
individualist anarchists.
Solneman, KHZ. The Manifesto of Peace and Freedom: the Alternative to the Communist
Manifesto. Freiburg/Br: Mackay-Gesellschaft, 1983. Individualist anarchist
manifesto.
Storm,
The. Individualist anarchist journal,
published occasionally by the Mackay Society, Box 131, Astor Station, New York,
NY 10023
Sullivan, Mark A. ÒAn Anarchist View of the
Land Problem.Ó The Storm, 1984 1985.
Individualist look at land use, occupancy, and ownership.
ÒThe Sandinista Revolution: Vanguard
Leadership and Direct Democracy.Ó Open
Road, Spring, 1984. Defense of sandinistas in collectivist anarchist
newspaper.
Thornley, Kerry. ÒIt AinÕt the Landlord -
ItÕs the Rent!!!Ó The Storm, Summer, 1978.
Individualist discussion of land rent, land ownership, and the permanent
universal rent strike (PURS).
Watner, Carl; George H Smith, and Wendy
McElroy. Neither Bullets nor Ballots:
Essays on Voluntaryism. Orange, CA: Pine Tree Press, 1983. Individualist
anarchist essays from the Voluntaryists.
Weyrich, Paul M and William S Lind. ÒThe
Quiet American Revolution.Ó The Boston
Globe, February 2, 1991. Critique of leftist view that rights and identity
belong to groups, not individuals.
Willie. ÒReflections on Nicaragua.Ó Emancipation, December, 1984. Front-page
article in anarchist magazine defending sandinista state by writer who admits
to voting for Mondale.
______. ÒReflections on Nicaragua.Ó Emancipation, March-April, 1985. Another
pro-sandinista, pro-voting article.
Selected
Bibliography of
Nineteenth
and Early Twentieth Century American Individualism.
Jerry Kaplan
The
following bibliography of nineteenth and early twentieth century american
individualism is the result of combining a number of bibliographies compiled by
others with my own research. Inconsistency in form between entries is due to my
having relied on different sources. I have included books, pamphlets, and
articles by and about the anarchists of this period, but have excluded periodicals
since I could not significantly improve on two bibliographies already in
existence. The first is in Rudolf RockerÕs Pioneers of American Freedom, which
is, unfortunately, out-of print, and James J MartinÕs Men Against the State
(currently published by Ralph Myles). Finally, IÕve listed only the earliest
editions I was able to find in putting this incomplete bibliography together.
Adams, Grace and Edward Hutter. ÒPromoting
Utopia and a New Messiah;Ó ÒThe Sovereigns Seek Harmony at Modern Times.Ó In The Mad Forties. New York: Harper and
Brothers, 1942. pp. 271-81, 282- 94.
ÒAnarchists: Joseph Labadie.Ó The Match, 4 (Jan. 1973), p. 6.
ÒAnarchists: Robert Reitzel.Ó The Match, 4 (Dec. 1972), p. 10. A short
biographical sketch of little value.
Andrews, Stephen Pearl. The Basic Outline of Universology. An Introduction to the Newly
Discovered Science of the Universe; Its Elementary Principles and the First
Stages of Their Development in the Special Sciences. New York, 1872.
_______. ÒThe Great American Crisis.Ó The Continental Monthly, 4 (Dec. 1863),
pp. 658-670.; 5 (Jan. 1864), pp. 87-89; 5 (March 1864), pp. 300-317.
_______. The
Labor Dollar. Boston, 1881.
_______. Love,
Divorce and Sovereignty of the Individual. New York: Stringer and Townsend,
1853.
_______. Love,
Marriage and Divorce, and the Sovereignty of the Individual. A Discussion
Between Henry James, Horace Greeley and Stephen Pearl Andrews. Boston,
1889.
_______. The
Science of Society No. 1. The True Constitution of Government in the Sovereignty
of the Individual, as the Final Development of Protestantism, Democracy, and
Socialism. New York: W. J. Baner, 1851.
_______. The
Science of Society No. 2. Cost the Limit of Price - A Scientific Measure of
Honesty in Trade as One of the Fundamental Principles in the Solution of the
Social Problem. New York: Fowlers and Wells, 1852.
________. The
Science of Society 1812-1886. Weston, MA.
________. The
Sovereignty of the Individual. Berkeley Heights, NJ, 1938.
Appleton, Henry. What is Freedom and When Am I Free? Being an Attempt to Put Liberty on
a Rational Basis and To Wrest Its Keeping From Irresponsible Pretenders in
Church and State. Second ed., Boston, 1888.
Arieli, Yehoshua. ÒIndividualism Turns
Anarchism - Josiah Warren.Ó In Individualism
and Nationalism in American Ideology. Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 1964,
pp. 289-96.
Bailie, William. Josiah Warren: The First American Anarchist. Boston: Small,
Maynard, 1906.
Bilgram, Hugo. Involuntary Idleness. Philadelphia, 1889.
________. The
Iron Law of Wages. Philadelphia, 1887.
________. A
Study of the Money Question. New York, 1895.
Bilgram, Hugo and Louis Edward Levy. The Cause of Business Depressions. New
York, 1913.
Blatt, Martin. ÒEzra Heywood and the Chicago
Martyrs.Ó In Haymarket Scrapbook. Ed.
Dave Roediger and Franklin Rosemont. Chicago: Charles H. Kerr Publishing, 1986,
pp. 49-50.
________. Free
Love and Anarchism: The Biography of Ezra Heywood. Urbana, IL: Univ. of
Illinois Press, 1989.
Blatt, Martin, ed. The Collected Works of Ezra Heywood. Weston, MA: M and S Press,
1985.
Barclay, Harold. ÒJosiah Warren: The
Incompleat Anarchist.Ó Anarchy, 85
(Mar. 1968), pp.90-96.
ÒBenjamin R. Tucker - In Appreciation.Ó In Free Vistas. Vol. 2. Ed. Joseph Ishill.
Berkeley Heights, NJ: Oriole Press, 1937, pp. 261-308.
Bernard, Luther and Jessie Bernard. ÒThe
Direct Influence of Comte: The Modern Times Experiment;Ó ÒThe Warren-Andrews
Phase of Social Science: Content and CriticismÓ; ÒThe Warren-Andrews Phase of
Social Science: Antecedents and Point of View.Ó In The Origins of American Sociology: The Social Science Movement in the
United States. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1943, pp. 161-76, 313-38. Focus
on ComteÕs disciple and Modern Times member Henry EdgerÕs attempt to move the
community in a positivist direction. Also some on Stephen Andrews.
Bool, Henry. Apology for His Jeffersonian Anarchism. Ithaca, NY, 1901.
________. Exposition
of Socialism and Collectivism. n.d.
________. Liberty
Luminants. Compilation. n.d.
________. Liberty
Without Invasion, Means and End of Progress. (1898).
Brokaw, Warren Edwin. The Equitist Plan. Phoenix, AZ, 1922.
________. Equitable
Society and How to Create It. New York, 1927.
Butler, Ann C. ÒJosiah Warren: Peaceful
Revolutionist.Ó Ph.D. diss., Ball State Univ., Muncie, IN, 1978.
Byington, Steven T. ÒBenjamin Ricketson
Tucker.Ó Man!, 7 (Aug. 1939), pp.
517-18.
Calverton, V. F. ÒModern Times: Anarchism in
Practice.Ó In Where Angels Dare to Tread.
Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1941, pp. 288-310.
Chafee, Zechariah, Jr. Ò Biographical Sketch
of Ezra Heywood.Ó In Dictionary of
American Biography. Ed. Dumas Malone. New York: ScribnerÕs Sons, 1932.
Clement, Edward H.ÓWarren of the West.Ó New England Magazine, 35 (Oct. 1906),
pp. 185-89.
Coker, Francis W. Recent Political Thought. New York: Appleton- Century, 1934, pp.
196-202. Short biographical sketches of Warren, Tucker and Stirner.
Conway, Moncure D. Autobiography. Vol. 1. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,1904, pp. 264-268.
________. ÒModern Times, New York.Ó Fortnightly
Review, July 1, 1865, pp. 421-34.
Coughlin, Michael E., Charles H. Hamilton and
Mark Sullivan. Benjamin R. Tucker and the
Champions of Liberty: A Centenary Anthology. St. Paul: Michael E. Coughlin
and Mark Sullivan, [1987].
David, Marie Louise. Monogamic Sex Relations; Discussion Between Ego and Marie Louise.
Oakland, CA, 1888.
de Cleyre, Voltairine. The Selected Works of Voltairine de Cleyre. Ed. Alexander Berkman.
New York: Mother Earth Publishing Association, 1914.
________. Fifty
Years After at Brentwood, Long Island, May 30th, 1905. Brentwood, L.I.,
1905
ÒDeath of Josiah Warren.Ó Index, 5 (Apr. 23, 1874), p. 197.
DeLeon, David. The American as Anarchist; Reflections on Indigenous Radicalism.
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1978.
Dorfman, Joseph. ÒThe Philosophical
Anarchists: Josiah Warren, Stephen Pearl Andrews.Ó In The Economic Mind in American Civilization. Vol. 2. New York:
Viking, 1946, pp. 671-78.
Douglas, Dorothy. ÒWarren, Josiah.Ó In Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences.
Ed. Edward R. A. Seligman and Alvin Johnson. Vol. 15. New York: Macmillan,
1937, pp. 364-65. Biographical sketch of little value.
Dubin, Barbara. ÒA Critical Review of the
Social and Educational Theories of Josiah Warren and His Individualist School
of Anarchism.Ó Ph.D. dissertation, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign,
1973.
Ebner, David. ÒBenjamin R. Tucker: The
Ideology of an individualist Anarchist in America.Ó Ph.D. dissertation, New
York Univ., 1968.
Ellingham, Francis. ÒAutomation and
Individualism.Ó Anarchy, 52 (June
1965), pp. 178-183.
Ellis, John B. ÒModern Times.Ó In Free Love and Its Votaries; or American
Socialism Unmasked. New York: United States Publishing Co., 1870.
Eltzbacher, Paul. ÒTuckerÕs Teaching.Ó In Anarchism. Translated by S. Byington.
New York: B. R. Tucker, 1908, pp. 182-218.
Fellman, Michael. Recollections of a Busy Life. New York: Ford, 1868.
Fellman, Michael. The Unbounded Frame: Freedom and Community in Nineteenth Century
American Utopianism. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1973, pp. 3-19,
177-178. On Josiah Warren.
Fowler, Charles T. Co-operation, its Laws and
Principles. Kansas City, 1885.
________. Corporations.
Kansas City, 1885.
________. The
Labor Question: What it Is, and the True Method of its Solution. Princeton,
MA, n.d.
________.
Land Tenure. Kansas City, 1885.
________. Prohibition.
Kansas City, 1885.
________. The
Reorganization of Business. Kansas City, 1885.
Fulton, Edward H. Land, Money and Property. Liberty Library Nos. 8 & 9. Columbus
Junction, Iowa, 1896.
Gordak, William Walstein. Adaptability to Environment. n.p., n.d.
Greene, William B. The Blazing Star. Boston, 1871.
________. Equality.
West Brookfield, MA. 1849.
________. The
Facts of Consciousness and the Philosophy of Mr. Herbert Spencer. Boston,
1871.
________. Mutual
Banking. West Brookfield, MA, 1850.
________. Mutual
Banking, Showing the Radical Deficiencies of the Present Circulating Medium,
and the Advantages of a Free Currency. Worcester, MA, 1870.
________. The
Radical Deficiency of the Existing Circulating Medium, and the Advantages of a
Mutual Currency. Boston, 1857.
________. Socialistic,
Communistic, Mutualistic, and Financial Fragments. Boston, 1875.
________. Sovereignty
of the People. Boston, 1868.
________.
Transcendentalism. Boston, 1871.
________. The
Working Woman. Boston, 1875.
Hall. B. ÒThe Economic Theory of Stephen
Pearl Andrews: Neglected Utopian Writer. South
African Journal of Economics, Mar. 1975, pp. 43-55.
Hall, Bowman N. ÒEconomic Ideas of Josiah
Warren, First American Anarchist.Ó History
of Political Economy, 6 (1974), pp. 95-108.
Hanson, William. The Fallacies of Henry GeorgeÕs ÒProgress and Poverty.Ó Exposed.
Princeton, MA, n.d.
Hawkins, Richard Laurin. ÒJosiah WarrenÓ and
ÒThe Village of Modern Times.Ó In Positivism
in the United States, 1853-1861. Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 1938. pp.
110-124.
Herbert, Auberon. A Politician in Sight of Heaven; Being a Protest Against Government of
Man by Man. Boston, 1890.
________. ÒThe Right and Wrong of Compulsion
by the State; The Ethics of Dynamite.Ó Contemporary
Review, May 1894.
Heywood, Ezra H. Constitution and By-Laws of the Mountain Home Corporation.
Princeton, MA: Co-Operative Publishing,1882.
________. CupidÕs
Yokes: or, The Binding Forces of Conjugal Life: An Essay to Consider Some Moral
and Physiological Phases of Love and Marriage, Wherein Is Asserted the Natural
Rights and Necessity of Sexual Self Government. Princeton, MA: Co-
operative Publishing, 1876.
________. The
Evolutionists: Being a Condensed Report of the Principles, Proposals and
Methods of the Union Reform League. Princeton, MA: Co Operative Publishing,
1882.
________. Free
Speech: Report of Ezra HeywoodÕs Defense Before the United States Court in
Boston, April 10,11, and 12, 1883. Princeton, MA: Co Operative Publishing,
1883.
________. Free
Trade: Showing That Medieval Barbarism, Cunningly Termed ÒProtection to Home
Industry,Ó Tariff Delusion Invades Enterprise, Defrauds Labor, Plunders Trade
and Postpones Industrial Emancipation. Princeton, MA: Co- operative
Publishing, [1888?].
________. The
Great Strike [of July, 1877]: Its Relations to Labor, Property and
Government...the Relative Claims of Work and Wealth, Involved in the
Irresistible Conflict Between Capital and Labor.... Princeton, MA: Co
operative Publishing, 1878.
________. Hard
Cash: An Essay to Show That Financial Monopolies Hinder Enterprise and Defraud
Both the Labor and Capital; That Panics and Business Revulsions, Caused by
Arbitrary Interference with Production and Exchange, Will Be Effectually
Prevented Only Through Free Money. Princeton, MA: Co Operative Publishing,
1874.
________. The
Labor Party: An Address Delivered Before the Labor Reform League, of Worcester,
Mass., At Its First Public Meeting, January 20, 1868. Worcester: Chas
Hamilton, 1868.
________. The
Labor Party: An Address Delivered Before the Labor Reform League, of Worcester,
Massachusetts, Explaining the Ideas and Objects of the Labor Movement- What
Workingmen Want-Whom It Concerns-And How to Get It. New York: Journeymen
PrintersÕ Co-Operative Association, 1868. Same as Above?
________. Proceedings
of the Indignation Meeting Held in Faneuil Hall, August 1, 1878, to Protest
Against the Injury Done to the Freedom of the Press by the Conviction and
Imprisonment of Ezra H. Heywood. Boston: Benjamin R. Tucker, 1878.
________.
The Revolutionists. Princeton, MA, 187?
________. Sexual
Indulgence and Denial: Variations on Continence. Same as CupidÕs Yoke.
________. Social
Ethics: An Essay to Show That Since the Right of Private Judgement Must Be
Respected in Morals, as Well as in Religion, Free Rum, the Conceded Right of
Choice in Beverages and Required Power to Decline Intoxicants, Promotes
Rational Sobriety and Assures Temperance. Princeton, MA: Co- Operative
Publishing, 1883.
________. Uncivil
Liberty: An Essay to Show the Injustice and Impolicy of Ruling Woman Without
Her Consent. Princeton, MA: Co-Operative Publishing, 1870.
________. Yours
or Mine, An Essay to Show the True Basis of Property, and the Causes of Its
Unequal Distribution. Princeton, MA: Co-Operative Publishing, 1870. First
published in American Workman in 1869.
Heywood, Ezra and William B. Greene. Declaration of Sentiments and Constitution
of the New England Labor Reform League. Boston, Weekly American Workman,
1869.
Hiskes, Richard P. ÒCommunity in the
Anarcho-Individualist Society: The Legacy of Benjamin Tucker.Ó Social Anarchism, I (Winter 1980), pp.
41-52.
________. Community
Without Coercion: Getting Along in the Minimal State. Newark, NJ: Univ. of
Delaware Press, 1982, pp. 84- 115 and elsewhere. Discusses the issue of
cooperation in an individualist society with reference to Tucker.
Holmes, George F. ÒThe Theory of Political
Individualism.Ó De BowÕs Review, Feb.
22, 1857, pp. 133-49.
Holmes, William. The Historical,
Philosophical and Economical Basis of Anarchy. Columbus Junction, Iowa, 1895.
Ingalls, Joshua K. Economic Equities: A Compend of the Natural Laws of Industrial
Production and Exchange. New York, 1887.
________. Henry
George Examined. Should Land Be Nationalized or Individualized. Princeton,
MA, 1888.
________. Land
and Labor, Their Relations in Nature - How Violated by Monopoly, 187?
Princeton, MA, n.d.
________. Periodical
Business Crises. New York, 1878.
________. Reminiscences
of an Octogenarian in the Fields of Industrial and Social Reform. Elmira,
NY, 1897.
________.
Social Industry, or the Sole Source of Increase. Sioux City, IA, 1891.
________. Social
Wealth: The Sole Factors and Exact Ratios in Its Acquirement and Apportionment.
New York, 1885.
________. The
Unrevealed Religion. Sioux City, IA, 1891.
________. Work
and Wealth. Boston, 1881.
Inglis, Agnes, comp. ÒBenjamin R. Tucker;
Data.Ó Unpublished compilation in the Labadie Collection, Univ. of Michigan.
Ishill, Joseph, ed. Benjamin R. Tucker: A Bibliography with an Appreciation by G. Bernard
Shaw. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Oriole Press, 1936.
________. Free
Vistas. Vol. 1: An Anthology of Life and Letters; Vol. 2: A Libertarian Outlook
in Life and Letters. Berkeley Heights, N.J.: Oriole Press, 1933, 1937.
James, C. L. Anarchism and Malthus. New York, 1910.
________. Anarchy:
A Tract for the Times. Eau Claire, WI. 1886.
________. ÒThe Modern Economy.Ó Alarm, Feb. 25, 1888.
________. The
Origin of Anarchism. New York, 1902.
Johnston, Dale Allen. ÒThe American
Anarchist: An Analysis of the Individualist Anarchism of Benjamin R. Tucker.Ó
Ph.D. dissertation, Univ. of New Mexico, 1973.
ÒJosiah Warren.Ó Index, 5 (Apr. 23, 1874), pp. 133-49.
Kelly, Florence Finch. Flowing Stream: The Story of Fifty-Six Years In American Newspaper Life.
New York: E. P. Dutton, 1939, pp. 190-196. Kelly worked with Benjamin Tucker on
the Boston Globe.
Kent, Austin. ÒÒLabor CostÕ the ÒLimit of
Price.ÕÒ Index., 6 (June 24, 1875), p.
297.
________. Free
Love, or a Philosophical Demonstration of the Non- Exclusive Nature of
Connubial Love. Hopkinton, NY, 1857.
Kuehn, Herman. The Problem of Worry: An Insurance ExpertÕs Plan for Practical
Commercial Credit Cošperation. Chicago, 1901.
Labadie Collection. Department of Rare Books
and Special Collections. Univ. of Michigan Library.
Labadie, Joseph. Anarchism. Detroit, 1932.
________. Anarchism:
Genuine and Asinine. Wixom, MI., 1925.
________. Anarchism:
What It Is, and What It Is Not. Detroit, 1896.
________. Doggerel
for the Underdog. 1910.
________. Essays.
Detroit, 1911.
________. Russian
Verses. 1932.
________. Songs
of the Unspoiled. 1922.
Labadie, Laurance. Anarchism Applied to Economics. Detroit, 1933.
________. Selected
Essays. With an introd. and appendices by James J. Martin. Libertarian
Broadside No. 7. Colorado Springs: Ralph Myles, Publisher, 1978. Introduction
to this collection is a reminiscence of Laurance Labadie.
Liebling, Mordechai E. ÒEzra Heywood:
Intransigent Individualist.Ó Research Paper, Brandeis Univ., 1970.
Levitas, Irving. ÒThe Unterrified
Jeffersonian: Benjamin R. Tucker; A Study of Native American Anarchism as
Exemplified in His Life and Times.Ó Ph.D. dissertation, New York Univ., 1974.
Lum, Dyer D. The Economics of Anarchy, A Study of the Industrial Type. Chicago,
1890.
________. Philosophy
of Trade Unions. New York, 1892.
________. Social
Problems of Today; or the Mormon Question in Its Economic Aspects. Port
Jervis, NY, 1886.
Madison, Charles A. ÒBenjamin R. Tucker:
Individualist and Anarchist.Ó New England Quarterly, 16 (Sept 1943), pp.
444-467.
Mann, Arthur. Yankee Reformers in the Urban Age: Social Reform in Boston 1883-1900.
Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard, 1954. Discusses Benjamin Tucker.
Martin, James J. Men Against the State: The Expositors of Individualist Anarchism in
America. DeKalb, Il.: Adrian Allen Associates, 1953. A good introduction to
the history of anarchist individualism.
________. ÒAmerican Prophets I. Josiah Warren.Ó
Liberation, Dec. 2, 1957, pp. 10-14.
________. ÒTucker, Benjamin R.Ó In Dictionary of American Biography. Ed.
Allen Johnson and Dumas Malone. New York: ScribnerÕs, 1928-58, vol. 22, suppl.
2, pp. 669-71.
Nichols, Thomas Low. Forty Years of American Life, 1821-1961. Vol 2. London: John
Maxwell, 1864, pp. 35-38.
Noyes, John Humphrey. ÒConnecting Links.Ó In History of American Socialisms. New
York: Hillary House, 1961, pp. 93-101.
Olerich, Henry. A Cityless and Countryless World, an Outline of Practical Co-operative
Industrialism. Holstein, Ind, 1893.
Osgood, Herbert L. ÒScientific Anarchism.Ó Political Science Quarterly, 4 (March 4,
1889), pp. 1-36.
Pare, William. ÒEquitable Villages in
America.Ó Journal of Statistics Societies
of London, (June 19, 1856), pp. 127-43.
Parker, S. E. ÒAnarchists: Max Stirner.Ó The Match, 4 (Oct. 1973), pp. 8-9.
Pentecost, Hugh O. Anarchism. New York, 1889.
________. The
Anarchistic Method of Evolution and Social Reform. New York, 1892.
________. Evolution
and Social Reform. New York, 1890.
Phillips, Wendell. Review of Lysander SpoonerÕs Essay on the Unconstitutionality of
Slavery. Boston: Andrews and Prentiss, 1847.
Pillsbury, Parker. ÒCupidÕs YokesÓ and the Holy Scriptures Contrasted, in a Letter
from Parker Pillsbury to Ezra H. Heywood. Boston, 1878.
Reichert, William O. Partisans of Freedom: A Study of American Anarchism. Bowling Green,
OH: Bowling Green Univ. Popular Press, 1976. A good introduction to the history
of anarchist individualism.
Rexroth, Kenneth. ÒJosiah Warren.Ó In Communalism. New York: Seabury, 1974,
pp. 235-40.
Richard, Jerry. ÒThe Whole Man Minding the
Store.Ó The Nation, 219 (Dec. 28,
1974), pp. 695-98.
Riley, Thomas A. ÒNew England Anarchism in
Germany.Ó New England Quarterly,
(Mar. 18, 1945), pp. 25-38.
Robinson, John Beverly. Economics of Liberty. Minneapolis, 1916.
________. Egoism.
n.p., 1915.
________. The
New Christianity. New York, 1886.
________. Rebuilding
the World: An Outline of the Principles of Anarchism. Ann Arbor, 1917.
________. ÒWhy I Oppose Building Laws.Ó The Engineering Magazine, 2 (Nov. 1891),
pp. 246-251.
Rocker, Rudolf. Pioneers of American Freedom: Origin of Liberal and Radical Thought in
America. Tr. Arthur E. Briggs. Los Angeles: Rocker Publications Committee,
1949. Contains a valuable bibliography of american and british individualist
writings.
Rothbard, Murray N. ÒThe Spooner Tucker
Doctrine: An EconomistÕs View.Ó In Egalitarianism
as a Revolt Against Nature and Other Essays. Washington, D.C.: Libertarian
Review Press, 1974.
Sachs, Emanie L. ÒMr. Benjamin R. TuckerÕs
Story.Ó in The Terrible Siren: Victoria
Woodhull 1838-1927. New York: HarperÕs, 1928, pp. 237-266.
Schulder, Fred. The Relation of Anarchism to Organization. Cleveland, 1899.
Schuster, Eunice Minette. Native American Anarchism: A Study of Left-
Wing American Individualism. Northampton, MA: Dept. of History of Smith
College, 1932. Another good introduction to the history of anarchist
individualism.
Schumm, George. ÒBenj. R. Tucker - A Brief
Sketch of His Life and Work.Ó FreethinkersÕ
Magazine, July 11, 1893, pp. 436-40.
Schwartzman, Jack. ÒIngalls, Hanson, and
Tucker: Nineteenth Century American Anarchists.Ó In Critics of Henry George. Ed. Robert V. Andelson. Rutherford, NJ:
Fairleigh Dickenson Univ. Press, 1979.
Seymour, Henry. ÒThe Genesis of Anarchism in
New England (A Few Recollections on My Early Life in the Movement.).Ó In Free Vistas. Vol. 2. Ed. Joseph Ishill.
Berkeley Heights, NJ: Oriole Press, 1937, pp. 119 29.
Shively, Charles. ÒJosiah Warren, The First
American Anarchist.Ó Paper delivered at the Anarchos Institute Conference,
Montreal, June 5, 1982.
Spooner Copyright Co., Massachusetts. Articles of Association. [1863].
Spooner, Lysander. Address of the Free Constitutionists to the People of the United States.
Boston: Thayer and Eldridge, 1860.
________. Considerations
for Bankers and Holders of U.S. Bonds. Boston: Williams, 1864.
________. Constitutional
Law Relative to Credit, Currency and Banking. Worcester, MA, 1843
________. The
Collected Works of Lysander Spooner. 6 vols. Compiled and Introd. Charles
Shively. Weston, MA.: M & S Press, 1971. Contains almost all of SpoonerÕs
writings.
________. A
Defence for Fugitive Slaves Against the Acts of Congress of February 12,1793
and September 18, 1850. Boston: Bela Marsh, 1850.
________. The
DeistÕs Immorality, and An Essay On ManÕs Accountability for His Belief.
Boston: 1834.
________. An
Essay on Trial By Jury. Boston: Jewett, 1852. Also Boston: B. Marsh, 1852.
________. Gold
and Silver as Standards of Value: The Flagrant Cheat in Regard to Them.
Boston: A. Williams, 1878.
________. Illegality
of the Trial of John W. Webster. Boston, 1950
________. The
Law of Intellectual Property: An Essay on the Right of Authors and Inventors to
a Perpetual Property in Their Ideas. Vol. 1. Boston: B. Marsh, 1855.
________. The
Law of Prices: A Demonstration for the Necessity for an Indefinite Increase of
Money. Boston: A. Williams, 1877. Reprinted From The Radical Review.
________. A
Letter to Grover Cleveland On His False Inaugural Address, the Usurpations and
Crimes of Lawmakers and Judges.... Boston: B. R. Tucker, 1886.
________. A
Letter to Scientists and Inventors On the Science of Justice, and Their Right
of Perpetual Property in Their Discoveries and Inventions. Boston, 1884.
________. A
Letter to Thomas F. Bayard Challenging His Right and That of All the Other
So-called Senators and Representatives in Congress - To Exercise Any
Legislative Power Whatever Over the People of the United States. Boston:
the author, 1882.
________. Natural
Law or the Science of Justice. A Treatise on Natural Law, Natural Justice,
Natural Rights, Natural Liberty, and Natural Society - Showing That All
Legislation Whatsoever is an Absurdity, a Usurpation, and a Crime. Part 1.
Boston, 1882.. A New Banking System: The Needful Capital for Rebuilding the
Burnt District. Boston: A Williams, 1873.
________. A
New Banking System: The Needful Capital for rebuilding the burnt district.
Boston: A Williams, 1873.
________. A
New System of Paper Currency. (Part 1 & 2). Boston: Stacy and
Richardson, 1861.
________. No
Treason. No. 1. Boston: the author, 1867.
________. No
Treason. No. 2: The Constitution. Boston: the author, 1867.
________. No
Treason. No. 6: The Constitution of No Authority. Boston: the author, 1870.
________. Our
Financiers: Their Ignorance, Usurpations, and Frauds. Boston: A. Williams,
1877. Reprinted from The Radical Review.
________. Poverty:
Its Illegal Causes and Legal Cure. Part 1. Boston: Bela Marsh, 1846.
________. Revolution:
The Only Remedy for the Oppressed Classes of Ireland, England, and Other Parts
of the British Empire. A Reply to ÒDunraven.Ó Boston, 1880.
________. The
Unconstitutionality of Slavery. Boston: Marsh, 1845.
________. The
Unconstitutionality of Slavery. Part 2. Boston: Bela Marsh, 1846.
________. The
Unconstitutionality of the Laws of Congress, Prohibiting Private Mails. New
York, 1844.
________. Universal
Wealth to Be Shown to Be Easily Attainable. Part 1. Boston: A. Williams,
1879.
________. Vices
are Not Crimes. Not included in the collected works cited above.
________. Who
Caused the Reduction of Postage? Ought He to Be Paid? Boston, 1851.
Sprading, Ch. T. Freedom and its Fundamentals. Los Angeles, 1923.
________. Liberty
and the Great Libertarians. Los Angeles, 1913.
________. Mutual
Service and Co-operation. Los Angeles, 1930.
________. Science
versus Dogma. Los Angeles, 1925.
Stern, Madeleine B. ÒStephen Pearl Andrews
and Modern Times, Long Island.Ó Journal
of Long Island History, 4 (Summer 1964), p. 4.
________. The
Pantarch: A Biography of Stephen Pearl Andrews. Austin: Univ. of Texas
Press, 1968.
Swartz, Clarence Lee. What is Mutualism? New York, 1927.
Tandy, Francis D. Free Competition. An Outline of the Principles of Philosophical
Anarchism. Liberty Library No. 6. Columbus Junction, IA, 1896.
________. Modern
Socialistic Tendencies. Liberty Library No. 4. Columbus Junction, IA, 1897.
________. Voluntary
Socialism. Denver, 1896.
ÒTrialville and Modern Times.Ó ChamberÕs Edinburgh Journal, 18 (Dec.
18, 1852), pp. 395-97.
Tucker, Benjamin R. Anarchism or Anarchy: A Discussion Between William H. Tillinghast and
Benj. R. Tucker. Boston: B. R. Tucker, 1881.
________. Are
Anarchists Thugs? New York, 1899.
________. The
Attitude of Anarchism Toward Industrial Combinations. New York, 1903.
________. A
Blow at Trial By Jury; An Examination of the Special Jury Law Passed By the New
York Legislature in 1896. New York, 1898.
________. Henry
George, Trader. New York: B. R. Tucker, 1896.
________. Individual
Liberty: Selections from the Writings of Benjamin R. Tucker. Ed. Swartz,
Clarence Lee. New York: Vanguard Press, 1926. A reprinting of Instead of a Book
with some essays removed, others added.
________. ÒThe I. W. W. Trial.Ó The Nation, 107 (Aug. 31, 1918), pp. 220
223.
________. Instead
of a Book, By a Man Too Busy to Write One. New York: B. R. Tucker, 1893.
________. ÒThe Life of Benjamin R. Tucker -
Disclosed by Himself in the Principality of Monaco at the Age of 74.Ó
Handwritten manuscript, n.d. Benjamin R. Tucker Papers, Rare Books and
Manuscript Division, The New York Public Library.
________. Money,
The Defects of Money Are the Roots of All Evil. Boston, 1873.
________. Proceedings
of the Indignation Meeting Held in Faneuil Hall, Thursday Evening. August 1,
1878. Boston: Benjamin R. Tucker, 1878.
________. State
Socialism and Anarchism, How Far They Agree, and Wherein They Differ. New
York, 1899. First published in Liberty
in 1888.
Van Ornum, W. H. Fundamentals in Reform. Columbus Junction, IA, 1896.
________. Mating
or Marrying, Which. 1898.
________. Why
Government At All. 1894.
Walker, Edwin C. Communism and Conscience; Pentecost and Paradox. Also Crimes and
Criminals. New York: the author, 1904.
________. E.
C. WalkerÕs Third Letter in Jail. Valley Falls, KS, n.d.
________. Kansas
Liberty and Justice. Valley Falls, KS, n.d.
________. Love
and the Law: An Exposure of the Basic Principles of Social Relations.
Valley Falls, KS, 1882.
________. Marriage
and Prostitution. New York, 1913.
________. The
Nine Demands. Valley Falls, KS n.d.
________. Practical
Co-operation. Valley Falls, KS, 1884.
________. Prohibition
and Self-Government, Their Irreconcilable Antagonisms. Valley Falls, KS, 1883.
________. The
Sexual Enslavement of Women. Valley Falls, KS, 1883.
Walker, James L. The Philosophy of Egoism. Denver, 1905.
Warbasse, J. P. Co-operative Democracy. New York, 1917.
________. What
is Co-operation? New York, 1917.
Watner, Carl. Voluntaryism in the Libertarian Tradition. Baltimore: The
Voluntaryists, 1982.
ÒWarren, Josiah.Ó In New Encyclopedia of Social Reform. Ed. William D. P. Bliss. New
York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1910, p. 1275.
Warren, Josiah. ÒThe Cost Principle.Ó Index, 4 (Dec. 11, 1873), pp. 504-5.
________. The
Emancipation of Labor. Boston, 1864.
________. Equitable
Commerce: A New Developement of Principles for the Harmonious Adjustment and
Regulation of the Pecuniary, Intellectual and Moral Intercourse of Mankind,
Proposed as Elements of New Society. New Harmony, IN: 1846.
________. A
Few Words to the Writer in a Paper Called ÒThe CircularÓ on ÒThe Sovereignty of
the Individual.Ó n.p., n.d.
________. ÒJosiah WarrenÕs Last Letter.Ó Index, 5 (Apr. 30, 1874), pp. 207-8.
________. ÒLabor the Only Ground of Hope.Ó Index, 5 (May 28, 1874), pp. 260-1.
________. ÒLetter From Josiah Warren.Ó In A Documentary History of American Industrial
Society. Ed. John R. Commons. Cleveland: Arthur H. Clark, 1910, pp.
133-137.
________. Letter
on Equitable Commerce. New Harmony, 1844.
________. Letter
to E. H. Heywood. Princeton, MA, 1873.
________. Manifesto.
New Harmony, IN, 1841.
________. Modern
Education. Long Island, NY, 1861.
________. Modern
Government and Its True Mission, a Few Words for the American Crisis. n.p.,
1862.
________. Money:
The Defects of Money Are the ÒRoots of All Evil.Ó Charlestown, MA, 1873.
________. Periodical
Letter on True Civilization. 1854-1858.
________. Practical
Applications of the Elementary Principles of True Civilization to the Minute
Details of Everyday Life.... Princeton, MA: the author, 1873.
________. Practical
Details in Equitable Commerce, Showing the Workings in Actual Experiment...and
ÒThe Science of SocietyÓ by Stephen Pearl Andrews. New York, 1852.
________. Practical
Details of Equitable Commerce. 1854.
________. The
Principle of Equivalents. Boston, 1855.
________. The
Quarterly Letter. Cliftondale. 1867.
________. Response
to the Call of the National Labor Union. Boston, 1871.
________. To
Friends of the Social System. Cincinnati, 1827.
________. True
Civilization: An Immediate Necessity and the Last Hope for Mankind....
Boston: J. Warren, 1863.
________. True
Civilization: A Subject of Vital and Serious Interest to All People But Most
Immediately to Men and Women of Labor and Sorrow. Ed. by Stephen Pearl
Andrews.Cliftondale, MA, 1869.
Westrup, Alfred B. Address on a New System of Money Given at the Chicago Chapter of the
American Institute of Banking Held in the Northwestern Univ. Building May 23,
1916. Chicago, 1919.
________. CitizenÕs
Money. San Francisco, 1890.
________. Escucha!
The Revelation of a Principle in Economic Science Unknown to Sociologists.
Chicago, 1918.
________. The
Financial Problem: Its Relation to Labor Reform and Prosperity. Dallas,
1886.
________. The
New Philosophy of Money. Minneapolis, 1895. Second revised and enlarged ed:
Chicago, 1915.
________. Plenty
of Money. New York, 1899.
Wood, Charles Erskine Scott. Too Much Government. New York: Vanguard
Press, 1931.
Yarros, Victor S. Adventures on the Realm of Ideas. Girard, KS, 1947.
________. Anarchism:
Its Aims and Methods. Boston, 1887.
________. ÒHistorian Von HolstÕs ÔAwakeningÕ:
Are LaborÕs Claims Anti Social?Ó American
Journal of Politics, 5 (Nov. 1894), pp. 496-503.
________. ÒThe I.W.W. Trial.Ó The Nation, 107 (Aug. 31, 1918), pp. 220
223.
________. Our
Revolution; Essays in Interpretation. Boston, 1920.
________. ÒPhilosophical Anarchism: Its Rise,
Decline, and Eclipse.Ó The American
Journal of Sociology, 41 (Jan. 1936), pp. 470- 483.
________. ÒPhilosophical Anarchism
(1880-1910).Ó Journal of Social
Philosophy, 6 (April 1941), pp. 254-262.
________. ÒThe Story of the I.W.W. Trial.Ó The Survey, 40 (Aug. 31, 1918), pp.
603-4.
________. ÒThis YearÕs Strikes and the
Present Industrial Situation.Ó Review of
Reviews, 30 (Oct. 1904), pp. 430-433.
________. ÒToward the American Commonwealth:
Independent Pragmatic Radicalism.Ó The
Social Frontier, 5 (Dec. 1938), pp. 89- 90.
________. Unscientific
Socialism. Boston, n.d.