19th Century English Radical Individualists
About this Collection
In the late 19th Century in Britain, as the Liberal Party gradually abandoned classical liberalism for various aspects of the welfare state and imperialism, a new group of “old liberals” emerged. They were active in the Liberty and Property Defence League organised by Lord Wemyss. They believed in natural rights, a rigorous defence of individual liberty, opposition to the welfare state, and opposition to war and empire. This group eventually disappeared by the outbreak of the First World War.
Key People
Titles & Essays
Quotes
Parties & Elections
Auberon Herbert discusses the “essence of government” when the veneer of elections are stripped away (1894)
Property Rights
Auberon Herbert on compulsory taxation as the “citadel” of state power (1885)
Property Rights
Auberon Herbert on the “magic of private property” (1897)
Parties & Elections
Auberon Herbert warns that the use of force is like a wild and dangerous beast which can easily get out of our control (1906)
Notes About This Collection
For more information see:
- The Introduction to Thomas Mackay
- Eric Mack’s Introduction to Auberon Herbert, The Right and Wrong of Compulsion by the State, and Other Essays, ed. Eric Mack (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1978).
- Eric Mack’s Foreword to Herbert Spencer, The Man versus the State, with Six Essays on Government, Society and Freedom, ed. Eric Mack, introduction by Albert Jay Nock (Indianapolis: LibertyClassics, 1981).
Social Sciences