The Forgotten Man and Other Essays (corrected edition)

A thought-provoking collection highlighting individual liberty, personal responsibility, and the unintended consequences of social policies. Sumner’s timeless insights challenge conventional wisdom and offer fresh perspectives on economics and ethics. This volume includes 24 essays and papers on topics ranging from protection, gold and silver currency, commercial crises, strikes, sociology, and education.

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Citation

The Forgotten Man and Other Essays, ed. Albert Galloway Keller (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1918).

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Related People

Herbert Spencer (Author)
Henry George (Author)

George odvocated land-value taxation; provided a popular, contrasting perspective on economic reform and inequality.
Thorstein Veblen (Author)

Veblen critiqued capitalist society’s consumption patterns and economic status, contrasting sharply with Sumner’s individualistic views.

Key Quotes

Taxation

In the definition the word “people” was used for a class or section of the population. It is now asserted that if that section rules, there can be no paternal, that is, undue, government. That doctrine, however, is the very opposite of liberty and contains the most vicious error possible in…

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Food & Drink

When you see a drunkard in the gutter, you are disgusted, but you pity him. When a policeman comes and picks him up you are satisfied. You say that “society” has interfered to save the drunkard from perishing. Society is a fine word, and it saves us the trouble of thinking to say that society acts.…

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Critical Responses

Book

Anarchy, State, and Utopia

Robert Nozick

Explores libertarian philosophy but also addresses limits and tensions around inequality, complementing and critiquing Sumner’s views.

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Book

The Road to Serfdom

F. A. Hayek

Hayek also challenges central planning and emphasizes unintended consequences, but acknowledges societal complexities that Sumner tends to overlook.

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Connected Readings

Book

Social Statics (1851)

Herbert Spencer

Influential on Sumner, it expands upon individual liberty, social Darwinism, and laissez-faire principles.

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Podcast

Amity Shlaes on the Forgotten Lessons of the New Deal Era

The Future of Liberty with Gov. Mitch Daniels

Governor Mitch Daniels and historian Amity Shlaes discuss misconceptions about the Great Depression and the New Deal; reevaluate the reputations of Presidents Coolidge, Hoover, and FDR; and consider the idea of the Forgotten Man.

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What to read next.

The Collected Works of Frédéric Bastiat. Vol. 2: The Law, The State, and Other Political Writings, 1843-1850

Frédéric Bastiat

The Law

A natural next step, exploring themes of individual liberty, unintended consequences, and critiques of government intervention.

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What to read next.

The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions

Thorstein Veblen

A pioneering work of sociology in which the nature of the ruling elite was explored.

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