_Men Against the State: The Expositors of Individualist Anarchism in America, 1827-1908_ by individualist anarchist James J. Martin, republished by the libertarian press Ralph Myles, is a fascinating account of libertarian history in America. Perhaps the first individual to refer to himself as an anarchist, formerly merely a pejorative, was Proudhon, whose cry that "property is robbery!" began a revolution. Later in America others developed the philosophy of anarchism, eventually creating a schism between those who were opposed to property (the communist anarchists) and those who supported private property so long as it could be defined as the total product of an individual's labor (the individualist anarchists). Anarchism developed as a trend in direct opposition to the state and often maintained the need for a radical form of decentralization. However, most anarchists were not violent, advocating a peaceful slugging off of statism rather than violent revolution. This is contrary to the depiction of anarchists in popular literature and the media. In addition, while anarchists advocated the abolition of the state, they did not propose that anything new be set up as its replacement. This distinguishes true anarchists from others who may have opposed the status quo at the time but who in turn advocated a different form of government.
This book traces the development of individualist anarchism in America from the early experiments in mutualism of Josiah Warren, to the development of philosophical egoism particularly emphasizing early advocates of money and land reform, to the writings of Lysander Spooner and other abolitionist anarchists who later came to support secession, to the writings of Benjamin Tucker in his journal _Liberty_. The book begins by showing how Josiah Warren, an early adherent to the communal developments of the philanthropist Robert Owen, developed a system of mutualism and became one of the earliest individualist anarchists in the United States. Warren created a time store which used a system of labor backed money, as well as was involved in printing a newspaper _The Peaceful Revolutionist_. Warren advocated many reforms and was involved in the creation of the mutualist experiment, New Harmony. His ideas and writings came to influence later anarchists particularly Lysander Spooner and Benjamin Tucker. However, Warren ran into difficulties when he was accused of advocating free love, which he did not. It is interesting to note also the link between anarchists and the spiritualist movement at the time. There was also some link between anarchists and feminists and proponents of "free love" and birth control such as Victoria Woodhull, though many of the prominent anarchists disapproved of this link and went out of their way to disavow it. Eventually the various experiments in mutualism and communal living underwent a decline and became fragmented. In the development towards philosophical egoism, several individuals stand out as early precursors of the later anarchists. Among these are Ezra Heywood, a pamphleteer involved in the anti-slavery movement who advocated for labor reform, William B. Greene, a money reformer who opposed usury and banking, J. K. Ingalls, a land reformer who argued against rent on land, and Stephen Pearl Andrews, a social philosopher who became an opponent to slavery. Anarchism also had a particularly interesting history among the abolitionists, many of whom began by opposing slavery but who subsequently ended up opposing statism in total. Among these was the individualist anarchist and proponent of natural rights Lysander Spooner. Spooner was a New England lawyer who wrote on the unconstitutionality of slavery and the unlawful nature of taxation. However, later Spooner was to become appalled by the treatment of the South by the North and supported the idea of secession. Spooner also came to write various letters to lawmakers arguing that their rule was entirely arbitrary and that they were usurpers, tyrants, robbers, and murderers. Spooner also wrote on the trial by jury arguing that by interpreting the Magna Charta, originally juries and not judges would rule on the law itself and not merely on the guilt or innocence of the accused. Spooner also wrote that the Constitution of the United States was not binding on its citizens because few of them had been around when it was signed or had actually signed the document. Spooner's ideas came to influence a subsequent anarchist Benjamin Tucker, a former M.I.T. student who published the journal _Liberty_. Tucker abandoned Spooner's arguments for natural rights, however he proposed the notion of equality of liberty. Tucker was influenced particularly by Proudhon as well as by Herbert Spencer (though Spencer was not truly an anarchist) and Max Stirner. Tucker's journal _Liberty_ became a centerpiece of the anarchist movement and played some role in defending anarchists from accusations leveled against them during the Chicago bombings. In Tucker, individualist anarchism came to see its fruition. Eventually though Tucker was to leave the United States, and support the Allies in the First World War. With Tucker's death came the end of individualist anarchism for a time until it was revived among revisionists following the Second World War. This book ends with a bibliographical essay and two appendices, an original foreword to the book by Harry Elmer Barnes, and a genealogy of Josiah Warren showing that he was not a relative of revolutionary General Joseph Warren.
This book provides a fascinating account of the forerunners of modern libertarian thought. It shows us the history of individualist anarchism in America and its opposition to statism. In the modern era, where the state routinely cracks down on individuals who oppose it, the writings of anarchist thinkers perhaps need to be re-examined in the light of the horrors that have been perpetrated on the individual by the state. This book offers an excellent opportunity for such a re-examination of the ideas of early anarchists.
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