Benjamin Tucker

Benjamin Tucker
Born
Benjamin Ricketson Tucker

(1854-04-17)April 17, 1854
DiedJune 22, 1939(1939-06-22) (aged 85)
Occupation(s)Editor, publisher, writer
EraModern philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
SchoolIndividualist anarchism
Libertarian socialism
Mutualism
Main interests
Politics, economics
Signature

Benjamin Ricketson Tucker (/ˈtʌkər/; 1854–1939) was an American individualist anarchist and self-identified socialist.[1] Tucker was the editor and publisher of the American individualist anarchist periodical Liberty (1881–1908). Tucker described his form of anarchism as "consistent Manchesterism" and "unterrified Jeffersonianism".[2]

Tucker looked upon anarchism as a part of the broader socialist movement. Tucker harshly opposed state socialism and was a supporter of free-market socialism[3] and libertarian socialism[4] which he termed anarchist or anarchistic socialism.[5] He connected the classical economics of Adam Smith and the Ricardian socialists as well as that of Josiah Warren, Karl Marx and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon to socialism.[6] Some modern commentators have described Tucker as an anarcho-capitalist,[7][8] although this has been disputed by others.[9][10] During his lifetime, Tucker opposed capitalism[11] and considered himself a socialist due to his belief in the labor theory of value and disputed many of the dictionary definitions of the term which he believed were inaccurate.[12]

  1. ^ Chartier, Gary. Anarchy and Legal Order. Cambridge University Press: New York. 2013. pp. 397. “Similarly, Benjamin Tucker, who explicitly identified himself as a socialist…”
  2. ^ McCarthy, Daniel (January 1, 2010) A Fistful of Dynamite Archived 2011-05-18 at the Wayback Machine, The American Conservative.
  3. ^ Chartier, Gary; Johnson, Charles W. Markets Not Capitalism: Individualist Anarchism Against Bosses, Inequality, Corporate Power, and Structural Poverty. Brooklyn: Minor Compositions/Autonomedia. (2011). pp 10. “…In ‘State Socialism and Anarchism,’ Benjamin Tucker explains why a market-oriented variety of anarchism can be understood as part of the socialist tradition…”
  4. ^ Chartier, Gary; Johnson, Charles W. Markets Not Capitalism: Individualist Anarchism Against Bosses, Inequality, Corporate Power, and Structural Poverty. Brooklyn: Minor Compositions/Autonomedia. (2011). pp 33. “…’There are two Socialisms…One is dictatorial, the other libertarian.”
  5. ^ Chartier, Gary. Anarchy and Legal Order. Cambridge University Press: New York. 2013. pp. 399.
  6. ^ Chartier, Gary. Anarchy and Legal Order. Cambridge University Press: New York. 2013. pp. 401.
  7. ^ Freeden, Michael; Sargent, Lyman Tower; Stears, Marc (2013-08-15). The Oxford Handbook of Political Ideologies. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 388. ISBN 978-0-19-958597-7.
  8. ^ Curran, G. (2006-10-31). 21st Century Dissent: Anarchism, Anti-Globalization and Environmentalism. Springer. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-230-80084-7.
  9. ^ McKay, Iain. An Anarchist FAQ. AK Press. Oakland. 2008. pp 23, 526.
  10. ^ Chartier, Gary. Anarchy and Legal Order. Cambridge University Press: New York. 2013. pp. 402-403.
  11. ^ Chartier, Gary. Anarchy and Legal Order. Cambridge University Press: New York. 2013. pp. 403.
  12. ^ Chartier, Gary. Anarchy and Legal Order. Cambridge University Press: New York. 2013. pp. 400 fn 32.