[cross-posted at Liberty & Power]
I’ve finally finished posting Francis Tandy’s 1896 individualist anarchist work Voluntary Socialism. Chapter 9 defends the occupancy-and-use theory of land ownership, and criticises the Georgist alternative. Chapter 10 is a critique of intellectual property. Chapter 11 criticises the assumption that workers’ cooperatives would dominate the post-capitalist economy. Chapter 12 takes on the postal monopoly. Chapter 13 defends education over electoral politics and violent revolution as a method of advancing anarchism. Chapter 12 – the most depressing for a present-day anarchist – points to signs that the cultural power of statism is waning (in 1896). Finally, an appendix offers suggestions for future reading.
I’ve also posted a contemporary review by one K. C. Felton (who seems not to have read Tandy’s book very carefully).
Coming soon: more Dyer Lum!
Seems like a pretty good read.
Just looking over Tandy’s section on egoism, it’s incredibly intriguing that someone who described himself as a type of socialist held views of egoism that seem remarkably similar to Ayn Rand’s.
I know I said it already on LL2, but thanks again.
The study he mentions at the beginning of Chapter V is fascinating. I’d love to get my hands on the source. Though I’m sure the numbers haven’t much changed.
The egoism chapter is superb.
[...] Roderick has also recently completed transcribing his online edition of Francis Tandy’s Voluntary Socialism. [...]