The Debates of Liberty, reviewed by Christopher Mayer

The Debates of Liberty
by Wendy McElroy
(Lexington Books, 2003)

Liberty, in this case, refers to the periodical edited and published by the great individualist Benjamin Tucker. In the course of its twenty-seven year existence, Liberty became one of many cauldrons bubbling over with radical thought in late 19^th century America. It stands above many of its competitors for the quality of its content, in particular that which flowed from the biting pen of Tucker himself. The pages of Liberty were graced with some of the most prominent personalities in the movement – Lysander Spooner and Auberon Herbert among them (men whose work are still in-print and readily available today). Liberty also feathered its cap with a number of other achievements that further served to solidify its position and importance, as summarized in the book. McElroy writes "Tucker and Liberty were the vital core around which a radical Individualist movement reconstituted itself in the wake of the Civil War and grew."

This radical movement is called Individualist Anarchism and is the name used to describe the political philosophy of Tucker and his merry band. Although it is difficult to characterize any political philosophy in general terms without doing it some injustice, it is safe to say that Individualist Anarchism opposed political solutions to social problems. It was a philosophy built on the primacy of the individual over collective bodies or classes. It supported voluntary associations against coercion. Individualist Anarchism is one of the roots of the libertarian tree of ideas and its influence is under-appreciated. Murray Rothbard, for one, specifically acknowledged his intellectual debt to Benjamin Tucker in his brilliant book Power & Market.

Given its importance and influence, the literature in this area seems rather thin. McElroy’s book is a welcome addition and helps illuminate the evolution of libertarian ideas.

McElroy has chosen to focus on a few of the many debates that were carried on in pages of Liberty. Many of these have a contemporary ring, as they are still matters of debate today. McElroy chronicles the exchanges on the nature of politics, violence, natural rights, children’s rights, intellectual property, trial by jury and money. The result is a rich narrative that makes the reader stop and think, especially since many of the debates are simply not resolved conclusively. McElroy’s book leaves the impression that the writers of Liberty were a thoughtful bunch, but that they also were not above using generous amounts of stinging scorn and scintillating sarcasm, which charged the debates and left broken embittered relationships among various contributors. In short, it is intellectual drama at its best.

In the course of these debates, Liberty helped define and build a system of thought. One of these debates involved intellectual property, as embodied in the notions of patent and copyright. As McElroy relates, "the twin issues of patent and copyright gradually blossomed into major debate through which the concept of "property" was finely honed."

Tucker, for instance, had an interesting way of addressing the notion of property. McElroy writes, "He [Tucker] asked why the concept of property had originated within society in the first place. The logic behind this approach was his belief that concepts are problem-solving devices. Ideas arise only because they serve a need, answer a question." In a world such as ours, characterized by scarcity, Tucker argued that the idea of property helped resolve inevitable conflicts arising from competition. "If it were possible," wrote Tucker, "and it had always been possible, for an unlimited number of individuals to use to an unlimited extent and in an unlimited number of places the same concrete thing at the same time, there would never have been any such thing as the institution of property."

This line of thinking had direct applications for intellectual property. McElroy writes "A public idea was not a scarce good, as it could be used by an unlimited number of individuals…According to Tucker, this meant that intellectual property as a natural right ran counter to the very purpose for which the idea of "property" evolved." Patents and copyright, then, created an artificial scarcity and a legal monopoly. Tucker was for nothing if not for the elimination of state-sanctioned monopolistic privilege.

The discussion surrounding the finer points of intellectual property provide for fascinating reading. Watching Tucker in action, so to speak, is entertaining; he is the star of the show. Tucker certainly had a flair for expressing his ideas in pithy and memorable manner. As an example, McElroy writes that "perhaps the essence of Tucker’s approach to intellectual property was best expressed when he exclaimed: ‘You want your invention to yourself? Then keep it to yourself.’"

McElroy concludes, "With its stress upon contracts and voluntary society, Individualist Anarchism constituted an entirely original and distinct tradition upon the American landscape." Indeed, McElroy’s book is a wonderful contribution in preserving the efforts of this charmingly radical group.

February 20, 2004