This article is a list of major figures in the theory of
libertarianism, a philosophy asserting that individuals have a right to be free. Originally coined by French anarchist and libertarian communist
Joseph Déjacque as an alternative synonymous to
anarchism, American classical liberals appropriated the term in the 1950s for their philosophy which asserts that individuals have a right to acquire, keep and exchange their holdings and that the primary purpose of government is to protect these rights.[1] As a result of this history, libertarians on this list may be either of the American-style free-market variety or of the European-style socialist variety.
Libertarian thinkers
Laozi (571–471 BCE): Chinese philosopher and librarian, widely recognized as the founder of Daoism, who is considered the first libertarian, given his anti-authoritarian, promote non-aggression politic.
John Ball (1338–1381): English priest whose preachings against bondship and serfdom helped start the
Peasants' Revolt.
Étienne de La Boétie (1530–1563): French judge, writer and a founder of modern political philosophy in France.
John Locke (1632–1704): English Philosopher and one of the most influential enlightenment thinkers who proclaimed Man has the Freedom to possess himself. Who also seen as a classical liberal.
William Godwin (1756–1836): English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism.
Josiah Warren (1798–1874): inventor, social theorist and believer in individual sovereignty, who influenced
John Stuart Mill and argued that states "commit more crimes upon persons and property than all criminals put together."[2]
Frédéric Bastiat (1801–1850): French classical liberal theorist, political economist and author of The Law.
Adin Ballou (1803–1890): American Christian anarchist.[2]
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809–1865): French socialist thinker and first person to call themselves an anarchist.
Stephen Pearl Andrews (1812–1886): American abolitionist who tried to sell Texas to Britain to prevent it becoming a slave state.[2]
Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862): advocate of minimal or no government and civil disobedience against the authoritarian state; author of
Civil Disobedience.
Gustave de Molinari (1819–1912): French liberal economist and author of The Production of Security in which he argued that security can be produced better through the market than through government monopoly policing.
Herbert Spencer (1820–1903): British parliamentarian and founder of
social Darwinism who advocated the "right of people to ignore the state."[2]
Auberon Herbert (1838–1906): British parliamentarian, founder of
voluntaryism and anti-democrat, who advocated that the voting majority has no more right to decide a man's life than "either the bayonet-surrounded emperor or the infallible church".[2]
John Sherwin Crosby (1842–1914): American educator, attorney and author of The Orthocratic State (1915) in which he presented a comprehensive justification for the formation of the state and its rightful powers.
Benjamin Tucker (1854–1939): American editor and publisher of the individualist anarchist periodical Liberty, who Called anarchists "simply unterrified Jeffersonian Democrats."
Albert Jay Nock (1870–1945): American author and editor opposing state socialism and the New Deal in the 20th century and one of the first people to identify as libertarian in the 20th century American sense.
H. L. Mencken (1880–1956): writer strongly opposed to authoritarian government, who published a periodical containing libertarian authors like Emma Goldman and Albert Jay Nock.
Ralph Borsodi (1886–1977): American agrarian theorist,
Georgist, founder of The School of Living and author of "The Distribution Age" (1927), "This Ugly Civilization" (1929) and "Flight from the City" (1933).
Murray Bookchin (1921–2006): An American social theorist, author, orator, historian, and political philosopher. A pioneer in the environmental movement, Bookchin formulated and developed the theory of social ecology and urban planning within anarchist, libertarian socialist, and ecological thought.
Ron Paul (1935–present): American physician, former politician and author of The Revolution: A Manifesto and Liberty Defined, who has been characterized as the intellectual godfather of the Tea Party movement.
Samuel Edward Konkin III (1947–2004): American philosopher and author of New Libertarian Manifesto in which he promotes a philosophy he named
agorism, a revolutionary form of market anarchism that aims to dissolve the state through counter-economic activity.
John Stossel (1947–present): American journalist advocating for free markets and minimal government regulation.
This article is a list of major figures in the theory of
libertarianism, a philosophy asserting that individuals have a right to be free. Originally coined by French anarchist and libertarian communist
Joseph Déjacque as an alternative synonymous to
anarchism, American classical liberals appropriated the term in the 1950s for their philosophy which asserts that individuals have a right to acquire, keep and exchange their holdings and that the primary purpose of government is to protect these rights.[1] As a result of this history, libertarians on this list may be either of the American-style free-market variety or of the European-style socialist variety.
Libertarian thinkers
Laozi (571–471 BCE): Chinese philosopher and librarian, widely recognized as the founder of Daoism, who is considered the first libertarian, given his anti-authoritarian, promote non-aggression politic.
John Ball (1338–1381): English priest whose preachings against bondship and serfdom helped start the
Peasants' Revolt.
Étienne de La Boétie (1530–1563): French judge, writer and a founder of modern political philosophy in France.
John Locke (1632–1704): English Philosopher and one of the most influential enlightenment thinkers who proclaimed Man has the Freedom to possess himself. Who also seen as a classical liberal.
William Godwin (1756–1836): English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism.
Josiah Warren (1798–1874): inventor, social theorist and believer in individual sovereignty, who influenced
John Stuart Mill and argued that states "commit more crimes upon persons and property than all criminals put together."[2]
Frédéric Bastiat (1801–1850): French classical liberal theorist, political economist and author of The Law.
Adin Ballou (1803–1890): American Christian anarchist.[2]
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809–1865): French socialist thinker and first person to call themselves an anarchist.
Stephen Pearl Andrews (1812–1886): American abolitionist who tried to sell Texas to Britain to prevent it becoming a slave state.[2]
Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862): advocate of minimal or no government and civil disobedience against the authoritarian state; author of
Civil Disobedience.
Gustave de Molinari (1819–1912): French liberal economist and author of The Production of Security in which he argued that security can be produced better through the market than through government monopoly policing.
Herbert Spencer (1820–1903): British parliamentarian and founder of
social Darwinism who advocated the "right of people to ignore the state."[2]
Auberon Herbert (1838–1906): British parliamentarian, founder of
voluntaryism and anti-democrat, who advocated that the voting majority has no more right to decide a man's life than "either the bayonet-surrounded emperor or the infallible church".[2]
John Sherwin Crosby (1842–1914): American educator, attorney and author of The Orthocratic State (1915) in which he presented a comprehensive justification for the formation of the state and its rightful powers.
Benjamin Tucker (1854–1939): American editor and publisher of the individualist anarchist periodical Liberty, who Called anarchists "simply unterrified Jeffersonian Democrats."
Albert Jay Nock (1870–1945): American author and editor opposing state socialism and the New Deal in the 20th century and one of the first people to identify as libertarian in the 20th century American sense.
H. L. Mencken (1880–1956): writer strongly opposed to authoritarian government, who published a periodical containing libertarian authors like Emma Goldman and Albert Jay Nock.
Ralph Borsodi (1886–1977): American agrarian theorist,
Georgist, founder of The School of Living and author of "The Distribution Age" (1927), "This Ugly Civilization" (1929) and "Flight from the City" (1933).
Murray Bookchin (1921–2006): An American social theorist, author, orator, historian, and political philosopher. A pioneer in the environmental movement, Bookchin formulated and developed the theory of social ecology and urban planning within anarchist, libertarian socialist, and ecological thought.
Ron Paul (1935–present): American physician, former politician and author of The Revolution: A Manifesto and Liberty Defined, who has been characterized as the intellectual godfather of the Tea Party movement.
Samuel Edward Konkin III (1947–2004): American philosopher and author of New Libertarian Manifesto in which he promotes a philosophy he named
agorism, a revolutionary form of market anarchism that aims to dissolve the state through counter-economic activity.
John Stossel (1947–present): American journalist advocating for free markets and minimal government regulation.