The Right to Ignore the State by Herbert Spencer
"The Right to Ignore the State" by Herbert Spencer is a philosophical treatise stemming from his larger work "Social Statics" and was written in the mid-19th century, specifically in the context of the Victorian era. This publication explores themes of individual freedom and critiques the concept of state authority over the individual. The book argues for the right of citizens to abandon or ignore the state, positing that coercion by the governmentis inherently immoral, and that true freedom entails individuals being able to dissociate from state control without infringing upon the rights of others. In "The Right to Ignore the State," Spencer articulates his ideas through a series of arguments emphasizing the moral implications of government and the rights of individuals. He asserts that citizens possess the innate right to reject government authority and the obligation of taxation that comes with it, equating such obligations to violations of individual freedom. Through examples and logical reasoning, he challenges the legitimacy of majority rule and emphasizes the importance of equal freedom, arguing that any form of coercion contradicts ethical principles. Ultimately, the text serves as a foundational piece advocating for individual liberty and a questioning of the moral authority of the state. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Spencer, Herbert, 1820-1903 |
|---|---|
| Title | The Right to Ignore the State |
| Original Publication | London : Freedom Press, 1913. |
| Series Title | Freedom pamphlet; [20] |
| Note | "It is only fair to the memory of Mr. Herbert Spencer that we should warn the reader of the following chapter from the original edition of Mr. Spencer's "Social Statics," written in 1850, that it was omitted by the author from the revised edition, published in 1892. We may legitimately infer that this omission indicates a change of view. But to repudiate is not to answer, and Mr. Spencer never answered his arguments for the right to ignore the State. It is the belief of the Anarchists that these arguments are unanswerable."--Preface. |
| Note | Reading ease score: 61.0 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. |
| Contents | The right to ignore the state, by Herbert Spencer -- Anarchist Communism, by Unknown. |
| Credits | Produced by Fritz Ohrenschall, Keith Edkins and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | HX: Social sciences: Socialism, Communism, Anarchism |
| LoC Class | JC: Political science: Political theory |
| Subject | Individualism |
| Subject | Anarchism |
| Subject | State, The |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 34649 |
| Release Date | Dec 14, 2010 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 209 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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