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Libertarianism in England is a political philosophy promoting individual liberty.
Anglo-Saxon England is cited byanarcho-capitalists and libertarians as an example of a prototype anarcho-capitalist society.[1]
TheLevellers are cited as an early libertarian movement, advocating forcommon law, legal equality, and government’s necessity to have the consent of the governed.[2]
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The natural rights philosophy of John Locke is highly influential on libertarian thought.[3] Locke's work is considered a founding document for natural rights-based libertarianism.[4]
Auberon Herbert advocated avoluntary-funded government, coining the phrasevoluntaryism.[5]Hans-Hermann Hoppe, believes that Herbert "develops the Spencerian idea of equal freedom to its logically consistent anarcho-capitalist end".[6]
Murray Rothbard wrote "The tradition of voluntarism was at its strongest in England. So strong was it that, not only was there no compulsory education in England until the late nineteenth century, but there was not even apublic school system. Before the 1830s, the State did not interfere in education at all."[7]
TheEnglish Catholic historian andLiberal Party statesmanLord Acton was described by Murray Rothbard as "the great Catholic libertarian historian".[8] TheActon Institute, an American Christianconservative libertarianthink tank, is named after him.[9]
Enoch Powell'sphilosophy combinedHigh Toryism with libertarianism.[citation needed] Powell described his views as "an almost unlimited faith in the ability of the people to get what they want through peace, capital, profit and a competitive market".[10] Rothbard remarked, in 1965, "All our hopes for England rest now on Enoch Powell".[11]Ralph Harris of theInstitute of Economic Affairs wrote to Powell claiming that his views on immigration were antagonistic to the rest of his generally-libertarian views, but Powell disagreed with that notion.[12]
Libertarian ideology and philosophy played a role in theanti-lockdown movement in England in the 2020s.[13]
acton.org was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).