Benjamin Tucker | |
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Born | Benjamin Ricketson Tucker April 17, 1854 South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States |
Died | June 22, 1939 | (aged 85)
Occupation(s) | Editor, publisher, writer |
Era | Modern philosophy |
Region | Western philosophy |
School | Individualist anarchism Libertarian socialism Mutualism |
Main interests | Politics, economics |
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Anarchism in the United States |
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Benjamin Ricketson Tucker (/ˈtʌkər/; 1854–1939) was an American individualist anarchist and self-identified socialist.[1] Tucker was the editor and publisher of the American individualist anarchist periodical Liberty (1881–1908). Tucker described his form of anarchism as "consistent Manchesterism" and "unterrified Jeffersonianism".[2]
Tucker looked upon anarchism as a part of the broader socialist movement. Tucker harshly opposed state socialism and was a supporter of free-market socialism[3] and libertarian socialism[4] which he termed anarchist or anarchistic socialism.[5] He connected the classical economics of Adam Smith and the Ricardian socialists as well as that of Josiah Warren, Karl Marx and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon to socialism.[6] Some modern commentators have described Tucker as an anarcho-capitalist,[7][8] although this has been disputed by others.[9][10] During his lifetime, Tucker opposed capitalism[11] and considered himself a socialist due to his belief in the labor theory of value and disputed many of the dictionary definitions of the term which he believed were inaccurate.[12]