Thomas Hodgskin

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Thomas Hodgskin (b. December 12, 1787 Chatham, Kent, d. - August 21, 1869 Feltham, Middlesex) was an english socialist writer on political economy, critic of capitalism^{[citation needed]}, free-market anarchist^[1] and defender of free trade and early trade unions.

Born of a father who worked in the Chatham Naval Dockyard, Hodgskin joined the navy at the age of 12. He rose rapidly through the ranks in the years of naval struggle with the French to the rank of first lieutenant. Following the naval defeat of the French the opportunities for advancement closed and Hodgskin increasingly ran into disciplinary trouble with his superiors, eventually leading to his court martial and dismissal in 1812. This prompted his first book "An Essay on Naval Discipline" (1813) a scathing critique of the brutal authoritarian regime then current in the navy.

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