Timeline of libertarian thinkers
This article is a list of major figures in the theory of libertarianism, a philosophy asserting 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]
Libertarian thinkers
- Adam Smith (1723–1790): Philosopher and economist. Author of An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, which has been influential on later libertarians.
- Josiah Warren (1798–1874): Inventor, social theorist, and believer in "individual sovereignty." Influenced John Stuart Mill. States "commit more crimes upon persons and property than all criminals put together." [2]
- Adin Ballou (1803–1890): American Christian anarchist.[2]
- William Lloyd Garrison (1805–1879): Abolitionist libertarian and journalist. Influenced Frederick Douglass, ex-slave and anti-slavery crusader.[2]
- John Stuart Mill (1806–1873): Phlosopher and British parliamentarian, author of On Liberty.
- Lysander Spooner (1808–1887)
- Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809–1865)
- Stephen Pearl Andrews (1812–1886): Abolitionist who tried to sell Texas to Britain to prevent it becoming a slave state.[2]
- Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862): Civil liberties dissident and writer. "This government never of itself furthered any enterprise, but by the alacrity with which it got out of the way."[2]
- Herbert Spencer (1820–1903): Anarchist British parliamentarian. Advocated the "right of people to ignore the state." [2]
- Auberon Herbert (1838–1906): Anarchist British parliamentarian, founder of "voluntaryism" and anti-democrat. 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]
- Benjamin Tucker (1854–1939)
- Ludwig von Mises (1881–1973): Philosopher and economist. After his death, his name was used for the Ludwig von Mises Institute.
- Rose Wilder Lane (1886–1968)
- Leonard Read (1898–1983)
- Friedrich Hayek (1899–1992): Economist and political thinker, author of The Road to Serfdom.
- Ayn Rand (1905–1982): American novelist whose books The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged influenced many towards libertarianism.
- Milton Friedman (1912–2006): Nobel Prize–winning economist and professor at the University of Chicago. Advocated free market capitalism in books like Capitalism and Freedom.
- Murray Rothbard (1926–1995)
- Robert Nozick (1938–2002): American philosopher, author of Anarchy, State, and Utopia.