Lysander Spooner: American Anarchist

By (author) Steve J. Shone

Hardback - £82.00

Publication date:

25 May 2010

Length of book:

138 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

Dimensions:

241x163mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9780739144503

Lysander Spooner: American Anarchist is the first book-length exposition of the ideas of the American anarchist and abolitionist who lived mostly in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1808 to 1887. Few people today are familiar with Spooner. Nonetheless, there are many interesting strands of original thought to be found in his works that have contemporary significance—for example his reflections on the need for jury nullification or his devastating critique of the social contract. Rediscovering Spooner today is no mere investigation of a bygone nineteenth century thinker, but rather a gateway to a brilliant and original scholar whose counsel should not be ignored.
It is impossible to overrate Shone’s contribution in shining a light on the words and thoughts of Lysander Spooner. He demonstrates very effectively that Spooner’s writings deserve respectful appreciation alongside the other greats of political philosophy, from the ancient Greeks to the social contract theorists and even through to the advocates of natural law. Shone accomplishes his aim with extraordinary style, at every point capturing the intriguing spirit of Lysander Spooner as an icon of American anarchism, a fully developed ideology in its own right.