Clarence Lee Swartz (1868–1936) was an American individualist anarchist, whose best-known work, ''What is Mutualism?'' (1927) is a book explaining the economic system of mutualism. Swartz was a friend of Benjamin Tucker and frequent contributor of signed and unsigned editorials to Tucker's newspaper ''

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

''. In addition, he worked for a series of anarchist newspapers and journals. He worked in the mechanical department of ''Liberty'' beginning in 1891, edited an anarchist journal called ''Voice of the People'' and served as assistant editor for Moses Harman's journal '' Lucifer, the Light-Bearer'' in 1890. Swartz was arrested in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

for distributing a newspaper called ''Sunday Sun'' in 1891. The charges were dropped when the prosecutor failed to show in court. He published two individualist anarchist periodicals at the turn of the century, ''I'' (beginning in 1898) and ''The Free Comrade'' (beginning in 1900). In 1908, Tucker's publishing business, including most of his books and plates, were destroyed in a fire and after Tucker retired from publishing and moved to Europe, "practically all of the literature of individualist anarchism

ent Ents are a species of beings in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world Middle-earth who closely resemble trees; their leader is Treebeard of Fangorn forest. Their name is derived from an Old English word for giant. The Ents appear in ''The Lor ...

out of print". Swartz made efforts throughout the 1920s to revive the individualist literature. He prepared and edited ''Individual Liberty: Selections from the Writings of Benjamin R. Tucker'' (New York: Vanguard Press), a collection of excerpts from Tucker's writing in ''Liberty'', which was the first collection of Tucker's writing since Tucker's own collection ''Instead of a Book''. In 1923 he worked together with Charles T. Sprading and

J. William Lloyd J. William Lloyd (never using his given name John) (June 4, 1857 – October 23, 1940) was an American individualist anarchist, mystic and pantheist. Lloyd later modified his political position to minarchism. Biography He was born in Westfield ...

on ''The Libertarian'', a magazine opposed to blue laws,

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholi ...

and the

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

of arts and entertainment.''The Libertarian: An ANTI-BLUE-LAW MAGAZINE'', Vol. I, No. 1
(Third Quarter, 1923). In 1927, Swartz published his own book ''What is Mutualism?'', a new synthesis of individualist and mutualist thought on economics and strategy. Swartz was a strong proponent of

private property Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property and personal property, which is owned by a state entity, and from collective or ...

in the

individualist anarchism Individualist anarchism is the branch of anarchism that emphasizes the individual and their will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions and ideological systems."What do I mean by individualism? I mean by individualism th ...

sense of the word and critical of

anarcho-communism Anarcho-communism, also known as anarchist communism, (or, colloquially, ''ancom'' or ''ancomm'') is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that advocates communism. It calls for the abolition of private property but retains re ...

. In his 1927 ''What is Mutualism'', Swartz writes: "One of the tests of any reform movement with regard to personal liberty is this: Will the movement prohibit or abolish private property? If it does, it is an enemy of liberty. For one of the most important criteria of freedom is the right to private property in the products of ones labor. State Socialists, Communists, Syndicalists and Communist-Anarchists deny private property".

References

External links

* Clarence Lee Swartz (1898)
''I'' (Number One)
July 1898. * Clarence Lee Swartz (1898)
''I'' (Number Two)
August 1898. * Clarence Lee Swartz (1923)
"Our Purpose and Reason for Being"
in ''The Libertarian'' Vol. I, No. 1. 1. * Clarence Lee Swartz (1927)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swartz, Clarence Lee 1868 births 1936 deaths 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers American anarchists American male journalists American male non-fiction writers Anarchist theorists Anarchist writers Individualist anarchists Mutualists Voluntaryists