Laurance Labadie (June 4, 1898 – August 12, 1975) was an

American individualist anarchist Individualist anarchism in the United States was strongly influenced by Benjamin Tucker, Josiah Warren, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Lysander Spooner, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Max Stirner, Herbert Spencer and Henry David Thoreau. Other important individua ...

and author.

Career

Labadie worked in the car industry in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, Michigan. Labadie became an anarchist author, at first mainly republishing articles of previous anarchist authors, and in the late 1930s he would start to publish his own work. In
Anarchism Applied to Economics
' Labadie writes: "In a world where inequality of ability is inevitable, anarchists do not sanction any attempt to produce equality by artificial or authoritarian means. The only equality they posit and will strive their utmost to defend is the ''equality of opportunity''. This necessitates the maximum amount of freedom for each individual. This will not necessarily result in equality of incomes or of wealth but will result in returns ''proportionate to services rendered''. Free competition will see to that." (Labadie's emphasis) Labadie was a supporter of

jury nullification Jury nullification (US/UK), jury equity (UK), or a perverse verdict (UK) occurs when the jury in a criminal trial gives a not guilty verdict despite a defendant having clearly broken the law. The jury's reasons may include the belief that the ...

in an anarchist society. He criticised

Murray Rothbard Murray Newton Rothbard (; March 2, 1926 – January 7, 1995) was an American economist of the Austrian School, economic historian, political theorist, and activist. Rothbard was a central figure in the 20th-century American libertarian m ...

's proposed judicial system which would not allow jury nullification, saying it would uphold, "the very economic evils which are at bottom the very reason for human contention and conflict." Labadie was a strong critic of

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...

, referring to it as a system of "government protection and coddling" and its defect being the want of competition, and was an exponent of anti-capitalist individualism associated with

Benjamin Tucker Benjamin Ricketson Tucker (; April 17, 1854 – June 22, 1939) was an American individualist anarchist and libertarian socialist.Martin, James J. (1953)''Men Against the State: The Expositers of Individualist Anarchism in America, 1827–1908''< ...

. Labadie was involved with multiple anarchist journals. Besides his "Discussion", he was also a contributor to "A Way Out", "The Interpreter" and "Journal of Human Relations". There he would often engage in debates with or critique contemporary anarchists and libertarians, such as Murray Rothbard, S.E. Parker and Ayn Rand.

Personal life

Labadie was born on June 4, 1898. He was youngest child of Sophie and Jo Labadie. He was influenced by his father, and by age of 16 he would get involved in labor movement. He worked as a machinist in Detroit and was self taught. During the Great Depression, he would start his anarchist career with his periodical "Discussion - A Journal of Free Spirits". In World War II, Laurence would retire from his work and mainly focus on anarchism. He would meet

Ralph Borsodi Ralph Borsodi (December, 1888 – October 27, 1977) was an American agrarian theorist and practical experimenter interested in ways of living useful to the modern family desiring greater self-reliance (especially so during the Great Depression) ...

and his School of Living in late 40s and would stay friends with him until his death. After the death of Borsodi's wife, he would move to (and purchase) Borsodi's Doghouse Homestead in Suffern, New York. He would spend the rest of his life as a recluse, contributing to various libertarian journals. He died on August 12, 1975. Laurence Labadie was also a friend of monetary theorist Edwin Clarence Riegel and anarchist revisionist historian James J. Martin. He had no wife or kids but was fond of kids."Anarcho-Pessimism: The Collected Writings of Laurence Labadie", James J. Martin, pp. 119

References

External links

''Anarcho-Pessimism: The Collected Writings of Laurence Labadie''
by James J. Martin
''Anarchism Applied to Economics''
by Laurence Labadie

by Laurance Labadie
''Selected Essays''
by James J. Martin
Photo of Laurance Labadie with Benjamin Tucker's daughter Oriole
{{DEFAULTSORT:Labadie, Laurance 1898 births 1975 deaths Activists from Detroit American anarchists American anti-capitalists American male non-fiction writers Anarchist writers Individualist anarchists Mutualists Writers from Detroit

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links