The Liberty and Property Defence League (LPDL) was a historic organisation, founded in 1882 by

Lord Elcho Earl of Wemyss ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created in 1633. The Scottish Wemyss family had possessed the lands of Wemyss in Fife since the 12th century. Since 1823 the earldom has been held with the Earldom of March, created in ...

, for the support of ''

laissez-faire ''Laissez-faire'' ( ; from french: laissez faire , ) is an economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies) deriving from special interest groups. ...

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

. It served as a lobby group for industrialists and land-owners who were alarmed by

Georgism Georgism, also called in modern times Geoism, and known historically as the single tax movement, is an economic ideology holding that, although people should own the value they produce themselves, the economic rent derived from land—including ...

("Single Tax"),

trade unionism A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

, and elements in the Gladstone administration, but attracted also many liberals and philosophical

individualist Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and to value independence and self-relianc ...

s. The League continued to exist until the 1920s, but its president, Wemyss (Lord Elcho), resigned in 1913. This was after the individualism of

Herbert Spencer Herbert Spencer (27 April 1820 – 8 December 1903) was an English philosopher, psychologist, biologist, anthropologist, and sociologist famous for his hypothesis of social Darwinism. Spencer originated the expression "survival of the fittest" ...

declined, which was the main ''raison d'être'' of the League. The ideas of the organisation were carried on by the

Society of Individualists The Society for Individual Freedom (SIF) is a United Kingdom-based association of Libertarianism, libertarians, Classical liberalism, classical liberals, free-market conservatism, conservatives and others promoting individual freedom. It has li ...

of Sir

Ernest Benn Sir Ernest John Pickstone Benn, 2nd Baronet, (25 June 1875 – 17 January 1954) was a British publisher, writer and political publicist. His father, John Benn, was a politician, who had been made a baronet in 1914. He was an uncle of the Labour ...

. A weekly pamphlet put out by the League was called ''Jus: A Weekly Organ of Individualism'', which was edited by

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

Wordsworth Donisthorpe __NOTOC__Wordsworth Donisthorpe (24 March 1847 – 30 January 1914) was an English barrister, individualist anarchist and inventor, pioneer of cinematography and chess enthusiast. Life and work Donisthorpe was born in Leeds, on 24 March 1847. ...

References

* {{cite journal, author = Bristow, Edward , year = 1975 , title = The Liberty and Property Defence League and Individualism , journal = Historical Journal , volume = 18 , issue = 4 , pages = 761–789, doi = 10.1017/S0018246X00008888

External links

Prophets of Property
Lawrence W. Reed.

The Freeman ''The Freeman'' (formerly published as ''The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty'' or ''Ideas on Liberty'') was an American libertarian magazine, formerly published by the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE). It was founded in 1950 by John Chamberl ...

. Classical liberalism History of liberalism Libertarian organisations based in the United Kingdom