Type of bind: Paperback
EAN num: 9780930073268
ISBN number: 0930073266
Label: Fox & Wilkes
Manufacturer: Fox & Wilkes
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 343
Printing Date: May 01, 1992
Publishing house: Fox & Wilkes
Sale Popularity Level: 597086
Studio: Fox & Wilkes
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
From the Publishing house:
Lawyer, abolitionist, radical; Spooner was one of the most fascinating figures in American history and a champion of individualism. This selection includes 'Vices Are Not Crimes,' 'Natural Law,' 'Trial by Jury,' 'No Treason, the Constitution of No Authority,' 'Letter to Thomas Bayard,' and Benjamin Tucker's eulogy.
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Rated by buyers 
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Few describe it or understand it (liberty and the lie that is government) better than Lysander.
Rated by buyers -
It is a wonder that this man is not more commonly mentioned or taught in schools. I found out about him at a conference I was attending the summer after my 12th grade year (5 years ago now) hosted by none other than Tom G Palmer, whose review can be read above...
...And I must say that few times have I read words that so accurately reflect a feeling that I already had intrinsically -- "Constitution of No Authority" speaks to the illusory nature of government in a way that very few tracts have been bold enough to probe since.
Whether you're a leftist, libertarian, or a conservative, this deserves a thorough look.
Rated by buyers -
The previous reviewer claims Spooner's argument against the authority of the Constitution is invalid, since contract law is only possible in the context of a government. However, the reviewer has it reversed: though a valid contract may be *enforced* by a government, the government's authority must be *justified* in the very first place. A contract's validity comes not from government, but rather from Lockean natural law.
Statists endeavor to justify government sovereignty via social contract theory, which states that taxation and government authority can be justified according to a supposed "contract" among the citizens, as manifested by the Constitution. In _No Treason_, Spooner brilliantly and forcefully demolishes this argument by demonstrating this "contract" is not valid in any meaningful sense, according to "principles of law and reason."
As other reviewers have stated, Lysander Spooner's essays will make you never look at the legitimacy of the government, voting, and taxes the same way again, even if you don't agree with his arguments.
Rated by buyers 
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Lysander Spooner, the fiery american anarchst, offers a great counterpoint to the collectivist anarchist of the same era, Emma Goldman. Like Goldman, Spooner's rhetoric is explosive, lively and (very unlike Goldman) right on the money. Well, at least most of the time.
This is a very good collection featuring Natural Law, Vices Are Not Crimes, No Treason, Letter to Thomas F. Bayard, and Trial by Jury. Of course, the last article takes up a good portion of the book. In addition, we are treated to an obituary written by an equally fiery anarchist, Ben Tucker.
So why the 3 stars? Well, as much fire as Spooner has, therer are many holes in his arguments. Much of No Treason, for instance, is spent on the constitution as violation of contract law, but Spooner doesn't seem to realize (or maybe assumes it as natural law) that contract law doesn't exist without government. You pick one or the other...not both! In Natural Law, we find Spooner repeating himself in each paragraph, appealing to what at best can be described as overarching faith; at worst, a chimera. And this is what Spooners anarcho-individualism is supposed to be based on?
It must be said that No Treason's part iv and Letter to Thomas Bayard are astute in Spooners criticism of government as thievery and it would be hard to argue with the arguments in Vices are Not Crimes. Trial by Jury is interesting but dissapointing especially when we realize that Spooner, who often criticizes government for being inconsistent and, indeed, arbitrary, couldn't be much happier if the 12 individuals could mend any law at will post facto. I'm just not convinced that Spooner thought it through.
For all of that, if you are interested in anarchism (respectable anarchism, not Kropotkin and Goldman) then Spooner is one of the only games in town. For a different (and less reverent) take on anarcho-individualism, I'd suggest reading Max Stirner's The Ego and His Own.
Rated by buyers -
It just so happens that the day I write this review is not only Constitution Day (the anniversary of the US Constitution being sent to the states for ratification), but also primary election day here in Seattle. That means there's no better day to re-read the works of Lysander Spooner -- a writer who, perhaps more than any other, can single-handedly change the way you look at both the Constitution and voting. This collection is the place to do that, including as it does nearly all of Spooner's most important work: "No Treason" (with "The Constitution of No Authority"), "Vices are not Crimes," "Trial by Jury," and his "Letter to Thomas F. Bayard."
Lysander Spooner was a fascinating man in his own right, as both the Introduction by editor George Smith and the very first chapter, "Our Nestor Taken From Us," an obituary by Benjamin Tucker, make clear. Individualist anarchist, abolitionist, scholar, pamphleteer, radical -- it's a shame this Forgotten Hero is so obscure today. But given the skill and passion with which he slaughtered, barbecued, and served up America's most sacred cows, it's hardly surprising. It's a rare, almost forbidden, treat to find an original thinker any more. As Smith notes in his introduction, it's easy to envy someone reading Spooner for the very first time the thought-provoking challenge she's about to experience.
Doctrinaires of the left and the right will be horrified by what they read between these pages. And those who still parrot the Received Wisdom of their junior-high "social studies" teachers (it's your duty to vote ... if you don't vote, you can't complain ... in a democracy, the people govern themselves ... "taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society" ... ad infinitum, ad nauseam) will find themselves forced to defend many of their most cherished illusions. To quote Smith again, the ideas are both commonsensical, and very recognizably American. Anyone who gives them the respect they deserve -- thinking about them instead of ignoring them -- will find their view of politics and law fundamentally altered.
America would be a very different place if more people burned with Spooner's passionate love of liberty and justice. Of course, that's why you'll never see Lysander Spooner on a public school civics reading list. But don't let that stop you. Are you up to the challenge?
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