"First, then, State Socialism, which may be described as the doctrine that all the affairs of men should be managed by the government, regardless of individual choice"
About this Quote
Tucker opens with a trap disguised as a definition. By leading with "First, then", he frames State Socialism as Exhibit A in an indictment, not a topic up for neutral discussion. The phrase "may be described" performs a thin politeness while he sneaks in an aggressively loaded summary: "all the affairs of men" is totalizing on purpose, meant to sound suffocating, and "managed" carries the bureaucrat's condescension. This isn't a taxonomy; it's a rhetorical mugshot.
The intent is to collapse a wide, messy spectrum of socialist thought into a single, maximalist caricature: government as universal manager, individual choice as collateral damage. Tucker, a prominent American individualist anarchist, was fighting a two-front war in the late 19th and early 20th century: against corporate capitalism as it actually existed (propped up by state-granted privilege), and against collectivist currents that answered exploitation with central authority. His subtext is that the state is not a neutral tool that can be repurposed for justice; it's a machine with a built-in appetite for control.
"Regardless of individual choice" is the moral fuse. Tucker isn't arguing policy efficiency; he's arguing legitimacy. He implies that the moment your program requires overriding personal agency, it stops being emancipation and becomes administration. In the context of an era obsessed with "scientific" governance, expert commissions, and grand social planning, Tucker's line reads like an early warning about progressivism's shadow: reform that quietly rebrands coercion as care.
The intent is to collapse a wide, messy spectrum of socialist thought into a single, maximalist caricature: government as universal manager, individual choice as collateral damage. Tucker, a prominent American individualist anarchist, was fighting a two-front war in the late 19th and early 20th century: against corporate capitalism as it actually existed (propped up by state-granted privilege), and against collectivist currents that answered exploitation with central authority. His subtext is that the state is not a neutral tool that can be repurposed for justice; it's a machine with a built-in appetite for control.
"Regardless of individual choice" is the moral fuse. Tucker isn't arguing policy efficiency; he's arguing legitimacy. He implies that the moment your program requires overriding personal agency, it stops being emancipation and becomes administration. In the context of an era obsessed with "scientific" governance, expert commissions, and grand social planning, Tucker's line reads like an early warning about progressivism's shadow: reform that quietly rebrands coercion as care.
Quote Details
| Topic | Freedom |
|---|
More Quotes by Benjamin
Add to List
