Book Description
The fiery polemic against the State, and the Constitution, from the individualist anarchist, together with an introduction, annotations and new afterword by James J Martin. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Best if read several times...
. We would be amiss to state the pamphlet as redundant upon a single reading. It sounded quite repetitive to me the first time I read it. But, when I tried to summarize the theme, I found that the points Spooner makes include several distinct areas of discussion. And, it builds to a climax. He ultimately points out the real rulers of this country, "... these soulless blood-money loan-mongers... And now these lenders of blood-money demand their pay; and the government, so called, becomes their tool, their servile, slavish, villainous tool, to extort it from the labor of both the North and the South."
. Spooner repeats in places for emphasis, but the thread of his argument sweeps on through the various objections that one might raise along his route.
. If you think it repeats, try to outline it. You'll find that each section presents his point in another light.
. As a matter of fact, any attempt to state the theme in a paragraph would lower it to a statement of personal opinion rather than the masterful essay which it is.

Dan Marks
Republic of Texas
.

An essay of flaws underlying the basis of this Republic.
It has been said in other places that Spooner raises a rather obscure point regarding the legitimacy of the U.S. Constitution. This point of view now writes him out of the history books.Another writer describes thisparticular work as the single most subversive piece ever written in theUnited States -- an opinion shared by those who are narrow-minded aboutgiving up their individual liberty.

If the Constitution has noauthority, what does? Is it power, like might making right, that controlsand restrains our liberties? Or is it the individual, who must live underthe rules of the coercive collective, through ballot counts of a minorityof the population, the "voters"?

And if the Constitution doeshave authority, does that authority include authorizing our government toabuse our rights as citizens and as people?

Spooner notes in hisopening, speaking of the original writers of the Constitution, "Ifthey had intended to bind their posterity to live under it, they shouldhave said that their object was, not 'to secure to them the blessings ofliberty,' but to make slaves of them; for if their 'posterity' are bound tolive under it, they are nothing less than the slaves of their foolish,tyrannical, and dead grandfathers." So starts the essay.

Destroyingall support for voting by secret ballot, for voluntarily paying taxes, for respecting elected officials (members of a "secret band of robbers andmurderers"), for recognizing treaties, for giving oaths to support theConstitution, etc, etc,... the essay makes all common wisdom built upon ouraccepted, politically correct fallacies collapse under the weight of ourown reason.

If you ever read this book, remember... ourrights are notgranted by government; rather, we institute government to protect ourrights.

Critique of the constitution and social contract in America
This is certainly a different way to look at an American citizen's relationship to society, the US Government, and the Constitution of the United States.I find it brilliant, if a bit redundant by the end.Spooner applies all of the various tests to which a lawyer submits a contract, to the relationship between citizen and Constitution.If you buy the precept that this is a pseudo-contractual relationship, then you will find that it is, as Spooner puts it, a "Constitution of no authority."

If you feel that this is not a contract, or that it is some sort of special contract, well then this book will probably just bore and/or annoy you.I am not sure how to understand the Constitution, or my participation in a tacit social contract, and found this book entirely compelling and wonderful.I buy many copies and hand them out to my long-suffering friends. ... Read more

From the Publisher
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. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

A MUST-READ for anyone who values TRUE liberty!
Few describe it or understand it (liberty and the lie that is government) better than Lysander.

Absolutely Concept-Shattering
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.

Brilliantly refutes "social contract" argument.
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 first place.A contract's validity comes not from government, but rather from Lockean natural law.

Statists attempt to justify government sovereignty via social contract theory, which states that taxation andgovernment 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.

It's hard not to like this guy...but....
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.

Civics 101
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 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 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? ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images from the Cornell University Library Samuel J. May Anti-Slavery Collection ... Read more

Product Description
This book gives a critical review of the "constitution of no authority" of United States. It is the constitution favouring individual power instead of joint authority. The author has engrossingly presented his view that the question of treason is distinct from that of slavery. ... Read more

Book Description
What is the motive to the secret ballot? This, and only this: Like other confederates in crime, those who use it are not friends, but enemies; and they are afraid to be known, and to have their individual doings known, even to each other. They can contrive to bring about a sufficient understanding to enable them to act in concert against other persons; but beyond this they have no confidence, and no friendship, among themselves.Download Description
What is the motive to the secret ballot? This, and only this: Like other confederates in crime, those who use it are not friends, but enemies; and they are afraid to be known, and to have their individual doings known, even to each other. They can contrive to bring about a sufficient understanding to enable them to act in concert against other persons; but beyond this they have no confidence, and no friendship, among themselves. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume will show "what the Common Law trial by jury really is," states the author.Download Description
That the legislation of the king was of no authority over a jury, is further proved by the oath taken by the kings at their coronation. This oath seems to have been substantially the same, from the time of the Saxon kings, down to the seventeenth century, as will be seen from the authorities hereafter given. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The Jury system, still(more) flawed after all these years
This book, which was written in the 19th century, is as vital and significant today as the Constitution-and perhaps more important to the modern reader because of changes mad within the court system(but not the legal system) in the past century.

This is a very short book, but covers a very important and neglected part of the limitations of Government power: the trial by jury.

Jury trial rights predate the foundation of the United States, beginning with the signing of the Magna Carta in England in 1215.So the principles of jury trial were long established in the British Common Law upon which US Federal Law and most states (all but Louisiana, which is based upon Napoleonic Law.)

"FOR more than six hundred years that is, since Magna Carta, in 1215 there has been no clearer principle of English or American constitutional law, than that, in criminal cases, it is not only the right and duty of juries to judge what are the facts, what is the law, and what was the moral intent of the accused; but that it is also their right, and their primary and paramount duty, to judge of the justice of the law, and to hold all laws invalid, that are, in their opinion, unjust or oppressive, and all persons guiltless in violating, or resisting the execution of, such laws."

The purpose of a selected jury is to represent the population or country as a whole to judge the defendant, who represents the rights of the people. (i.e. the people as a whole, represented by the jurors, decide whether or not they desire the freedom to perform whatever actions are on trial.)

The purpose oftrial by jury, is to permit a "trial by country," opposed to a "trial by Government."Thus, in the final analysis, it is up to the people to determine which laws have been set by their Government they truly wish to obey, and not the Government'swill alone.

This is not the model, which they taught you in school, and it is at variance with the statements frequently made in court by judges.(Whose purpose in a jury trial is not to judge, but to provide order safety and advice.)

With an informed jury, no law may be enforced which the jury finds reprehensible, regardless of the opinions of the judges, legislators or police.Juries have the final say in whether or not a law is just and enforceable.

Truly, if this were otherwise, Tyranny is the result.If the Government declares the law, and the Government determines whether or not the law is valid, then the Peoiple have lost their freedom, and have only those freedoms left which the Government chooses to leave to them.

The legal mechanism is thus:The Legislature creates the law, the Executive puts the law into effect, and enforces the law, the Courts (in the form of the Jury, a randomly selected subset of the People,) determine if the law is valid.In our last hundred years, increasingly the function of the Courts, represented by the Jury, has come to be represented by the Judges, who are, of course, not a random selection of the People, but a selected part of the Government.

Our current Government has gone so far as to say that it will continue to hold (at least some) defendants, even if they are found innocent!

I highly recommend that all people subject to jury duty (adult citizens) read this book.Despite being written well over 100 years ago, it is quite clearly written, and being short and important to your liberty, will pay great dividends for the little time invested in reading.If you read one book this year, let this be the one.

Best book on the subject
To properly understand the reason for the system of trial by jury one can do no better than to read Spooner's essay.He covers the history of the concept and the proper role of the "judge" and the rights of the jury.The concept of Jury Nullification and the need for it become clear with a reading of his work.One reading of Spooner's essay and you will never view our judicial system in the same light. ... Read more

Book Description
In the midst of this endless variety of opinion, what man, or what body of men, has the right to say, in regard to any particular action, or course of action, "we have tried this experiment, and determined every question involved in it? We have determined it, not only for ourselves, but for all others? And, as to all those who are weaker than we, we will coerce them to act in obedience to our conclusions? We will suffer no further experiment or inquiry by any one, and, consequently, no further acquisition of knowledge by anybody?"Download Description
In the midst of this endless variety of opinion, what man, or what body of men, has the right to say, in regard to any particular action, or course of action, "we have tried this experiment, and determined every question involved in it? We have determined it, not only for ourselves, but for all others? And, as to all those who are weaker than we, we will coerce them to act in obedience to our conclusions? We will suffer no further experiment or inquiry by any one, and, consequently, no further acquisition of knowledge by anybody?" ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Terrible edition of a great work
Lysander Spooner -- libertarian, anarchist, feminist, legal theorist, anti-slavery activist, pro-labour activist, and economic reformer -- was one of the 19th century's greatest political thinkers, and his Vices Are Not Crimes is a well-argued critique of what today are called "victimless-crime laws."

But the Kessinger reprint edition is a disaster.It includes Spooner's footnote markers, but, through incredible sloppiness, omits all his actual footnotes!!!(It also misprints the subtitle of the book -- it's "A Vindication of Moral Liberty," not just "A Vindication.")

Try instead to get the out-of-print TANSTAAFL edition -- or else get the still-in-print Lysander Spooner Reader, which includes this work. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images from the Cornell University Library Samuel J. May Anti-Slavery Collection ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images from the Cornell University Library Samuel J. May Anti-Slavery Collection ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images from the Cornell University Library Samuel J. May Anti-Slavery Collection ... Read more

Product Description
Embellished with eloquent and pithy style, it states the defenses of freedom of choice. Spooner has blatantly offered a repudiation of proscription of the non-coercive vices and their effects on the human beings idiosyncratically. The book is rich with variety of opinion of mans dos and donts. Moreover, it is a rational evaluation of victimless crime laws. ... Read more

Product Description
Embellished with eloquent and pithy style, it states the defenses of freedom of choice. Spooner has blatantly offered a repudiation of proscription of the non-coercive vices and their effects on the human beings idiosyncratically. The book is rich with variety of opinion of mans dos and donts. Moreover, it is a rational evaluation of victimless crime laws. ... Read more

Product Description
Embellished with eloquent and pithy style, it states the defenses of freedom of choice. Spooner has blatantly offered a repudiation of proscription of the non-coercive vices and their effects on the idiosyncrasies of human beings. The book is rich with variety of opinion of man\'s dos and don\'ts. Moreover, it is a rational evaluation of crime laws. ... Read more

Product Description
This book gives a critical review of the constitution of no authority of United States. It is the constitution favouring individual power instead of joint authority. The author has engrossingly presented his view that the question of treason is distinct from that of slavery. ... Read more

Product Description
Embellished with eloquent and pithy style, it states the defenses of freedom of choice. Spooner has blatantly offered a repudiation of proscription of the non-coercive vices and their effects on the idiosyncrasies of human beings. The book is rich with variety of opinion of man\'s dos and don\'ts. Moreover, it is a rational evaluation of crime laws. ... Read more