As I was trying to find readings for a summer study group on women in liberty/individualist feminism I realized that (to the best of my internet research ability) no reader or even listing of the best libertarian works written by women has been compiled. So I thought I might try to access the vast local knowledge of the readers of this blog. Lets put one together!
Ideally this will be a list of the best essays by or about women and libertarian ideas. I am familiar with the works of the three furies: Ayn Rand, Rose Wilder Lane, and Isabel Patterson. I am also familiar with the honorary fourth: Zora Neal Hurston. I found this great list to start the research, but it is biographical information, not essays. The Online Library of Liberty has a list of Women Authors on Liberty which is a good start, but gives no description of the works. If anyone knows if these are worth the time, comment and I’ll include it in the list.
Ideally the readings would be ones that are available online already so they can be easily accessed by all.
Here are the chapters and readings I have come up with so far: (If you know of something I haven’t included, let me know! If you think something shouldn’t be on this list please tell me why.)
Women’s Rights
- Jean-Antoine-Nicolas de Caritat Condorcet, The First Essay on the Political Rights of Women, 1789
- Mary Wollstonecraft,”The Subjugation of Women”, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
- Angelina Grimke, Rights and Responsibilities of Women (Boaz’s Libertarian Reader)
- Sarah Grimke, Woman as a Moral Being, (also in Boaz’s Libertarian Reader)
- Emma Goldman Women Suffrage
Individualist Feminism
- Claire Morgan, Feminism and Individualism
- Wendy McElroy, Introductory Essay to Individualist Feminism of the 19th Century
- Wendy McElroy, Mises Legacy to Feminism
Children’s Rights
- Maria Montessori, What are the rights of Children?,i, Advanced Montessori Method, Vol 1., p11.
- Karen I. Vaughn, Who owns the Children?
- Sarah Fitz-Claridge, Taking Children Seriously & the Future of Liberty
- Sarah Fitz-Claridge (with commentary by Lawrence White), Children’s Rights and the Law
- Murray Rothbard, Children and Rights (I know he is not a she, but I thought this essay was worthy of consideration.)
Economic & Social Theory
- Bettina Bein Graves, (essay?)
- Jane Jacobs, (is she considered a libertarian?)
- Emily Chamlee Wright
- (this is the section that I need the most help with!)
Philosophy of Freedom
- Isabel Paterson, ”The Humanitarian with the Guillotine“, The God of the Machine
- Rose Wilder Lane, Give Me Liberty
- Virginia Postrel, “After Socialism”
- Mary Ruwart, (essay?)
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The Association of Libertarian Feminists has a number of essays that might be appropriate. Have you looked at the website? http://www.alf.org. Joan Kennedy Taylor has written a whole book on the subject of individualist feminism: “Reclaiming the Mainstream: Individualist Feminism Rediscovered.” I have also written extensively on this topic and related ones and am working on a book on women resisters in the 19th century as well as editing a libertarian feminist anthology on current issues.