Anarchism & Justice

A collection of Childs’s essays on the moral philosophy and the role of the state—including his late-​in-​life repudiation of anarchy.

R
Roy A. Childs, Jr.

Roy A. Childs, Jr., was an essayist, lecturer, and critic. He first came to prominence in the libertarian movement with his 1969 “Open Letter to Ayn Rand,” and he quickly established himself as a major thinker within the libertarian tradition. Childs edited Libertarian Review from 1977 to 1981 and was a Cato Institute scholar from 1982 to 1984. He wrote and edited hundreds of book reviews for Laissez Faire Books from 1984 until his death in 1992. Some of his essays were collected in Liberty against Power, published by Fox & Wilkes.

“We must start out as anarchists, and have the advocates of the state make out their case,” writes Roy A. Childs, Jr., in “Anarchism and Justice,” the main essay in this collection of his works, newly published by Lib​er​tar​i​an​ism​.org Press. Childs goes on to present the strongest cases advocates of the state had offered to date, and finds none satisfying.

Essayist, lecturer, and critic Roy A. Childs, Jr., first came to prominence in the libertarian movement with his 1969 “Open Letter to Ayn Rand,” also included in this collection. He quickly established himself as a major thinker within the libertarian tradition. Anarchism & Justice collects some of his best essays on the moral philosophy and the role of the state—including his late-​in-​life repudiation of anarchy.

Anarchism & Justice features a comprehensive introduction by noted libertarian scholar George H. Smith, and covers both Childs’s life and the evolution of his thought.

This e-​book release includes the following essays:

  1. Anarchism and Justice
  2. Objectivism and the State: An Open Letter to Ayn Rand
  3. The Epistemological Basis of Anarchism: An Open Letter to Objectivists and Libertarians
  4. The Invisible Hand Strikes Back
  5. Anarchist Illusions