State Education and the 19th Century Voluntaryist Movement

George H. Smith shares with the audience his discovery of the writings of the 19th-​century voluntaryists in England.

George H. Smith

George H. Smith was formerly Senior Research Fellow for the Institute for Humane Studies, a lecturer on American History for Cato Summer Seminars, and Executive Editor of Knowledge Products. Smith’s fourth and most recent book, The System of Liberty, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2013.

George H. Smith was formerly Senior Research Fellow for the Institute for Humane Studies, a lecturer on American History for Cato Summer Seminars, and Executive Editor of Knowledge Products. He authors a weekly essay series, Excursions, at Lib​er​tar​i​an​ism​.org.

In this lecture from a Center for Libertarian Studies conference in 1981, Smith shares with the audience his discovery of an entirely new body of libertarian literature: the writings of the 19th-​century voluntaryists in England, particularly their insistence on a separation between the church and the state and their writings about resisting a British state education system.