# Hodgskin, Thomas (1787-1869) **URL:** **By** George H. Smith **Published:** August 15, 2008 --- Thomas Hodgskin was one of the most original libertarian theorists in Victorian England. His first major work was _Travels in the North of Germany _(1820). This two-volume travelogue, which is interspersed with political commentary on “the much governed countries of Germany,” frequently discusses the inefficiency and waste of governmental projects. Hodgskin even suggests that police functions should be placed in private hands. In 1825, Hodgskin published _Labour Defended against the Claims of Capital_, a tract cited repeatedly by Karl Marx and later to cause historians to claim that Hodgskin was a “Ricardian Socialist.” In fact, Hodgskin disliked Ricardo’s theories, vastly preferring the insights of Adam Smith, and he hated socialism even more. Although _sui generis _in many respects, Hodgskin is best categorized as an individualist anarchist. Hodgskin’s _Popular Political Economy _(1827), in addition to its defense of free-market currency, banking, and other libertarian institutions, anticipates some later insights by F. A. Hayek and other Austrian economists, such as the role of prices in transmitting crucial market information in a spontaneous economic order. His greatest contribution to libertarian theory was _The Natural and_ _Artificial Right of Property Contrasted _(1832), a vigorous defense of natural rights and a sustained critique of the utilitarianism and legal positivism of Jeremy Bentham and his followers. In 1846, Hodgskin became senior editor for _The Economist_, where for many years he continued to defend libertarian causes, such as voluntary education and opposition to capital punishment. It was during his tenure with this influential publication that Hodgskin befriended Herbert Spencer, then a junior editor on the magazine. **Further Readings** Hodgskin, Thomas. _Labor Defended against the Claims of Capital_. New York: A. M. Kelley, 1969. ———. _The Natural and Artificial Right of Property Contrasted_. Clifton, NJ: A. M. Kelley, 1973. ———. _Popular Political Economy_. New York: A. M. Kelley, 1966. Marx, Karl. _Capital_. New York: International Publishers, 1967. Smith, Adam. _An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations_. Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Classics, 1981.