- Thomas Spence
Thomas Spence (
June 21 ,1750 –September 8 ,1814 ) was a Radical democrat and advocate of the common ownership of land. He was born atNewcastle-on-Tyne ,England , the son of a Scottish netmaker and shoemaker.A dispute in connection with common land rights at Newcastle impelled him to the study of the land question. His scheme was not for land
nationalization but for the establishment of self-contained parochial communities, in which rent paid to theParish (wherein the absolute ownership of the land was vested) should be the onlytax of any kind.His pamphlet, "The Real Rights of Man", which was first hawked in Newcastle under a different title in 1775, appeared in
London in 1793. It was reissued byHenry Hyndman under the title of "The Nationalization of the Land in 1775 and 1882". In the pamphlet, he developed "Spencean Philanthropy."
*All land would be held in common by each parish
*Profits from the rents were to be used to support the administration, public libraries and schools of the area
*Each parish would choose a representative for a national assembly
*Every adult male would be a member of the militiaSpence later left Newcastle for London, where he kept a book-stall in
High Holborn . In 1784 he spent six months in Newgate gaol for the publication of a pamphlet distasteful to the authorities, and in 1801 he was sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment for seditiouslibel in connection with his pamphlet entitled "The Restorer of Society to its Natural State". He died in London on8 September 1814.His admirers formed a "Society of Spencean Philanthropists," of which some account is given in
Harriet Martineau 's "England During the Thirty Years' Peace". [See also Davenport, "Life, Writings and Principles of Thomas Spence" (London, 1836)]References
External links
* [http://thomas-spence-society.co.uk thomas-spence-society.co.uk The Thomas Spence Society]
*Thomas Spence, [http://www.ditext.com/spence/rights.html "The Real Rights of Man", 1775.]
* M. Beer, ed., [http://www.ditext.com/beer/land.html "The Pioneers of Land Reform: Thomas Spence, William Ogilvie, Thomas Paine", 1920.]----
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