There are two fundamental issues when it comes to thinking about women in the classical liberal tradition. First, what did women bring to classical liberalism as a body of thought? Second, what does classical liberalism as a body of thought have to say about the issue of women’s rights?
I recently received an email asking where an interested undergraduate student could start reading about these issues, so I decided to put together a short and easy reading list for anyone looking to start thinking about rights women in the classical liberal tradition.
First, get started easily and inexpensively with the Fraser Institute program The essential women of freedom. I’m a bit biased because I contributed the chapter on Elinor Ostrom, but overall the volume is well-written, well-researched, and informative. Plus, the fact that the entire book is less than 150 pages and the chapters can be downloaded individually make it a great resource both in the classroom and for those looking for a general overview to start filling in their own gaps.
The first chapters of the book are an excellent introduction to “the woman question” in classical liberal thought: do we owe equal rights and consideration to these creatures who seem so different from “us” (ie the male intellectuals)? Sylvana Tomaselli’s chapter on Mary Wolstonecraft and David Levy and Sandra Peart’s chapter on Harriet Martineau are particularly valuable given the significance of Wollstonecraft and Martineau’s contributions relative to the attention they have received. Similarly, the chapters on Mary Paley Marshall, Rose Director Friedman, Isabel Paterson and Anna Schwartz do a superb job of educating on the sometimes overlooked contributions of women in their 20s.e economic thought of the century.
Second, although there are many important and rich original texts on these issuesthere are two absolutely essential (tells me) before 20e classic liberal texts of the century on women’s rights. The first of these is that of Mary Wollstonecraft Defense of women’s rights. A key theme to read in Wollstonecraft’s text is the question of how it shapes and changes a person to live in conditions of subjection and unfreedom, how it blunts that person’s potential to contribute to the world and to be really at its best. In addition to her classical liberal perspective, Wollstonecraft is considered a kind of mother of modern liberal feminism in general. As such, her work suggests that there is a strong case to be made for women’s liberation to be firmly grounded in classical liberal theory.
The second essential primordial text is John Stuart MillIt is The subjugation of women. Although not often labeled as such, I consider it important as a start institutionalist approach to women’s rights issues. Mill focuses on the idea that women and men have often been ruled by alternate sets of rules and laws, and that this has naturally – but often for the worse – shaped the choices and potential of people of both genders. .
Once these foundations are covered, there are a number of directions one could take in carrying out this inquiry into women and classical liberalism throughout the 20e and in the 21st century. In addition to the chapters of Essential women of freedom on more recent contributors like Jane Jacobs, Elinor Ostrom and Deirdre McCloskey, Wendy McElroy compiled a 2002 volume titled Freedom for Women: Freedom and Feminism in the 21st Century which connects the classical liberal foundations of women’s rights to a wide range of contemporary applied topics. In addition, there has been a more recent resurgence of interest in issues related to the relationship between economic freedom and the well-being of women in Rosie Fike, Chelsea Follet, myselfand an ever-growing number of others.
Who else would you add to this list of places to start reading about women in the classical liberal tradition?
[Editor’s Note: We also suggest the current Liberty Matters Forum at the Online Library of Liberty, Why Do We Need Feminist Economics? to which Lemke contributes.]
Jayme Lemke is Senior Fellow and Associate Director of Academic and Student Programs at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center and Senior Fellow of the FA Hayek Program for Advanced Studies in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.