Sean Gabb
Encyclopedia
Libertarian Alliance
The Libertarian Alliance comprises two libertarian think tanks in Great Britain that promote free-market economics and civil liberties...
, a British free market and civil liberties think-tank..
Career
Sean Gabb joined the Libertarian Alliance in 1979. He graduated in History from the University of YorkUniversity of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
in 1982. In 1998 he gained a PhD in Political and Intellectual History from the University of Middlesex. He became the Director of the Libertarian Alliance in 2006, shortly before the death of its founder Chris Tame
Chris Tame
Dr Chris Ronald Tame was a British libertarian political activist. He is best known as the founder and Director of the Libertarian Alliance, a free market and civil liberties think tank.-Early years:...
.
In 1991 and 1992 he was the Economic and Political Adviser to Jan Carnogursky
Ján Carnogurský
Ján Čarnogurský is a former Slovak politician, a former Prime Minister of Slovakia and the former chairman of the Christian Democratic Movement .He is married and has 4 children.- Before 1989 :...
, the Prime Minister of Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
where he was attacked for being a free market radical. He was a director of the Sudan Foundation which existed "to promote better relations between the British and Sudanese peoples". He resigned from this post in January 1999.
Political writing
Sean Gabb has written on a number of conservative leaning websites including vdareVDARE
VDARE.com, or VDARE, is a website that advocates reduced immigration, especially illegal immigration, into the United States. Former Forbes editor Peter Brimelow supports the site through his VDARE Foundation, also known as Lexington Research Institute Limited...
and lewrockwell.com
LewRockwell.com
LewRockwell.com is a 501 libertarian web magazine operated by Burton Blumert , Lew Rockwell , Eric Garris , and others associated with the Center for Libertarian Studies ; its motto is "anti-state, anti-war, pro-market"...
. He has also written for newspapers such as The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
and the Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
The Birmingham Post newspaper was originally published under the name Daily Post in Birmingham, England, in 1857 by John Frederick Feeney. It was the largest selling broadsheet in the West Midlands, though it faced little if any competition in this category. It changed to tabloid size in 2008...
. He also wrote an obituary for Chris Tame
Chris Tame
Dr Chris Ronald Tame was a British libertarian political activist. He is best known as the founder and Director of the Libertarian Alliance, a free market and civil liberties think tank.-Early years:...
.
Political positions
Gabb is for the legalization of drugs and is an opponent of multiculturalismMulticulturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
and mass immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
as a political policy. He sees no harm in gay marriage or gay adoption, but defends the need to be able to speak in open criticism
Criticism
Criticism is the judgement of the merits and faults of the work or actions of an individual or group by another . To criticize does not necessarily imply to find fault, but the word is often taken to mean the simple expression of an objection against prejudice, or a disapproval.Another meaning of...
of homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
as part of his stance for freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
from political interference. He is an isolationist in foreign affairs (he is as much anti-American
Anti-Americanism
The term Anti-Americanism, or Anti-American Sentiment, refers to broad opposition or hostility to the people, policies, culture or government of the United States...
as Eurosceptic
Euroscepticism
Euroscepticism is a general term used to describe criticism of the European Union , and opposition to the process of European integration, existing throughout the political spectrum. Traditionally, the main source of euroscepticism has been the notion that integration weakens the nation state...
) and an advocate of the widest social and economic liberty. He has written in support of the monarchy
British monarchy
The monarchy of the United Kingdom is the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories. The present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has reigned since 6 February 1952. She and her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial and representational duties...
and House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, in defence of the rights of holocaust deniers
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
and in enabling a time limitation law on the charge of child abuse.
Gabb is controversial to some because of his views, for example: "the Commission for Racial Equality and all similar organisations should be abolished, and their records burned." Gabb explained this by often likening the British government to a police state
Police state
A police state is one in which the government exercises rigid and repressive controls over the social, economic and political life of the population...
, saying, "Every so often, someone stands up and tells us what benefits we have had from diversity. Such may be, but we must also consider that part of the price has been a police state. In this country, we have severe restrictions on freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
, on freedom of association and on freedom of contract - all in the name of good race relations." He compared the government to a police state as far back as 1989, when he wrote, "The Thatcher Government has brought into being the full coercive apparatus of a police state."
Regarding freedom of speech, Gabb has written: "It is no business of the State
State (polity)
A state is an organized political community, living under a government. States may be sovereign and may enjoy a monopoly on the legal initiation of force and are not dependent on, or subject to any other power or state. Many states are federated states which participate in a federal union...
to tell people what they can and cannot think. Our bodies are our own. Our minds are our own. What we do with them is our business." He has also said that the government "should cut benefits, taxes and regulation, and leave people alone. The people will do the rest." Gabb is against the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. He has said of immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
: "I do not necessarily object if people want to come to this country to look for a new life. I do object if they want this at my expense - at my expense as a tax payer, and at the expense of the constitutional rights which are my birthright."
In favor of free markets, Gabb has taken a position against limited liability corporations on that basis that they shield shareholders from their debt obligations, representing a state subsidy. He said in an Oxfam
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
debate that their creation was "one of the greatest legislative mistakes of the 19th century. Their existence is based on a separation of ownership from control. The owners are released from all responsibility."
Yasmin Alibhai Brown
The Libertarian AllianceLibertarian Alliance
The Libertarian Alliance comprises two libertarian think tanks in Great Britain that promote free-market economics and civil liberties...
did a press release stating that Sean Gabb had been invited to take part in a talk taped for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
on multi-culturalism, debating with Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown MBE is a Ugandan-born British journalist and author, who describes herself as a "leftie liberal, anti-racist, feminist, Muslim, part-Pakistani...a very responsible person"...
. Alibhai-Brown objected when Gabb said that the Libertarian Alliance believed the government's Commission for Racial Equality
Commission for Racial Equality
The Commission for Racial Equality was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom which aimed to tackle racial discrimination and promote racial equality. Its work has been merged into the new Equality and Human Rights Commission.-History:...
should be shut down, saying that without laws meant to control discrimination, it would occur more frequently. Gabb asked her, "Yasmin, are you saying that the indigenous
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
majority in this country is so seething with hatred and discontent that it is only restrained by law from rising up and tearing all the ethnic minorities to pieces?" To which Alibhai-Brown answered, "Yes."
Gabb asked if Alibhai-Brown seriously thought that Gabb wanted to murder her, at which point Gabb's voice was faded out, 20 minutes prior to the end of the debate. After this debate, it was alleged by the Libertarian Alliance that Gabb's microphone was shut off.
Candidlist
From 1999 to 2001, Gabb kept a website called the "Candidlist," which named UK Members of Parliament who held EurophilePro-European
Pro-European is a subjective term applied to a person who supports the idea of European unification and generally supports further 'deepening' of European integration, specifically in the context of political argument over the current and future status of the EU and its policies.-The Pro-European...
views. According to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
, after MP Ian Bruce
Ian Bruce
-Early life:He attended Chelmsford Technical High School. He studied Electronics at the University of Bradford, then an HNC in Electronics at Mid-Essex Technical College. He was a student apprentice at Marconi in Chelmsford from 1965-8. From 1968-9, he was a Work Study Engineer. From 1969-70, he...
was named on the site, Bruce emailed Gabb: "I hope you are very rich. Would you please let me both have a note of your postal address and where you would like me to serve court papers on you." After Bruce demanded, "Action this day... I will campaign tirelessly to retain the pound," Gabb wrote back, "I will make this reclassification before I go to bed tonight."
Novelist
In 2006, Gabb published a novel, "The Column of Phocas", under his own imprint, "Hampden Press". This was republished in 2008 by Hodder & Stoughton under the name "Richard Blake", and retitled "Conspiracies of Rome".Three more novels in the same series have been published by Hodder & Stoughton under the name Richard Blake: "The Terror of Constantinople" (2009), "The Blood of Alexandria" (2010), and "The Sword of Damascus" (2011).
Under his own name, Gabb has published "The Churchill Memorandum" (2011).
Partial bibliography
- Cultural Revolution, Culture War: How Conservatives Lost England and how to Get It Back, The Hampden Press, London, 2007.
- The Column of Phocas (historical novel), The Hampden Press, London, 2006.
- Trusting Brands in Society: The Quality and Value of Modern Medicine, Centre for the New EuropeCentre for the New EuropeThe Centre for the New Europe was a free-market think tank based in Brussels, and focused on EU issues such as economic growth, managing environmental change, health and welfare policy, competition policy, and innovation...
, Brussels, 2005. - Smoking, Class, and the Legitimation of Power, The Hampden Press, London, 2005.
- From Antitrust to Disaster: An Overview of European Union Competition Policy, Centre for the New Europe, Brussels, 2004.
- The Cost of European Environmental Regulations in the Accession Countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Centre for the New Europe, Brussels, 2004.
- Why Greater Freedom of Patient Information in European Healthcare Could Save Lives and Money, Centre for the New Europe, Brussels, 2004.
- War and the National Interest: Arguments for a British Foreign Policy, The Hampden Press, London, 2004.
- (With Dennis O'Keeffe) Markets, the Internet, and Morality, The Institute of Economic AffairsInstitute of Economic AffairsThe Institute of Economic Affairs , founded in 1955, styles itself the UK's pre-eminent free-market think-tank. Its mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social...
, London, 2003. - Why Trade Barriers between the European Union and the Developing World Should be Lowered, Centre for the New Europe, Brussels, 2003.
- Dispatches from a Dying Country: Reflections on Modern England, The Hampden Press, London, 2001.
- (With Dennis O'Keeffe and Pat Stoll (eds)) Issues in School Attendance and Truancy, Pitman Press, London, 1995.
- (With Dennis O'Keeffe) The Report of the North London Truancy Unit, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1994.
External links
- Sean Gabb's official website
- The Libertarian Alliance official website
- Media appearances by Gabb
- Candidlist, site kept by Gabb between 1999 and 2001 that detailed UK MPs' positions on the European Union