Wendy McElroy
Encyclopedia
Wendy McElroy is a Canadian
individualist anarchist and individualist feminist. She was a co-founder along with Carl Watner
and George H. Smith
of The Voluntaryist in 1982.
and condemning anti-pornography feminism campaigns. She has also voiced criticism of sexual harassment
policies, particularly the zero-tolerance policies common to grade schools, which she considers to be "far too broad and vague" and lacking the sound research necessary to guide responsible policy-making decisions.
, she says she has a "marked personal preference for capitalism as the most productive, fair and sensible economic system on the face of the earth," but also recognizes that the free market
permits other kinds of systems as well. She says what she wants for society is "not necessarily a capitalistic arrangement but a free market system in which everyone can make the peaceful choices they wish with their own bodies and labor." Therefore, she doesn't call herself a capitalist but someone for a "free market."
She credits Murray Rothbard
's book Man, Economy, and State: A Treatise on Economic Principles
as being "solely responsible for turning [her] from the advocacy of limited government
to a lifetime of work within the individualist-anarchist tradition."
and its head Julian Assange
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
individualist anarchist and individualist feminist. She was a co-founder along with Carl Watner
Carl Watner
Carl Watner is an American author and historian of libertarian studies, and a voluntaryist. He has written articles for Reason magazine, The Libertarian Forum, and The Journal of Libertarian Studies....
and George H. Smith
George H. Smith
George Hamilton Smith is an American author, editor, educator and speaker.-Biography:Smith grew up mostly in Tucson, Arizona, and attended the University of Arizona for several years before leaving without a degree; he relocated to Los Angeles during 1971. With the help of libertarian editor Roy A...
of The Voluntaryist in 1982.
Sex-positive
Among feminists, she identifies herself as being sex-positive: defending the availability of pornographyPornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
and condemning anti-pornography feminism campaigns. She has also voiced criticism of sexual harassment
Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment, is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment is illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and...
policies, particularly the zero-tolerance policies common to grade schools, which she considers to be "far too broad and vague" and lacking the sound research necessary to guide responsible policy-making decisions.
Capitalism and Government
In explaining her position in regard to capitalismCapitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
, she says she has a "marked personal preference for capitalism as the most productive, fair and sensible economic system on the face of the earth," but also recognizes that the free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
permits other kinds of systems as well. She says what she wants for society is "not necessarily a capitalistic arrangement but a free market system in which everyone can make the peaceful choices they wish with their own bodies and labor." Therefore, she doesn't call herself a capitalist but someone for a "free market."
She credits Murray Rothbard
Murray Rothbard
Murray Newton Rothbard was an American author and economist of the Austrian School who helped define capitalist libertarianism and popularized a form of free-market anarchism he termed "anarcho-capitalism." Rothbard wrote over twenty books and is considered a centrally important figure in the...
's book Man, Economy, and State: A Treatise on Economic Principles
Man, Economy, and State
Man, Economy, and State: A Treatise on Economic Principles, first published in 1962, is a book on economics by Murray Rothbard, and is one of the most important books in the Austrian School of economics...
as being "solely responsible for turning [her] from the advocacy of limited government
Limited government
Limited government is a government which anything more than minimal governmental intervention in personal liberties and the economy is generally disallowed by law, usually in a written constitution. It is written in the United States Constitution in Article 1, Section 8...
to a lifetime of work within the individualist-anarchist tradition."
Pro-Wikileaks
McElroy has been a vocal defender of the whistleblowing site WikiLeaksWikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
and its head Julian Assange
Julian Assange
Julian Paul Assange is an Australian publisher, journalist, writer, computer programmer and Internet activist. He is the editor in chief of WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website and conduit for worldwide news leaks with the stated purpose of creating open governments.WikiLeaks has published material...
.
Books
- National Identification Systems: Essays in Opposition, by Carl WatnerCarl WatnerCarl Watner is an American author and historian of libertarian studies, and a voluntaryist. He has written articles for Reason magazine, The Libertarian Forum, and The Journal of Libertarian Studies....
, Wendy McElroy, January 1, 2004 ISBN 0-7864-1595-9 - Debates of Liberty: An Overview of Individualist Anarchism, 1881-1908, February 1, 2003 ISBN 0-7391-0473-X
- Liberty for Women: Freedom and Feminism in the Twenty-First Century, May 1, 2002 ISBN 1-56663-435-0
- Sexual Correctness: The Gender-Feminist Attack on Women, June 2001
- Dissenting Electorate: Those Who Refuse to Vote and the Legitimacy of Their Opposition by Carl Watner, Wendy McElroy, January 1, 2001
- Individualist Feminism of the Nineteenth Century: Collected Writings and Biographical Profiles, January 1, 2001
- Queen Silver : The Godless Girl (Women's Studies (Amherst, N.Y.) by Wendy McElroy, Queen Selections Silver, December 1, 1999
- McElroy wrote Queen Silver: The Godless Girl about her friend Queen Selections Silver. Silver was a left-wing anarchist, but despite vigorous political difference, the two remained close.
- Freedom, Feminism, and the State by Wendy McElroy, Lewis Perry, February 1, 1999
- The Reasonable Woman: A Guide to Intellectual Survival, April 1, 1998
- XXX: A Woman's Right to Pornography by Wendy McElroy, Prelude Pr, 1995, ISBN 0-312-13626-9
- Liberty, 1881-1908: A Comprehensive Index, January 1982