The Politics of Individualism: Liberalism, Liberal Feminism and Anarchism

In The Politics of Individualism L. Susan Brown argues for a new vision of human freedom which incorporates the insights of feminism and liberalism into a form of anarchism based on what she calls 'existential individualism.' The work focuses specifically on the similarities and differences of these political philosophies, by critically examining the liberal feminist writings of John Stuart Mill, Betty Friedan, Simone de Beauvoir and Janet Radcliffe Richards, paying special attention to the issues of employment, education, marriage and the family, and governmental politics. These works are, in turn, compared and contrasted to the anarcho-feminism of Emma Goldman. Finally, as feminism as a whole movement is subjected to a rigorous critique, in terms of its overall liberatory potential, what emerges is a compelling look at feminist anarchism, describing 'what ought to be--and what could be.'