The Real Rights of Man

Thomas Spence, a British pamphleteer, advocated for the socialization of land in his work "The Real Rights of Man." He proposed that land should be collectively owned by democratically organized local corporations. These corporations would then rent out the land at reasonable rates, distributing the profits to the inhabitants, thereby eliminating the need for taxes. Spence believed that in their natural state, humans held land in common, and private property was an act of usurpation. He was imprisoned for publishing pamphlets that authorities found objectionable, including "The Restorer of Society to its Natural State". His followers later organized the Society of Spencean Philanthropists. The concept of "rights of Man" was influential during the Enlightenment and revolutionary periods, though the term "human rights" is more recent.123