the forgotten man.

a sumner reader

William Graham Sumner was one of the great classical liberals of the postbellum 19th century, and he wrote extensively.  Much of his work is available online in .pdf format, but more and more of his essays are being published on mises.org and wikisource.  The following is a small sampling of his work:

• The plight of the man who just wants to be left alone: "The Forgotten Man"
• The effect of government involvement in society: "State Interference"
• Book-length treatment of social classes: What Social Classes Owe to Each Other
• The destruction of the middle class: "What Makes the Rich Richer and the Poor Poorer?"
• The folly of imperialism: "The Fallacy of Territorial Extension"

I'll continue to update this post with more of his works as they become available in easy-to-read online editions.  For a good dead-tree edition, see Liberty Fund.