Scholar, bibliographer, writer, political
strategist, martial artist and fan of Elvis Presley, Chris R. Tame
will be best remembered as the founder of
the Libertarian Alliance.
In this capacity, he worked tirelessly for nearly 30 years to
recreate a British liberal tradition that had disintegrated, and to
establish clear title for those of his own views to the word
"libertarian". Tame was brought up in Godalming in Surrey, the only
child of a war veteran who had entered the print trade, and a nurse.
After attending a Church of England primary school and the local
grammar school, he went up to Hull University, from where he
graduated in 1971 with a degree in American Studies.
He settled in London at a time of great and continuing political
excitement. High inflation, rising unemployment, unsustainable
levels of taxation and state control, had raised doubts over the
legitimacy of the mixed-economy/ welfare-state settlement of the
1940s and of the political and social order that presided over it.
Allied with trade-union bosses, a generation of radicalised students
was plotting to replace the old order with some socialist utopia.
They were resisted by various conservative and free market policy
institutes, all more or less funded by big business. The boundaries
of debate had never been so wide.
Though he worked for a number of these policy institutes - mainly
the Institute of Economic Affairs and the National Association for
Freedom (now renamed the Freedom Association) - Tame was concerned
that an older and more traditional voice should be heard again. This
was the voice of English classical liberalism - the liberalism of
John Locke and Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill and Herbert Spencer
among others. This was a voice that spoke of freedom not simply as a
set of incentives to raise the gross national product, nor as some
vague call to liberation in all matters but economic. It was a voice
that spoke of freedom in the social, political and economic aspects
of human life. The right to make money as a private landlord rested
on the same grounds as the right to inject heroin or to attend
sadomasochistic orgies in the open air.
The Libertarian Alliance emerged from a series of discussions among
friends. In these, Tame distinguished himself by his speculative
boldness and his organisational ability. When the time came to
formalise the structure of the Libertar-ianAliance-in1979-there was
no serious dispute that Tame was to be its leader.
His strategy as Director - and later, this year, as President - of
the Libertarian Alliance was to avoid the mistakes that had come
close to wrecking the much larger and richer American movement.
British libertarianism would not be sectarian. In all the usual
debates - natural rights or utilitarianism as a foundation, or
anarchism or minimal statism as an object - the Libertarian Alliance
would take no corporate position. It would instead provide a forum
within which the debates could be held between friends.
At the same time, British libertarians would not put up candidates
for election. Without huge funding, political parties were a waste
of effort. They encouraged disputes over trifles and between
personalities. They almost demanded a softening of controversial
opinions. Above all, they never led to political success.
Chris Tame saw through the optimism of the late 1970s and early
Thatcher years. Where others saw a rolling back of the state, he saw
in privatisation only a more rational - and thus a more efficient -
type of statist control. "These new markets are never free," he once
said, "and they are always dominated by the ruling class." He
believed that the second half of the 20th century had seen a
collapse of the moral and social and intellectual foundations of
English liberty, and that there was no short-term strategy for its
restoration. British libertarianism was not in the same position as
socialism in 1945. It was in the same position as socialism in 1845.
Therefore, it was necessary to work a step at a time towards some
future intellectual hegemony. Rather than propagandise the masses,
libertarians had to win over the intellectuals to the point where
they would do the propagandising. This meant a programme of
scholarship and intensive publication. Radio and television
appearances were useful, but were as nothing compared with a
well-referenced pamphlet setting the case against compulsory
seatbelt laws or limited liability laws that turned free markets
into corporatist playgrounds.
And so Tame worked hard and without respite to advance a long-term
agenda of intellectual change. He worked on in the face of personal
and professional disappointments. During the 1980s and 1990s, he
gathered around himself a diverse circle of writers and activists
who shared his commitment to putting the libertarian case. By the
end of the 20th century, there was no doubt that the Libertarian
Alliance was part of the furniture of political debate in Britain.
Radio presenters no longer asked its spokesmen, "Tell me, John -
what is the Libertarian Alliance?"
Tame also advanced the cause in a number of separate but similar
ventures. As Manager of the Alternative Bookshop between 1979 and
1985, he provided a physical base in central London for libertarians
from all over the world. This was particularly important in a world
not yet blessed with the internet. He also managed to sell large
numbers of books about liberty - including such titles of his own as
Taxation is Theft (1979). At the time of his death he was working on
a seven-volume Bibliography of Freedom.
As Director of the Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy
Smoking Tobacco (Forest) between 1988 and 1995, he was able to put
his ideas about winning the battle of ideas to memorable effect. In
his time, he wore out three directors of the main anti-smoking
pressure group. And he forced the anti-tobacco movement to stop
complaining about the alleged harm of tobacco to those who smoked it
and instead about those exposed to the smoking of others.
In July 2005, Chris Tame was diagnosed with a rare and very
aggressive form of bone cancer. Though only 55 at the time, and
though he had avoided all those vices commonly believed to be
dangerous, he took this diagnosis with great calmness. During the
next eight months, he faced his approaching end with a fortitude and
good-humour that was an inspiration to those around him.
To the very end, he retained a keen interest in public affairs and
in the welfare of his friends and loved ones. On his last day, he
made sure to check his e-mails.
Christopher Ronald Tame, bibliographer and political activist:
born Enfield, Middlesex 20 December 1949' Director, Libertarian
Alliance 1979-2006, President 2006' Manager, Alternative Bookshop
1979-85' Director, Forest1988-95' married 1977 Judy Englander
(marriage dissolved 1992), 1994 Maria O'Sullivan (marriage dissolved
1998)'died London 20 March 2006.