The Center for a Stateless Society has named Kevin Carson the inaugural holder of its Karl Hess Chair in Social Theory.

Carson, a C4SS senior fellow, is the author of three books — Studies in Mutualist Political Economy, Organization Theory: A Libertarian Perspective, and The Homebrew Industrial Revolution — as well as C4SS research studies on topics including land ownership and intellectual property and articles in publications including The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty. Studies in Mutualist Political Economy was the focus of a symposium in the Journal of Libertarian Studies.

The chair honors Karl Hess, who played a key role in fostering the alliance between libertarians and the New Left that briefly flourished in the 1960s. Hess’s writings on topics ranging from appropriate technology to the reconfiguration of the political spectrum have helped to shape the left-libertarian project to which the Center is committed.

“Kevin Carson is one of the most creative and influential thinkers on the contemporary anarchist and libertarian scene,” said C4SS board chair Sheldon Richman. “I can’t think of a better occupant for this chair.”