THE CONCEPT OF WOMEN’S EQUALITY IN THE CREATIVE ACTIVITY OF THOMAS SPENCE

Abstract

The article is devoted to the political doctrine of Thomas Spence, English radical of the second half of the XVIII century. In particular, it examines his views on women’s rights. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the pamphlet “Rights of Infants” and the tractate “the Constitution of the Perfect Commonwealth”, as well as of the utopian work “the Constitution of Spensonia”. The article sums up the results of studying Thomas Spence’s social and political views by European researchers. The idea about the key issue of his theory being the claim of women’s equality is substantiated. In conclusion, the article reveals the influence of Thomas Spence’s ideas on the formation of the first wave of the suffrage movement.

Keywords

• radicalism
• political rights
• suffrage movement
• feminism
• private land property
• utopia.