Ernest Benn facts for kids
Sir Ernest John Pickstone Benn (born June 25, 1875 – died January 17, 1954) was a British publisher, writer, and public speaker. He was known for sharing his ideas about politics and the economy. His father, John Benn, was a well-known politician who received a special honor called a baronetcy in 1914. Ernest Benn was also the uncle of Tony Benn, another famous politician from the Labour Party.
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About Ernest Benn
Ernest Benn was born in Oxted, a town in Surrey, England. He went to the Central Foundation Boys' School. During World War I, he worked for the government in the Ministry of Munitions. This ministry helped make weapons and supplies for the war. At first, he believed that the government should be very involved in how the country's money and businesses worked.
However, by the mid-1920s, he changed his mind. He started to believe in "laissez-faire" (pronounced "less-ay fair"). This idea means that the government should interfere as little as possible with businesses and the economy. He thought that people and businesses should be mostly free to make their own choices.
Benn's Ideas and Books
From the mid-1920s until he passed away in 1954, Ernest Benn wrote many books and pamphlets. These writings helped spread his ideas about how society and the economy should work. One of his most famous books was The Confessions of a Capitalist, first published in 1925. This book was very popular, selling a quarter of a million copies. In it, he argued that wealth comes from people trading things with each other, not just from the work put into making something.
Benn greatly admired writers like Samuel Smiles, who wrote about self-help and hard work. Benn once wrote to The Times newspaper, saying that he followed the ideas of important thinkers who believed in freedom and limited government. He felt that people should read many books by these thinkers before voting in elections.
Ernest Benn was also a member of the Reform Club, a famous club in London. He also helped start a group that later became known as the Society for Individual Freedom. This group worked to promote the idea of individual liberty.
Benn's Family Life
Ernest Benn married Gwendoline Dorothy Andrews on January 3, 1903. They were married in Edgbaston, a town in England. Their son, John Andrews Benn (1904–1984), later became the 3rd Baronet after his father.
Ernest Benn Limited Publishing
Besides his writing, Ernest Benn was also a main leader and manager of a publishing company. This company was first called Benn Brothers and later became known as Ernest Benn, Ltd. They published many books and other materials.
A Famous Quote
Ernest Benn is known for this quote:
"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies."
This quote is sometimes mistakenly thought to be from the comedian Groucho Marx, though the words are slightly different when attributed to Marx.
Books by Ernest Benn
- The Trade of To-morrow (1917)
- The Trade as a Science (around 1917)
- Trade Parliaments and their Work (1918)
- The Confessions of a Capitalist (1925)
- If I Were a Labour Leader (1926)
- The Return to Laisser Faire (1929)
- About Russia (1930)
- Debt (1938)
- Happier Days: Recollections and Reflections (1949)
- Governed to Death (1948)
- The State, the Enemy (1953)
