Henry Louis Mencken (1880-1956) was an American journalist committed to defending the philosophy of individualism whereby each person is free to do what they wish so long as they do not harm others.
In MenckenÕs Conservatism, Benjamin Marks brings together H.L. MenckenÕs ideas and tries to find the common themes running through his thinking. He identifies conservatism as one such important theme. As Marks observes, ÒIt was only by... stretches of the imagination that [Mencken] could be perceived as anything other than a conservative libertarianÓ because Òhe doubted the goodness, honesty and truth of all government and any religionÓ. Moreover, ÒMencken neither ruled out the possibility and success of a libertarian revolution, nor thought it would happen soon. His expectations were invariably conservativeÓ.