Benjamin Constant

Benjamin Constant (1767-1830) was a French thinker, writer and politician.

Constant was born near Lausanne, in Switzerland, to descendants of Huguenots. He was educated at the universities at Erlangen and Edinburgh.

A classical liberal / libertarian author, he opposed the legitimacy of any government action outside the sphere of its proper duties, but didn't go all the way to anarchism.

His works include De la Souverainte du Peuple (On the Sovereignty of the People) (1815).