Swift was described in a political magazine in 1894 as "quiet in bearing, & possessed of a certain personal charm, winning in his manner before a conversational group, & very able before a promiscuous crowd.
After attending Western Reserve University for two years, he graduated from Williams College in 1879, subsequently receiving a philosophy fellowship from Johns Hopkins, earning his Ph.D. in political economy in 1885.
On returning to the US, he declined the offer of a college presidency and turned to work in the social settlement movement in Philadelphia and New York City.
Swift lost the support of many of his anarchist, pacifist and socialist followers when he stated that he was in favor of increased militarization and the US entry into the First World War.
Swift begins his book Human Submission with a series of anecdotes about suicide, death from starvation and other evils, illustrating the plight of the poor and unemployed.
He relates the story of a clerk who lost his job through illness and, unable to provide for his family, committed suicide by drinking carbolic acid.
Swift's writings were often more of a reaction to incidents of social injustice and as his outlook changed over time, his thinking is not presented in a systematic way in his works.
Swift's thinking shows tendencies towards anarchism, with his insistence on the sovereignty of the individual, and comments on class warfare leading to the overthrow of the existing corporate/capitalist system; socialism, with his advocacy of cooperative labour, support for the unemployed and social justice for the working poor; libertarianism, with his commitment to taking power from government and placing it in the hands of individuals and the redistribution of wealth through a voluntary, decentralized economic system based on democratic rule; fascism, with his support of militarism and draconian methods of controlling Jews; and Marxism, with his dedication to placing the means of production in the hands of the workers through public ownership of industry.
The dull, belligerent warriors came to dominate the peaceful artisans, resulting in the unimaginative brutes becoming the ruling class while the higher types were forced into the status of permanently subjugated producers.
"[16] Once the idea of the right to personal freedom was accepted, there were three fronts on which mankind must resist implacably, furiously and unceasingly until the masters fling off their vestments of power.
[17] Although Swift was writing about public ownership of industry, his statements have been taken as advocating open class warfare, encouraging individuals to seize the property of the rich.
He advocated the nationalization of railroads, the telegraph industry, mines and other businesses as well as programs to create jobs for the unemployed through the establishment of farms and factories.
Swift believed that education should not be the mere memorization of facts imposed by an oppressive system, but a turning loose of the creative faculties through the free release of knowledge and wisdom.
"[15] With his evolutionary approach to human development, Swift traced the ignorance and superstition of Christianity to the religion of the Old Testament, a product of the "Hebrew mentality.