"Anarchism: its philosophy and ideal." San Francisco: Free Society, 1898.

ANARCHIS:
Its !hilosophy
and ldeal.
"#
!$%$R
&R'!'%&IN.
ANARCH#.
______
(Translated from the German by
Harry Lyman Koopman.)
______
Ever reviled, accursed,n!er
understood,
Thou art the "risly terror of our
a"e.
#$rec% of all order,# cry the
multitude,
#&rt thou, and 'ar and murder!s
endless ra"e.#
(, let them cry. To them that ne!er
have striven,
The truth that lies behind a 'ord
to find,
To them the 'ord!s ri"ht meanin"
'as not "iven.
They shall continue blind amon"
the blind.
)ut thou, ( 'ord, so clear, so
stron", so pure,
That sayest all 'hich * for "oal
have ta%en.
* "ive thee to the future+ Thine
secure
$hen each at last unto himself
shall 'a%en.
,omes it in sunshine- *n the
tempest!s thrill-
* cannot tell......but it the earth
shall see+
* am an &narchist+ $herefore *
'ill
.ot rule, and also ruled * 'ill not
be+
/ohn Henry 0ac%ay.

*T is not 'ithout a certain hesitation that * have decided to ta%e the
philosophy and ideal of &narchy as the sub1ect of this lecture.
Those 'ho are persuaded that &narchy is a collection of visions relatin" to the
future, and an unconscious strivin" to'ard the destruction of all present
civili2ation, are still very numerous3 and to clear the "round of such pre1udices of
our education as maintain this vie' 'e should have, perhaps, to enter into many
details 'hich it 'ould be difficult to embody in a sin"le lecture. 4id not the
5arisian press, only t'o or three years a"o, maintain that the 'hole philosophy
of &narchy consisted in destruction, and that its only ar"ument 'as violence-
.evertheless &narchists have been spo%en of so much lately, that part of the
public has at last ta%en to readin" and discussin" our doctrines. 6ometimes men
have even "iven themselves trouble to reflect, and at the present moment 'e
have at least "ained a point7 it is 'illin"ly admitted that &narchists have an ideal.
Their ideal is even found too beautiful, too lofty for a society not composed of
superior bein"s.
)ut is it not pretentious on my part to spea% of a philosophy, 'hen, accordin"
to our critics, our ideas are but dim visions of a distant future- ,an &narchy
pretend to possess a philosophy, 'hen it is denied that 6ocialism has one-
This is 'hat * am about to ans'er 'ith all possible precision and clearness,
only as%in" you to e8cuse me beforehand if * repeat an e8ample or t'o 'hich *
have already "iven at a London lecture, and 'hich seem to be best fitted to
e8plain 'hat is meant by the philosophy of &narchism.
9ou 'ill not bear me any ill'ill if * be"in by ta%in" a fe' elementary
illustrations borro'ed from natural sciences. .ot for the purpose of deducin"
our social ideas from themfar from it3 but simply the better to set off certain
relations, 'hich are easier "rasped in phenomena verified by the e8act sciences
than in e8amples only ta%en from the comple8 facts of human societies.
$ell, then, 'hat especially stri%es us at present in e8act sciences, is the
profound modification 'hich they are under"oin" no', in the 'hole of their
conceptions and interpretations of the facts of the universe.
There 'as a time, you %no', 'hen man ima"ined the earth placed in the
center of the universe. 6un, moon, planets and stars seemed to roll round our
"lobe3 and this "lobe, inhabited by man, represented for him the center of
creation. He himselfthe superior bein" on his planet'as the elected of his
,reator. The sun, the moon, the stars 'ere but made for him3 to'ard him 'as
directed all the attention of a God, 'ho 'atched the least of his actions, arrested
the sun!s course for him, 'afted in the clouds, launchin" his sho'ers or his
thunderbolts on fields and cities, to recompense the virtue or punish the crimes
of man%ind. :or thousands of years man thus conceived the universe.
9ou %no' also 'hat an immense chan"e 'as produced in the si8teenth
century in all conceptions of the civili2ed part of man%ind, 'hen it 'as
demonstrated that, far from bein" the centre of the universe, the earth 'as only
a "rain of sand in the solar systema ball, much smaller even than the other
planets3 that the sun itselfthou"h immense in comparison to our little earth, 'as
but a star amon" many other countless stars 'hich 'e see shinin" in the s%ies
and s'armin" in the mil%y'ay. Ho' small man appeared in comparison to this
immensity 'ithout limits, ho' ridiculous his pretensions+ &ll the philosophy of
that epoch, all social and reli"ious conceptions, felt the effects of this
transformation in cosmo"ony. .atural science, 'hose present development 'e
are so proud of, only dates from that time.
)ut a chan"e, much more profound, and 'ith far 'ider reachin" results, is
bein" effected at the present time in the 'hole of the sciences, and &narchy, you
'ill see, is but one of the many manifestations of this evolution.
Ta%e any 'or% on astronomy of the last century, or the be"innin" of ours. 9ou
'ill no lon"er find in it, it "oes 'ithout sayin", our tiny planet placed in the
center of the universe. )ut you 'ill meet at every step the idea of a central
luminarythe sun'hich by its po'erful attraction "overns our planetary 'orld.
:rom this central body radiates a force "uidin" the course of the planets, and
maintainin" the harmony of the system. *ssued from a central a""lomeration,
planets have, so to say, budded from it3 they o'e their birth to this
a""lomeration3 they o'e everythin" to the radiant star that represents it still7
the rhythm of their movements, their orbits set at 'isely re"ulated distances, the
life that animates them and adorns their surfaces. &nd 'hen any perturbation
disturbs their course and ma%es them deviate from their orbits, the central body
reestablishes order in the system3 it assures and perpetuates its e8istence.
This conception, ho'ever, is also disappearin" as the other one did. &fter
havin" fi8ed all their attention on the sun and the lar"e planets, astronomers are
be"innin" to study no' the infinitely small ones that people the universe. &nd
they discover that the interplanetary and interstellar spaces are peopled and
crossed in all ima"inable directions by little s'arms of matter, invisible, infinitely
small 'hen ta%en separately, but allpo'erful in their numbers. &mon" those
masses, some, li%e the bolide that fell in 6pain some time a"o, are still rather
bi"3 others 'ei"h but a fe' ounces or "rains, 'hile around them is 'afted dust,
almost microscopic, fillin" up the spaces.
*t is to this dust, to these infinitely tiny bodies that dash throu"h space in all
directions 'ith "iddy s'iftness, that clash 'ith one another, a""lomerate,
disinte"rate, every'here and al'ays, it is to them that today astronomers loo%
for an e8planation of the ori"in of our solar system, the movements that animate
its parts, and the harmony of their 'hole. 9et another step, and soon universal
"ravitation itself 'ill be but the result of all the disordered and incoherent
movements of these infinitely small bodiesof oscillations of atoms that manifest
themselves in all possible directions. Thus the center, the ori"in of force,
formerly transfered from the earth to the sun, no' turns out to be scattered and
disseminated7 it is every'here and no'here. $ith the astronomer, 'e perceive
that solar systems are the 'or% of infinitely small bodies3 that the po'er 'hich
'as supposed to "overn the system is itself but the result of the collisions amon"
those infinitely tiny clusters of matter, that the harmony of stellar systems is
harmony only because it is an adaptation, a resultant of all these numberless
movements unitin", completin", e;uilibratin" one another.
The 'hole aspect of the universe chan"es 'ith this ne' conception. The idea
of force "overnin" the 'orld, of pre established la', preconceived harmony,
disappears to ma%e room for the harmony that :ourier had cau"ht a "limpse of7
the one 'hich results from the disorderly and incoherent movements of
numberless hosts of matter, each of 'hich "oes its o'n 'ay and all of 'hich hold
each other in e;uilibrium.
*f it 'ere only astronomy that 'ere under"oin" this chan"e+ )ut no3 the same
modification ta%es place in the philosophy of all sciences 'ithout e8ception3
those 'hich study nature as 'ell as those 'hich study human relations.
*n physical sciences, the entities of heat, ma"netism, and electricity
disappear. $hen a physicist spea%s today of a heated or electrified body, he no
lon"er sees an inanimate mass, to 'hich an un%no'n force should be added. He
strives to reco"ni2e in this body and in the surroundin" space, the course, the
vibrations of infinitely small atoms 'hich dash in all directions, vibrate, move,
live, and by their vibrations, their shoc%s, their life, produce the phenomena of
heat, li"ht, ma"netism or electricity.
*n sciences that treat of or"anic life, the notion of species and its variations is
bein" substituted by a notion of the variations of the individual. The botanist and
2oolo"ist study the individualhis life, his adaptations to his surroundin"s.
,han"es produced in him by the action of drou"ht or damp, heat or cold,
abundance or poverty of nourishment, of his more or less sensitiveness to the
action of e8terior surroundin"s 'ill ori"inate species3 and the variations of
species are no' for the biolo"ist but resultantsa "iven sum of variations that
have been produced in each individual separately. & species 'ill be 'hat the
individuals are, each under"oin" numberless influences from the surroundin"s in
'hich they live, and to 'hich they correspond each in his o'n 'ay.
&nd 'hen a physiolo"ist spea%s no' of the life of a plant or of an animal, he
sees rather an a""lomeration, a colony of millions of separate individuals than a
personality one and indivisible. He spea%s of a federation of di"estive, sensual,
nervous or"ans, all very intimately connected 'ith one another, each feelin" the
conse;uence of the 'ellbein" or indisposition of each, but each livin" its o'n
life. Each or"an, each part of an or"an in its turn is composed of independent
cellules 'hich associate to stru""le a"ainst conditions unfavorable to their
e8istence. The individual is ;uite a 'orld of federations, a 'hole universe in
himself.
&nd in this 'orld of a""re"ated bein"s the physiolo"ist sees the autonomous
cells of blood, of the tissues, of the nervecenters3 he reco"ni2es the millions of
'hite corpusclesthe pha"ocytes'ho 'end their 'ay to the parts of the body
infected by microbes in order to "ive battle to the invaders. 0ore than that7 in
each microscopic cell he discovers today a 'orld of autonomous or"anisms, each
of 'hich lives its o'n life, loo%s for 'ellbein" for itself and attains it by "roupin"
and associatin" itself 'ith others. *n short, each individual is a cosmos of or"ans,
each or"an is a cosmos of cells, each cell is a cosmos of infinitely small ones3 and
in this comple8 'orld, the 'ellbein" of the 'hole depends entirely on the sum of
'ellbein" en1oyed by each of the least microscopic particles of or"ani2ed matter.
& 'hole revolution is thus produced in the philosophy of life.
)ut it is especially in psycholo"y that this revolution leads to conse;uences of
"reat importance.
<uite recently the psycholo"ist spo%e of man as an entire bein", one and
indivisible. =emainin" faithful to reli"ious tradition, he used to class men as "ood
and bad, intelli"ent and stupid, e"otists and altruists. Even 'ith materialists of
the ei"hteenth century, the idea of a soul, of an indivisible entity, 'as still upheld.
)ut 'hat 'ould 'e thin% today of a psycholo"ist 'ho 'ould still spea% li%e
this+ The modern psycholo"ist sees in man a multitude of separate faculties,
autonomous tendencies, e;ual amon" themselves, performin" their functions
independently, balancin", opposin" one another continually. Ta%en as a 'hole,
man is nothin" but a resultant, al'ays chan"eable, of all his divers faculties, of
all his autonomous tendencies, of brain cells and nerve centers. &ll are related so
closely to one another that they each react on all the others, but they lead their
o'n life 'ithout bein" subordinated to a central or"anthe soul.

$ithout enterin" into further details you thus see that a profound
modification is bein" produced at this moment in the 'hole of natural sciences.
.ot that this analysis is e8tended to details formerly ne"lected. .o+ the facts are
not ne', but the 'ay of loo%in" at them is in course of evolution3 and if 'e had to
characteri2e this tendency in a fe' 'ords, 'e mi"ht say that if formerly science
strove to study the results and the "reat sums (inte"rals, as mathematicians say),
today it strives to study the infinitely small onesthe individuals of 'hich those
sums are composed and in 'hich it no' reco"ni2es independence and
individuality at the same time as this intimate a""re"ation.
&s to the harmony that the human mind discovers in .ature, and 'hich
harmony is, on the 'hole, but the verification of a certain stability of phenomena,
the modern man of science no doubt reco"ni2es it more than ever. )ut he no
lon"er tries to e8plain it by the action of la's conceived accordin" to a certain
plan preestablished by an intelli"ent 'ill.
$hat used to be called #natural la'# is nothin" but a certain relation amon"
phenomena 'hich 'e dimly see, and each #la'# ta%es a temporary character of
causality3 that is to say7 *f such a phenomenon is produced under such
conditions, such another phenomenon 'ill follo'. .o la' placed outside the
phenomena7 each phenomenon "overns that 'hich follo's itnot la'.
.othin" preconceived in 'hat 'e call harmony in .ature. The chance of
collisions and encounters has sufficed to establish it. 6uch a phenomenon 'ill
last for centuries because the adaption, the e;uilibrium it represents has ta%en
centuries to be established3 'hile such another 'ill last but an instant if that
form of momentary e;uilibrium 'as born in an instant. *f the planets of our solar
system do not collide 'ith one another and do not destroy one another every day,
if they last millions of years, it is because they represent an e;uilibrium that has
ta%en millions of centuries to establish as a resultant of millions of blind forces. *f
continents are not continually destroyed by volcanic shoc%s, it is because they
have ta%en thousands and thousands of centuries to build up, molecule by
molecule, and to ta%e their present shape. )ut li"htnin" 'ill only last an instant3
because it represents a momentary rupture of the e;uilibrium, a sudden
redistribution of force.
Harmony thus appears as a temporary ad1ustment, established amon" all
forces actin" upon a "iven spota provisory adaptation3 and that ad1ustment 'ill
only last under one condition7 that of bein" continually modified3 of representin"
every moment the resultant of all conflictin" actions. Let but one of those forces
be hampered in its action for some time and harmony disappears. :orce 'ill
accumulate its effect3 it must come to li"ht, it must e8ercise its action, and if
other forces hinder its manifestation it 'ill not be annihilated by that, but 'ill
end by upsettin" the present ad1ustment, by destroyin" harmony, in order to find
a ne' form of e;uilibrium and to 'or% to form a ne' adaptation. 6uch is the
eruption of a volcano, 'hose imprisoned force ends by brea%in" the petrified
lavas 'hich hindered them to pour forth the "ases, the molten lavas, and the
incandescent ashes. 6uch, also, are the revolutions of man%ind.

&n analo"ous transformation is bein" produced at the same time in the
sciences that treat of man. Thus 'e see that history, after havin" been the
history of %in"doms, tends to become the history of nations and then the study of
individuals. The historian 'ants to %no' ho' the members, of 'hich such a
nation 'as composed, lived at such a time, 'hat their beliefs 'ere, their means
of e8istence, 'hat ideal of society 'as visible to them, and 'hat means they
possessed to march to'ard this ideal. &nd by the action of all those forces,
formerly ne"lected, he interprets the "reat historical phenomena.
6o the man of science 'ho studies 1urisprudence is no lon"er content 'ith
such or such a code. Li%e the ethnolo"ist he 'ants to %no' the "enesis of the
institution that succeed one another3 he follo's their evolution throu"h a"es, and
in this study he applies himself far less to 'ritten la' than to local customsto
the #customary la'# in 'hich the constructive "enius of the un%no'n masses has
found e8pression in all times. & 'holly ne' science is bein" elaborated in this
direction and promises to upset established conceptions 'e learned at school,
succeedin" in interpretin" history in the same manner as natural sciences
interpret the phenomena of .ature.
&nd, finally, political economy, 'hich 'as at the be"innin" a study of the
'ealth of nations, becomes today a study of the 'ealth of individuals. *t cares
less to %no' if such a nation has or has not a lar"e forei"n trade3 it 'ants to be
assured that bread is not 'antin" in the peasant!s or 'or%er!s cotta"e. *t %noc%s
at all doorsat that of the palace as 'ell as that of the hoveland as%s the rich as
'ell as the poor7 >p to 'hat point are your needs satisfied both for necessaries
and lu8uries-
&nd as it discovers that the most pressin" needs of ninetenths of each nation
are not satisfied, it as%s itself the ;uestion that a physiolo"ist 'ould as% himself
about a plant or an animal7# $hich are the means to satisfy the needs of all 'ith
the least lose of po'er- Ho' can a society "uarantee to each, and conse;uently
to all, the "reatest sum of satisfaction-# *t is in this direction that economic
science is bein" transformed3 and after havin" been so lon" a simple statement
of phenomena interpreted in the interest of a rich minority, it tends to become
(or rather it elaborates the elements to become) a science in the true sense of
the 'orda physiolo"y of human societies.

$hile a ne' philosophya ne' vie' of %no'led"e ta%en as a 'holeis thus
bein" 'or%ed out, 'e may observe that a different conception of society, very
different from that 'hich no' prevails, is in process of formation. >nder the
name of &narchy, a ne' interpretation of the past and present life of society
arises, "ivin" at the same time a forecast as re"ards its future, both conceived in
the same spirit as the abovementioned interpretation in natural sciences.
&narchy, therefore, appears as a constituent part of the ne' philosophy, and that
is 'hy &narchists come in contact, on so many points, 'ith the "reatest thin%ers
and poets of the present day.
*n fact, it is certain that in proportion as the human mind frees itself from
ideas inculcated by minorities of priests, military chiefs and 1ud"es, all strivin" to
establish their domination, and of scientists paid to perpetuate it, a conception of
society arises, in 'hich conception there is no lon"er room for those dominatin"
minorities. & society enterin" into possession of the social capital accumulated
by the labor of precedin" "enerations, or"ani2in" itself so as to ma%e use of this
capital in the interests of all, and constitutin" itself 'ithout reconstitutin" the
po'er of the rulin" minorities. *t comprises in its midst an infinite variety of
capacities, temperaments and individual ener"ies7 it e8cludes none. *t even calls
for stru""les and contentions3 because 'e %no' that periods of contests, so lon"
as they 'ere freely fou"ht out, 'ithout the 'ei"ht of constituted authority bein"
thro'n on the one side of the balance, 'ere periods 'hen human "enius too% its
mi"htiest fli"ht and achieved the "reatest aims. &c%no'led"in", as a fact, the
e;ual ri"hts of all its members to the treasures accumulated in the past, it no
lon"er reco"ni2es a division bet'een e8ploited and e8ploiters, "overned and
"overnors, dominated and dominators, and it see%s to establish a certain
harmonious compatibility in its midstnot by sub1ectin" all its members to an
authority that is fictitiously supposed to represent society, not by tryin" to
establish uniformity, but by ur"in" all men to develop free initiative, free action,
free association.
*t see%s the most complete development of individuality combined 'ith the
hi"hest development of voluntary association in all its aspects, in all possible
de"rees, for all ima"inable aims3 ever chan"in", ever modified associations
'hich carry in themselves the elements of their durability and constantly assume
ne' forms, 'hich ans'er best to the multiple aspirations of all.
& society to 'hich preestablished forms, crytali2ed by la', are repu"nant3
'hich loo%s for harmony in an everchan"in" and fu"itive e;uilibrium bet'een a
multitude of varied forces and influences of every %ind, follo'in" their o'n
course,these forces promotin" themselves the ener"ies 'hich are favorable to
their march to'ard pro"ress, to'ard the liberty of developin" in broad dayli"ht
and counterbalancin" one another.
This conception and ideal of society is certainly not ne'. (n the contrary,
'hen 'e analy2e the history of popular institutionsthe clan, the villa"e
community, the "uild and even the urban commune of the 0iddle &"es in their
first sta"es,'e find the same popular tendency to constitute a society accordin"
to this idea3 a tendency, ho'ever, al'ays trammelled by domineerin" minorities.
&ll popular movements bore this stamp more or less, and 'ith the &nabaptists
and their forerunners in the ninth century 'e already find the same ideas clearly
e8pressed in the reli"ious lan"ua"e 'hich 'as in use at that time. >nfortunately,
till the end of the last century, this ideal 'as al'ays tainted by a theocratic spirit3
and it is only no'adays that the conception of society deduced from the
observation of social phenomena is rid of its s'addlin"clothes.
*t is only today that the ideal of a society 'here each "overns himself
accordin" to his o'n 'ill ('hich is evidently a result of the social influences
borne by each) is affirmed in its economic, political and moral aspects at one and
the same time, and that this ideal presents itself based on the necessity of
,ommunism, imposed on our modern societies by the eminently social character
of our present production.
*n fact, 'e %no' full 'ell today that it is futile to spea% of liberty as lon" as
economic slavery e8ists.
#6pea% not of libertypoverty is slavery+# is not a vain formula3 it has
penetrated into the ideas of the "reat 'or%in"class masses3 it filters throu"h all
the present literature3 it even carries those alon" 'ho live on the poverty of
others, and ta%es from them the arro"ance 'ith 'hich they formerly asserted
their ri"hts to e8ploitation.
0illions of 6ocialists of both hemispheres already a"ree that the present form
of capitalistic appropriation cannot last much lon"er. ,apitalists themselves feel
that it must "o and dare not defend it 'ith their former assurance. Their only
ar"ument is reduced to sayin" to us7 #9ou have invented nothin" better+# )ut as
to denyin" the fatal conse;uences of the present forms of property, as to
1ustifyin" their ri"ht to property, they cannot do it. They 'ill practice this ri"ht as
lon" as freedom of action is left to them, but 'ithout tryin" to base it on an idea.
This is easily understood.
:or instance, ta%e the to'n of 5arisa creation of so many centuries, a product
of the "enius of a 'hole nation, a result of the labor of t'enty or thirty
"enerations. Ho' could one maintain to an inhabitant of that to'n 'ho 'or%s
every day to embellish it, to purify it, to nourish it, to ma%e it a centre of thou"ht
and artho' could one assert before one 'ho produces this 'ealth that the
palaces adornin" the streets of 5aris belon" in all 1ustice to those 'ho are the
le"al proprietors today, 'hen 'e are all creatin" their value, 'hich 'ould be nil
'ithout us-
6uch a fiction can be %ept up for some time by the s%ill of the people!s
educators. The "reat battalions (f 'or%ers may not even reflect about it3 but
from the moment a minority of thin%in" men a"itate the ;uestion and submit it to
all, there can be no doubt of the result. 5opular opinion ans'ers7 #*t is by
spoliation that they hold these riches+#
Li%e'ise, ho' can the peasant be made to believe that the bour"eois or
manorial land belon"s to the proprietor 'ho has a le"al claim, 'hen a peasant
can tell us the history of each bit of land for ten lea"ues around- &bove all, ho'
ma%e him believe that it is useful for the nation that 0r. 6oand6o %eeps a piece
of land for his par% 'hen so many nei"hborin" peasants 'ould be only too "lad
to cultivate it -
&nd, lastly, ho' ma%e the 'or%er in a factory, or the miner in a mine, believe
that factory and mine e;uitably belon" to their present masters, 'hen 'or%er
and even miner are be"innin" to see clearly throu"h 5anama scandals, bribery,
:rench, Tur%ish or other rail'ays, pilla"e of the 6tate and le"al theft, from 'hich
"reat commercial and industrial property are derived -
*n fact the masses have never believed in sophisms tau"ht by economists,
uttered more to confirm e8ploiters in their ri"hts than to convert e8ploited+
5easants and 'or%ers, crushed by misery and findin" no support in the 'ellto
do classes, have let thin"s "o, save from time to time 'hen they have affirmed
their ri"hts by insurrection. &nd if 'or%ers ever thou"ht that the day 'ould
come 'hen personal appropriation of capital 'ould profit all by turnin" it into a
stoc% of 'ealth to be shared by all, this illusion is vanishin" li%e so many others.
The 'or%er perceives that he has been disinherited, and that disinherited he 'ill
remain, unless he has recourse to stri%es or revolts to tear from his masters the
smallest part of riches built up by his o'n efforts3 that is to say, in order to "et
that little, he already must impose on himself the pan"s of hun"er and face
imprisonment, if not e8posure to *mperial, =oyal, or =epublican fusillades.

)ut a "reater evil of the present system becomes more and more mar%ed3
namely, that in a system based on private appropriation, all that is necessary to
life and to productionland, housin", food and toolshavin" once passed into the
hands of a fe', the production of necessities that 'ould "ive 'ellbein" to all is
continually hampered. The 'or%er feels va"uely that our present technical po'er
could "ive abundance to all, but he also perceives ho' the capitalistic system
and the 6tate hinder the con;uest of this 'ellbein" in every 'ay.
:ar from producin" more than is needed to assure material riches, 'e do not
produce enou"h. $hen a peasant covets the par%s and "ardens of industrial
filibusters and 5anamists, round 'hich 1ud"es and police mount "uard'hen he
dreams of coverin" them 'ith crops 'hich, he %no's, 'ould carry abundance to
the villa"es 'hose inhabitants feed on bread hardly 'ashed do'n 'ith sloe 'ine
he understands this.
The miner, forced to be idle three days a 'ee%, thin%s of the tons of coal he
mi"ht e8tract, and 'hich are sorely 4eeded in poor households.
The 'or%er 'hose factory is closed, and 'ho tramps the streets in search of
'or%, sees bric%layers out of 'or% li%e himself, 'hile onefifth of the population
of 5aris live in insanitary hovels3 he hears shoema%ers complain of 'ant of 'or%,
'hile so many people need shoesand so on.

*n short, if certain economists deli"ht in 'ritin" treatises on overproduction,
and in e8plainin" each industrial crisis by this cause, they 'ould be much at a
loss if called upon to name a sin"le article produced by :rance in "reater
;uantities than are necessary to satisfy the needs of the 'hole population. *t is
certainly not corn7 the country is obli"ed to import it. *t is not 'ine either7
peasants drin% but little 'ine, and substitute sloe 'ine in its stead, and the
inhabitants of to'ns have to be content 'ith adulterated stuff. *t is evidently not
houses7 millions still live in cotta"es of the most 'retched description, 'ith one
or t'o apertures. *t is not even "ood or bad boo%s, for they are still ob1ects of
lu8ury in the villa"es. (nly one thin" is produced in ;uantities "reater than
needed,it is the bud"etdevourin" individual3 but such merchandise is not
mentioned in lectures by political economists, althou"h those individuals possess
all the attributes of merchandise, bein" ever ready to sell themselves to the
hi"hest bidder.
$hat economists call overproduction is but a production that is above the
purchasin" po'er of the 'or%er, 'ho is reduced to poverty by ,apital and 6tate.
.o', this sort of overproduction remains fatally characteristic of the present
capitalist production, because5roudhon has already sho'n it'or%ers cannot
buy 'ith their salaries 'hat they have produced and at the same time copiously
nourish the s'arm of idlers 'ho live upon their 'or%.
The very essence of the present economic system is, that the 'or%er can
never en1oy the 'ellbein" he has produced, and that the number of those 'ho
live at his e8pense 'ill al'ays au"ment. The more a country is advanced in
industry, the more this number "ro's. *nevitably, industry is directed, and 'ill
have to be directed, not to'ards 'hat is needed to satisfy the needs of all, but
to'ards that 'hich, at a "iven moment, brin"s in the "reatest temporary profit
to a fe'. (f necessity, the abundance of some 'ill be based on the poverty of
others, and the straitened circumstances of the "reater number 'ill have to be
maintained at all costs, that there may be hands to sell themselves for a part only
of that 'hich they are capable of producin"3 'ithout 'hich, private accumulation
of capital is impossible+
These characteristics of our economical system are its very essence. $ithout
them, it cannot e8ist3 for, 'ho 'ould sell his labor po'er for less than it is
capable of brin"in" in, if he 'ere not forced thereto by the threat of hun"er-
&nd those essential traits of the system are also its most crushin"
condemnation.

&s lon" as En"land and :rance 'ere pioneers of industry, in the midst of
nations bac%'ard in their technical development, and as lon" as nei"hbors
purchased their 'ools, their cotton "oods, their sil%s, their iron and machines, as
'ell as a 'hole ran"e of articles of lu8ury, at a price that allo'ed them to enrich
themselves at the e8pense of their clients, the 'or%er could be buoyed up by
hope that he, too, 'ould be called upon to appropriate an ever and ever lar"er
share of the booty to himself. )ut these conditions are disappearin". *n their
turn, the bac%'ard nations of thirty years a"o have become "reat producers of
cotton "oods, 'ools, sil%s, machines and articles of lu8ury. *n certain branches of
industry they have even ta%en the lead, and not only do they stru""le 'ith the
pioneers of industry and commerce in distant lands, but they even compete 'ith
those pioneers in their o'n countries. *n a fe' years Germany, 6'it2erland, *taly,
the >nited 6tates, =ussia and /apan have become "reat industrial countries.
0e8ico, the *ndies, even 6ervia, are on the marchand 'hat 'ill it be 'hen ,hina
be"ins to imitate /apan in manufacturin" for the 'orld!s mar%et-
The result is, that industrial crises, the fre;uency and duration of 'hich are
al'ays au"mentin", have passed into a chronic state in many industries.
Li%e'ise, 'ars for (riental and &frican mar%ets have become the order of the
day since several years3 it is no' t'entyfive years that the s'ord of 'ar has
been suspended over European states. &nd if 'ar has not burst forth, it is
especially due to influential financiers 'ho find it advanta"eous that 6tates
should become more and more indebted. )ut the day on 'hich 0oney 'ill find
its interest in fomentin" 'ar, human floc%s 'ill be driven a"ainst other human
floc%s, and 'ill butcher one another to settle the affairs of the 'orld!s master
financiers.
&ll is lin%ed, all holds to"ether under the present economic system, and all
tends to ma%e the fall of the industrial and mercantile system under 'hich 'e
live inevitable. *ts duration is but a ;uestion of time that may already be counted
by years and no lon"er by centuries. & ;uestion of timeand ener"etic attac% on
our part+ *dlers do not ma%e history7 they suffer it+
That is 'hy such po'erful minorities constitute themselves in the midst of
civili2ed nations, and loudly as% for the return to the community of all riches
accumulated by the 'or% of precedin" "enerations. The holdin" in common of
land, mines, factories, inhabited houses, and means of transport is already the
'atch'ord of these imposin" fractions, and repressionthe favorite 'eapon of
the rich and po'erfulcan no lon"er do anythin" to arrest the triumphal march of
the spirit of revolt. &nd if millions of 'or%ers do not rise to sei2e the land and
factories from the monopolists by force, be sure it is not for 'ant of desire. They
but 'ait for a favorable opportunitya chance, such as presented itself in ?@A@,
'hen they 'ill be able to start the destruction of the present economic system,
'ith the hope of bein" supported by an *nternational movement.
That time cannot be lon" in comin"3 for since the *nternational 'as crushed
by "overnments in ?@BCespecially since thenit has made immense pro"ress of
'hich its most ardent partisans are hardly a'are. *t is, in fact, constitutedin
ideas, in sentiments, in the establishment of constant intercommunication. *t is
true the :rench, En"lish, *talian and German plutocrats are so many rivals, and
at any moment can even cause nations to 'ar 'ith one another. .evertheless, be
sure 'hen the ,ommunist and 6ocial =evolution does ta%e place in :rance,
:rance 'ill find the same sympathies as formerly amon" the nations of the
'orld, includin" Germans, *talians and En"lish. &nd 'hen Germany, 'hich, by
the 'ay, is nearer a revolution than is thou"ht, 'ill plant the fla"unfortunately a
/acobin oneof this revolution, 'hen it 'ill thro' itself into the revolution 'ith all
the ardor of youth in an ascendant period, such as it is traversin" today, it 'ill
find on this side of the =hine all the sympathies and all the support of a nation
that loves the audacity of revolutionists and hates the arro"ance of plutocracy.
4ivers causes have up till no' delayed the burstin" forth of this inevitable
revolution. The possibility of a "reat European 'ar is no doubt partly ans'erable
for it. )ut there is, it seems to me, another cause, a deeperrooted one, to 'hich *
'ould call your attention. There is "oin" on 1ust no' amon" the 6ocialistsmany
to%ens lead us to believe ita "reat transformation in ideas, li%e the one *
s%etched at the be"innin" of this lecture in spea%in" of "eneral sciences. &nd the
uncertainty of 6ocialists themselves concernin" the or"ani2ation of the society
they are 'ishin" for, paralyses their ener"y up to a certain point.
&t the be"innin", in the forties, 6ocialism presented itself as ,ommunism, as
a republic one and indivisible, as a "overnmental and /acobin dictatorship, in its
application to economics. 6uch 'as the ideal of that time. =eli"ious and
freethin%in" 6ocialists 'ere e;ually ready to submit to any stron" "overnment,
even an imperial one, if that "overnment 'ould only remodel economic relations
to the 'or%er!s advanta"e.
& profound revolution has since been accomplished, especially amon" Latin
and En"lish peoples. Governmental ,ommunism, li%e theocratic ,ommunism, is
repu"nant to the 'or%er. &nd this repu"nance "ave rise to a ne' conception or
doctrinethat of ,ollectivismin the *nternational. This doctrine at first si"nified
the collective possession of the instruments of production (not includin" 'hat is
necessary to live), and the ri"ht of each "roup to accept such method of
remuneration, 'hether communistic or individualistic, as pleased its members.
Little by little, ho'ever, this system 'as transformed into a sort of compromise
bet'een communistic and individualistic 'a"e remuneration. Today the
,ollectivist 'ants all that belon"s to production to become common property, but
that each should be individually remunerated by labor chec%s, accordin" to the
number of hours he has spent in production. These chec%s 'ould serve to buy all
merchandise in the 6ocialist stores at cost price, 'hich price 'ould also be
estimated in hours of labor.
)ut if you analy2e this idea you 'ill o'n that its essence, as summed up by
one of our friends, is reduced to this7
5artial ,ommunism in the possession of instruments of production and
education. ,ompetition amon" individuals and "roups for bread, housin" and
clothin". *ndividualism for 'or%s of art and thou"ht. The 6ocialistic 6tate!s aid
for children, invalids and old people.
*n a 'orda stru""le for the means of e8istence miti"ated by charity. &l'ays
the ,hristian ma8im7 #$ound to heal after'ards+# &nd al'ays the door open to
in;uisition, in order to %no' if you are a man 'ho must be left to stru""le, or a
man the 6tate must succor.
The idea of labor chec%s, you %no', is old. *t dates from =obert ('en3
5roudhon commended it in ?@A@3 0ar8ists have made #6cientific 6ocialism# of it
today.
$e must say, ho'ever, that this system seems to have little hold on the minds
of the masses3 it 'ould seem they foresa' its dra'bac%s, not to say its
impossibility. :irstly, the duration of time "iven to any 'or% does not "ive the
measure of social utility of the 'or% accomplished, and the theories of value that
economists have endeavored to base, from &dam 6mith to 0ar8, only on the cost
of production, valued in labor time, have not solved the ;uestion of value. &s
soon as there is e8chan"e, the value of an article becomes a comple8 ;uantity,
and depends also on the de"ree of satisfaction 'hich it brin"s to the needsnot of
the individual, as certain economists stated formerly, but of the 'hole of society,
ta%en in its entirety. Dalue is a social fact. )ein" the result of an e8chan"e, it has
a double aspect7 that of labor, and that of satisfaction of needs, both evidently
conceived in their social and not individual aspect.
(n the other hand, 'hen 'e analy2e the evils of the present economic system,
'e seeand the 'or%er %no's it full 'ellthat their essence lies in the forced
necessity of the 'or%er to sell his labor po'er. .ot havin" the 'here'ithal to
live for the ne8t fortni"ht, and bein" prevented by the 6tate from usin" his labor
po'er 'ithout sellin" it to someone, the 'or%er sells himself to the one 'ho
underta%es to "ive him 'or%3 he renounces the benefits his labor mi"ht brin"
him in3 he abandons the lion!s share of 'hat he produces to his employer3 he
even abdicates his liberty3 he renounces his ri"ht to ma%e his opinion heard on
the utility of 'hat he is about to produce and on the 'ay of producin" it.
Thus results the accumulation of capital, not in its faculty of absorbin"
surplusvalue but in the forced position the 'or%er is placed to sell his labor
po'er7 the seller bein" sure in advance that he 'ill not receive all that his
stren"th can produce, of bein" 'ounded in his interests, and of becomin" the
inferior of the buyer. $ithout this the capitalist 'ould never have tried to buy
him3 'hich proves that to chan"e the system it must be attac%ed in its essence7
in its causesale and purchase,not in its effect,apitalism.
$or%ers themselves have a va"ue intuition of this, and 'e hear them say
oftener and oftener that nothin" 'ill be done if the 6ocial =evolution does not
be"in 'ith the distribution of products, if it does not "uarantee the necessities of
life to allthat is to say, housin", food and clothin". &nd 'e %no' that to do this is
;uite impossible, 'ith the po'erful means of production at our disposal.
*f the 'or%er continues to be paid in 'a"es, lie necessarily 'ill remain the
slave or the subordinate of the one to 'hom he is forced to sell his labor forcebe
the buyer a private individual or the 6tate. *n the popular mindin that sum total
of thousands of opinions crossin" the human brainit is felt that if the 6tate 'ere
to be substituted for the employer, in his role of buyer and overseer of labor, it
'ould still be an odious tyranny. & man of the people does not reason about
abstractions, he thin%s in concrete terms, and that is 'hy he feels that the
abstraction, the 6tate, 'ould for him assume the form of numberless
functionaries, ta%en from amon" his factory and 'or%shop comrades, and he
%no's 'hat importance he can attach to their virtues7 e8cellent comrades today,
they become unbearable foremen tomorro'. &nd he loo%s for a social
constitution that 'ill eliminate the present evils 'ithout creatin" ne' ones.
That is 'hy ,ollectivism has never ta%en hold of the masses, 'ho al'ays
come bac% to ,ommunismbut a ,ommunism more and more stripped of the
/acobin theocracy and authoritarianism of the forties to :ree ,ommunism
&narchy.
.ay more7 in callin" to mind all 'e have seen durin" this ;uarter of a century
in the European 6ocialist movement, * cannot help believin" that modern
6ocialism is forced to ma%e a step to'ards :ree ,ommunism3 and that so lon" as
that step is not ta%en, the incertitude in the popular mind that * have 1ust pointed
out 'ill paraly2e the efforts of 6ocialist propa"anda.
6ocialists seem to me to be brou"ht, by force of circumstances, to reco"ni2e
that the material "uarantee of e8istence of all the members of the community
shall be the first act of the 6ocial =evolution.
)ut they are also driven to ta%e another step. They are obli"ed to reco"ni2e
that this "uarantee must come, not from the 6tate, but independently of the
6tate, and 'ithout its intervention.
$e have already obtained the unanimous assent of those 'ho have studied
the sub1ect, that a society, havin" recovered the possession of all riches
accumulated in its midst, can liberally assure abundance to all in return for four
or five hours effective and manual 'or% a day, as far as re"ards production. *f
everybody, from childhood, learned 'hence came the bread he eats, the house he
d'ells in, the boo% he studies, and so on3 and if each one accustomed himself to
complete mental 'or% by manual labor in some branch of manufacture,society
could easily perform this tas%, to say nothin" of the further simplification of
production 'hich a more or less near future has in store for us.
*n fact, it suffices to recall for a moment the present terrible 'aste, to
conceive 'hat a civili2ed society can produce 'ith but a small ;uantity of labor if
all share in it, and 'hat "rand 'or%s mi"ht be underta%en that are out of the
;uestion today. >nfortunately, the metaphysics called political economy has
never troubled about that 'hich should have been its essenceeconomy of labor.
There is no lon"er any doubt as re"ards the possibility of 'ealth in a
,ommunist society, armed 'ith our present machinery and tools. 4oubts only
arise 'hen the ;uestion at issue is, 'hether a society can e8ist in 'hich man!s
actions are not sub1ect to 6tate control3 'hether, to reach 'ellbein", it is not
necessary for European communities to sacrifice the little personal liberty they
have recon;uered at the cost of so many sacrifices durin" this century- & section
of 6ocialists believe that it is impossible to attain such a result 'ithout
sacrificin" personal liberty on the altar of the 6tate. &nother section, to 'hich
'e belon", believes, on the contrary, that it is only by the abolition of the 6tate,
by the con;uest of perfect liberty by the individual, by free a"reement,
association, and absolute free federation that 'e can reach ,ommunismthe
possession in common of our social inheritance, and the production in common of
all riches.
That is the ;uestion out'ei"hin" all others at present, and 6ocialism must
solve it, on pain of seein" all its efforts endan"ered and all its ulterior
development paralysed.
Let us, therefore, analyse it 'ith all the attention it deserves.
*f every 6ocialist 'ill carry his thou"hts bac% to an earlier date, he 'ill no
doubt remember the host of pre1udices aroused in him 'hen, for the first time,
he came to the idea that abolishin" the capitalist system and private
appropriation of land and capital had become an historical necessity.
The same feelin"s are today produced in the man 'ho for the first time hears
that the abolition of the 6tate, its la's, its entire system of mana"ement,
"overnmentalism and centrali2ation, also becomes an historical necessity7 that
the abolition of the one 'ithout the abolition of the other is materially
impossible. (ur 'hole educationmade, be it noted, by ,hurch and 6tate, in the
interests of bothrevolts at this conception.
*s it lass true for that- &nd shall 'e allo' our belief in the 6tate to survive the
host of pre1udices 'e have already sacrificed for our emancipation-
*t is not my intention to criticise toni"ht the 6tate. That has been done and
redone so often, and * am obli"ed to put off to another lecture the analysis of the
historical part played by the 6tate. & fe' "eneral remar%s 'ill suffice.
To be"in 'ith, if man, since his ori"in, has al'ays lived in societies, the 6tate
is but one of the forms of social life, ;uite recent as far as re"ards European
societies. 0en lived thousands of years before the first 6tates 'ere constituted3
Greece and =ome e8isted for centuries before the 0acedonian and =oman
Empires 'ere built up, and for us modern Europeans the centrali2ed 6tates date
but from the si8teenth century. *t 'as only then, after the defeat of the free
mediEval ,ommunes had been completed that the mutual insurance company
bet'een military, 1udicial, landlord, and capitalist authority 'hich 'e call
#6tate,# could be fully established.
*t 'as only in the si8teenth century that a mortal blo' 'as dealt to ideas of
local independence, to free union and or"ani2ation, to federation of all de"rees
amon" soverei"n "roups, possessin" all functions no' sei2ed upon by the 6tate.
*t 'as only then that the alliance bet'een ,hurch and the nascent po'er of
=oyalty put an end to an or"ani2ation, based on the principle of federation,
'hich had e8isted from the ninth to the fifteenth century, and 'hich had
produced in Europe the "reat period of free cities of the middle a"es, 'hose
character has been so 'ell understood in :rance by 6ismondi and &u"ustin
Thierryt'o historians unfortunately too little read no'adays.
$e %no' 'ell the means by 'hich this association of the lord, priest,
merchant, 1ud"e, soldier, and %in" founded its domination. *t 'as by the
annihilation of all free unions7 of villa"e communities, "uilds, trades unions,
fraternities, and mediEval cities. *t 'as by confiscatin" the land of the
communes and the riches of the "uilds3 it 'as by the absolute and ferocious
prohibition of all %inds of free a"reement bet'een men3 it 'as by massacre, the
'heel, the "ibbet, the s'ord, and the fire that ,hurch and 6tate established their
domination, and that they succeeded henceforth to rei"n over an incoherent
a""lomeration of sub1ects, 'ho had no direct union more amon" themselves.
*t is no' hardly thirty or forty years a"o that 'e be"an to recon;uer, by
stru""le, by revolt, the first steps of the ri"ht of association, that 'as freely
practised by the artisans and the tillers of the soil throu"h the 'hole of the
middle a"es.
&nd, already no', Europe is covered by thousands of voluntary associations
for study and teachin", for industry, commerce, science, art, literature,
e8ploitation, resistance to e8ploitation, amusement, serious 'or%, "ratification
and selfdenial, for all that ma%es up the life of an active and thin%in" bein". $e
see
these societies risin" in all noo%s and corners of all domains7 political,
economic, artistic, intellectual. 6ome are as shortlived as roses, some hold their
o'n since several decades, and all strive'hile maintainin" the independence of
each "roup, circle, branch, or sectionto federate, to unite, across frontiers as
'ell as amon" each nation3 to cover all the life of civili2ed men 'ith a net,
meshes of 'hich are intersected and inter'oven. Their numbers can already be
rec%oned by tens of thousands, they comprise millions of adherentsalthou"h less
than fifty years have elapsed since ,hurch and 6tate be"an to tolerate a fe' of
themvery fe', indeed.
These societies already be"in to encroach every'here on the functions of the
6tate, and strive to substitute free action of volunteers for that of a centrali2ed
6tate. *n En"land 'e see arise insurance companies a"ainst theft3 societies for
coast defense, volunteer societies for land defense, 'hich the 6tate endeavors to
"ot under its thumb, thereby ma%in" them instruments of domination, althou"h
their ori"inal aim 'as to do 'ithout the 6tate. $ere it not for ,hurch and 6tate,
free societies 'ould have already con;uered the 'hole of the immense domain of
education. &nd, in spite of all difficulties, they be"in to invade this domain as
'ell, and ma%e their influence already felt.
&nd 'hen 'e mar% the pro"ress already accomplished in that direction, in
spite of and a"ainst the 6tate, 'hich tries by all means to maintain its supremacy
of recent ori"in3 'hen 'e see ho' voluntary societies invade everythin" and are
only impeded in their development by the 6tate, 'e are forced to reco"ni2e a
po'erful tendency, a latent force in modern society. &nd 'e as% ourselves this
;uestion7 *f, five, ten, or t'enty years henceit matters littlethe 'or%ers succeed
by revolt in destroyin" the said mutual insurance society of landlords, ban%ers,
priests, 1ud"es, and soldiers3 if the people become masters of their destiny for a
fe' months, and lay hands on the riches they have created, and 'hich belon" to
them by ri"ht'ill they really be"in to reconstitute that bloodsuc%er, the 6tate-
(r 'ill they not rather try to or"ani2e from the simple to the comple8, accordin"
to mutual a"reement and to the infinitely varied, everchan"in" needs of each
locality, in order to secure the possession of those riches for themselves, to
mutually "uarantee one another!s life, and to produce 'hat 'ill be found
necessary for life-
$ill they follo' the dominant tendency of the century, to'ards
decentrali2ation, home rule and free a"reement3 or 'ill they march contrary to
this tendency and strive to reconstitute demolished authority-
Educated men#civili2ed,# as :ourier used to say 'ith disdaintremble at the
idea that society mi"ht some day be 'ithout 1ud"es, police, or "aolers.
)ut, fran%ly, do you need them as much as you have been told in musty
boo%s - )oo%s 'ritten, be it noted, by scientists 'ho "enerally %no' 'ell 'hat
has been 'ritten before them, but, for the most part, absolutely i"nore the
people and their everyday life.
*f 'e can 'ander, 'ithout fear, not only in the streets of 5aris, 'hich bristle
'ith police, but especially in rustic 'al%s 'here you rarely meet passers by, is it
to the police that 'e o'e this security- or rather to the absence of people 'ho
care to rob or murder us- * am evidently not spea%in" of the one 'ho carries
millions about him. That onea recent trial tells usis soon robbed, by preference
in places 'here there are as many policemen as lamp posts. .o, * spea% of the
man 'ho fears for his life and not for his purse filled 'ith ill"otten soverei"ns.
&re his fears real-
)esides, has not e8perience demonstrated ;uite recently that /ac% the =ipper
performed hie e8ploits under the eye of the London policea most active force
and that he only left off %illin" 'hen the population of $hitechapel itself be"an
to "ive chase to him-
&nd in our everyday relations 'ith our fello'citi2ens, do you thin% that it is
really 1ud"es, "aolers, and police that hinder antisocial acts from multiplyin"-
The 1ud"e, ever ferocious, because he is a maniac of la', the accuser, the
informer, the police spy, all those interlopers that live from hand to mouth around
the La' ,ourts, do they not scatter demorali2ation far and 'ide into society-
=ead the trials, "lance behind the scenes, push your analysis further than the
e8terior facade of la' courts, and you 'ill come out sic%ened.
Have not prisons'hich %ill all 'ill and force of character in man, 'hich
enclose 'ithin their 'alls more vices than are met 'ith on any other spot of the
"lobeal'ays been universities of crime- *s not the court of a tribunal a school of
ferocity- &nd so on.
$hen 'e as% for the abolition of the 6tate and its or"ans 'e are al'ays told
that 'e dream of a society composed of men better than they are in reality. )ut
no3 a thousand times, no. &ll 'e as% is that men should not be made 'orse than
they are, by such institutions+
(nce a German 1urist of "reat reno'n, *herin", 'anted to sum up the
scientific 'or% of his life and 'rite a treatise, in 'hich he proposed to analy2e
the factors that preserve social life in society. #5urpose in La'# (4er F'ec% im
=echte), such is the title of that boo%, 'hich en1oys a 'elldeserved reputation.
He made an elaborate plan of his treatise, and, 'ith much erudition,
discussed both coercive factors 'hich are used to maintain society7 'a"edom
and the different forms of coercion 'hich are sanctioned by la'. &t the end of his
'or% he reserved t'o para"raphs only to mention the t'o noncoercive factors
the feelin" of duty and the feelin" of mutual sympathyto 'hich lie attached little
importance, as mi"ht be e8pected from a 'riter in la'.
)ut 'hat happened- &s he 'ent on analy2in" the coercive factors he reali2ed
their insufficiency. He consecrated a 'hole volume to their analysis, and the
result 'as to lessen their importance+ $hen he be"an the last t'o para"raphs,
'hen he be"an to reflect upon the noncoercive factors of society, he perceived,
on the contrary, their immense, out'ei"hin" importance3 and instead of t'o
para"raphs, he found himself obli"ed to 'rite a second volume, t'ice as lar"e as
the first, on these t'o factors7 voluntary restraint and mutual help3 and yet, he
analy2ed but an infinitesimal part of these latterthose 'hich result from
personal sympathyand hardly touched free a"reement, 'hich results from social
institutions.
$ell, then, leave off repeatin" the formulE 'hich you have learned at school3
meditate on this sub1ect3 and the same thin" that happened to *herin" 'ill
happen to you7 you 'ill reco"ni2e the infinitesimal importance of coersion, as
compared to the voluntary assent, in society.
(n the other hand, if by follo'in" the very old advice "iven by )entham yon
be"in to thin% of the fatal conse;uencesdirect, and especially indirectof le"al
coersion, li%e Tolstoy, li%e us, you 'ill be"in to hate use of coersion, and you 'ill
be"in to say that society possesses a thousand other means for preventin"
antisocial acts. *f it ne"lects those means today, it is because, bein" educated by
,hurch and 6tate, our co'ardice and apathy of spirit hinder us seein" clearly on
this point. $hen a child has committed a fault, it is so easy to han" a man
especially 'hen there is an e8ecutioner 'ho is paid so much for each e8ecution
and it dispenses us from thin%in" of the cause of crimes.
*t is often said that &narchists live in a 'orld of dreams to come, and do not
see the thin"s 'hich happen today. $e do see them only too 'ell, and in their
true colors, and that is 'hat ma%es us carry the hatchet into the forest of
pre1udice that besets us.
:ar from livin" in a 'orld of visions and ima"inin" men better than they are,
'e see them as they are3 and that is 'hy 'e affirm that the best of men is made
essentially bad by the e8ercise of authority, and that the theory of the #balancin"
of po'ers# and #control of authorities# is a hypocritical formula, invented by
those 'ho have sei2ed po'er, to ma%e the #soverei"n people,# 'hom they
despise, believe that the people themselves are "overnin". *t is because 'e %no'
men that 'e say to those 'ho ima"ine that men 'ould devour one another
'ithout those "overnors7 #9ou reason li%e the %in", 'ho, bein" sent across the
frontier, called out, !$hat 'ill become of my poor sub1ects 'ithout me-!#
&h, if men 'ere those superior bein"s that the utopians of authority li%e to
spea% to us of, if 'e could close our eyes to reality, and live, li%e them, in a 'orld
of dreams and illusions as to the superiority of those 'ho thin% themselves called
to po'er, perhaps 'e also should do li%e them3 perhaps 'e also should believe in
the virtues of those 'ho "overn.
$ith virtuous masters, 'hat dan"ers could slavery offer- 4o you remember
the 6laveo'ner of 'hom 'e heard so often, hardly thirty years a"o- $as he not
supposed to ta%e paternal care of his slaves- #He alone,# 'e 'ere told, #could
hinder these la2y, indolent, improvident children dyin" of hun"er. Ho' could he
crush his slaves throu"h hard labor, or mutilate them by blo's, 'hen his o'n
interest lay in feedin" them 'ell, in ta%in" care of them as much as of his o'n
children+ &nd then, did not !the la'! see to it that the least s'ervin" of a slave
o'ner from the path of duty 'as punished-# Ho' many times have 'e not been
told so+ )ut the reality 'as such that, havin" returned from a voya"e to )ra2il,
4ar'in 'as haunted all his life by the cries of a"ony of mutilated slaves, by the
sobs of moanin" 'omen 'hose fin"ers 'ere crushed in thumbsere's+
*f the "entlemen in po'er 'ere really so intelli"ent and so devoted to the
public cause, as pane"yrists of authority love to represent, 'hat a pretty
"overnment and paternal utopia 'e should be able to construct+ The employer
'ould never be the tyrant of the 'or%er3 he 'ould be the father+ The factory
'ould be a palace of deli"ht, and never 'ould masses of 'or%ers be doomed to
physical deterioration. The 6tate 'ould not poison its 'or%ers by ma%in"
matches 'ith 'hite phosphorus, for 'hich it is so easy to substitute red
phosphorus.G & 1ud"e 'ould not have the ferocity to condemn the 'ife and
children of the one 'hom he sends to prison to suffer years of hun"er and misery
and to die some day of anemia3 never 'ould a public prosecutor as% for the head
of the accused for the uni;ue pleasure of sho'in" off his oratorical talent3 and
no'here 'ould 'e find a "aoler or an e8ecutioner to do the biddin" of 1ud"es,
'ho have not the coura"e to carry out their sentences themselves. $hat do * say+
$e should never have enou"h 5lutarchs to praise the virtues of 0embers of
5arliament 'ho 'ould all hold 5anama chec%s in horror+ )iribiGG 'ould become
an austere nursery of virtue, and permanent armies 'ould be the 1oy of citi2ens,
as soldiers 'ould only ta%e up arms to parade before nursemaids, and to carry
nose"ays on the point of their bayonets+
(h, the beautiful utopia, the lovely ,hristmas dream 'e can ma%e as soon as
'e admit that those 'ho "overn represent a superior caste, and have hardly any
or no %no'led"e of simple mortals! 'ea%nesses+ *t 'ould then suffice to ma%e
them control one another in hierarchical fashion, to let them e8chan"e fifty
papers, at most, amon" different administrators, 'hen the 'ind blo's do'n a
tree on the national road. (r, if need be, they 'ould have only to be valued at
their proper 'orth, durin" elections, by those same masses of mortals 'hich are
supposed to be endo'ed 'ith all stupidity in their mutual relations but become
'isdom itself 'hen they have to elect their masters.
&ll the science of "overnment, ima"ined by those 'ho "overn, is imbibed 'ith
these utopias. )ut 'e %no' men too 'ell to dream such dreams. $e have not t'o
measures for the virtues of the "overned and those of the "overnors3 'e %no'
that 'e ourselves are not 'ithout faults and that the best of us 'ould soon be
corrupted by the e8ercise of po'er. $e ta%e men for 'hat they are 'orthand
that is 'hy 'e hate the "overnment of man by man, and that 'e 'or% 'ith all
our mi"htperhaps not stron" enou"hto put an end to it.
)ut it is not enou"h to destroy. $e must also %no' ho' to build, and it is
o'in" to not havin" thou"ht about it that the masses have al'ays been led astray
in all their revolutions. &fter havin" demolished they abandoned the care of
reconstruction to the middle class people, 'ho possessed a more or less precise
conception of 'hat they 'ished to reali2e, and 'ho conse;uently reconstituted
authority to their o'n advanta"e.
That is 'hy &narchy, 'hen it 'or%s to destroy authority in all its aspects,
'hen it demands the abro"ation of la's and the abolition of the mechanism that
serves to impose them, 'hen it refuses all hierarchical or"ani2ation and
preaches free a"reementat the same time strives to maintain and enlar"e the
precious %ernel of social customs 'ithout 'hich no human or animal society can
e8ist. (nly, instead of demandin" that those social customs should be maintained
throu"h the authority of a fe', it demands it from the continued action of all.
,ommunist customs and institutions are of absolute necessity for society, not
only to solve economic difficulties, but also to maintain and develop social
customs that brin" men in contact 'ith one another3 they must be loo%ed to for
establishin" such relations bet'een men that the interest of each should be the
interest of all3 and this alone can unite men instead of dividin" them.
*n fact, 'hen 'e as% ourselves by 'hat means a certain moral level can be
maintained in a human or animal society, 'e find only three such means7 the
repression of antisocial acts3 moral teachin"3 and the practice of mutual help
itself. &nd as all three have already been put to the test of practice, 'e can 1ud"e
them by their effects.
&s to the impotence of repressionit is sufficiently demonstrated by the
disorder of present society and by the necessity of a revolution that 'e all desire
or feel inevitable. *n the domain of economy, coercion has led us to industrial
servitude3 in the domain of politicsto the 6tate, that is to say, to the destruction
of all ties that formerly e8isted amon" citi2ens, and to the nation becomin"
nothin" but an incoherent mass of obedient sub1ects of a central authority.
.ot only has a coercive system contributed and po'erfully aided to create all
the present economical, political and social evils, but it has "iven proof of its
absolute impotence to raise the moral level of societies3 it has not been even able
to maintain it at the level it had already reached. *f a benevolent fairy could only
reveal to our eyes all the crimes that are committed every day, every minute, in a
civili2ed society under cover of the un%no'n, or the protection of la' itself,
society 'ould shudder at that terrible state of affairs. The authors of the "reatest
political crimes, li%e those of .apoleon ***. coup d!etat, or the bloody 'ee% in
0ay after the fall of the ,ommune of ?@B?, never are arrai"ned 3 and as a poet
said3 #the small miscreants are punished for the satisfaction of the "reat ones.#
0ore than that, 'hen authority ta%es the morali2ation of society in hand, by
#punishin" criminals# it only heaps up no' crimes+
5ractised for centuries, repression has so badly succeeded that it has but led
us into a blind alley from 'hich 'e can only issue by carryin" torch and hatchet
into the institutions of our authoritarian past.
:ar be it from us not to reco"ni2e the importance of the second factor, moral
teachin"especially that 'hich is unconsciously transmitted in society and results
from the 'hole of the ideas and comments emitted by each of us on facts and
events of everyday life. )ut this force can only act on society under one
condition, that of not bein" crossed by a mass of contradictory immoral
teachin"s resultin" from the practice of insitutions.
*n that case its influence is nil or baneful. Ta%e ,hristian morality7 'hat other
teachin" could have had more hold on minds than that spo%en in the name of a
crucified God, and could have acted 'ith all its mystical force, all its poetry of
martyrdom, its "randeur in for"ivin" e8ecutioners- &nd yet the institution 'as
more po'erful than the reli"ion7 soon ,hristianitya revolt a"ainst imperial
=ome'as con;uered by that same =ome3 it accepted its ma8ims, customs, and
lan"ua"e. The ,hriatian church accepted the =oman la' as its o'n, and as such
allied to the 6tateit became in history the most furious enemy of all semi
communist institutions, to 'hich ,hristianity appealed at *ts ori"in.
,an 'e for a moment believe that moral teachin", patroni2ed by circulars
from ministers of public instruction, 'ould have the creative force that
,hristianity has not had- &nd 'hat could the verbal teachin" of truly social men
do, if it 'ere counteracted by the 'hole teachin" derived from institutions based,
as our present institutions of property and 6tate are, upon unsocial principles-
The third element alone remainsthe institution itself, actin" in such a 'ay as
to ma%e social acts a state of habit and instinct. This elementhistory proves it
has never missed its aim, never has it acted as a doublebladed s'ord3 and its
influence has only been 'ea%ened 'hen custom strove to become immovable,
crystalli2ed, to become in its turn a reli"ion not to be ;uestioned 'hen it
endeavored to absorb the individual, ta%in" all freedom of action from him and
compellin" him to revolt a"ainst that 'hich had become, throu"h its
crystalli2ation, an enemy to pro"ress.
*n fact, all that 'as an element of pro"ress in the past or an instrument of
moral and intellectual improvement of the human race is due to the practice of
mutual aid, to the customs that reco"ni2ed the e;uality of men and brou"ht them
to ally, to unite, to associate for the purpose of producin" and consumin", to
unite for purpose of defence to federate and to reco"ni2e no other 1ud"es in
fi"htin" out their differences than the arbitrators they too% from their o'n midst.
Each time these institutions, issued from popular "enius, 'hen it had
recon;uered its liberty for a moment,each time these institutions developed in a
ne' direction, the moral level of society, its material 'ellbein", its liberty, its
intellectual pro"ress, and the affirmation of individual ori"inality made a step in
advance. &nd, on the contrary, each time that in the course of history, 'hether
follo'in" upon a forei"n con;uest, or 'hether by developin" authoritarian
pre1udices men become more and more divided into "overnors and "overned,
e8ploiters and e8ploited, the moral level fell, the 'ellbein" of the masses
decreased in order to insure riches to a fe', and the spirit of the a"e declined.
History teaches us this, and from this lesson 'e have learned to have
confidence in free ,ommunist institutions to raise the moral level of societies,
debased by the practice of authority.
Today 'e live side by side 'ithout %no'in" one another. $e come to"ether at
meetin"s on an election day7 'e listen to the lyin" or fanciful professions of faith
of a candidate, and 'e return home. The 6tate has the care of all ;uestions of
public interest3 the 6tate alone has the function of seein" that 'e do not harm
the interests of our nei"hbor, and, if it fails in this, of punishin" us in order to
repair the evil.
(ur nei"hbor may die of brin"er or murder his children,it is no business of
ours3 it is the business of the policeman. 9ou hardly %no' one another, nothin"
unites you, everythin" tends to alienate you from one another, and findin" no
better 'ay, you as% the &lmi"hty (formerly it 'as a God, no' it is the 6tate) to do
all that lies 'ithin his po'er to stop antisocial passions from reachin" their
hi"hest clima8.
*n a ,ommunist society such estran"ement, such confidence in an outside
force could not e8ist. ,ommunist or"ani2ation cannot be left to be constructed by
le"islative bodies called parliaments, municipal or communal council. *t must be
the 'or% of all, a natural "ro'th, a product of the constructive "enius of the
"reat mass. ,ommunism cannot be imposed from above3 it could not live even for
a fe' months if the constant and daily cooperation of all did not uphold it. *t
must be free.
*t cannot e8ist 'ithout creatin" a continual contact bet'een all for the
thousands and thousands of common transactions3 it cannot e8ist 'ithout
creatin" local life, independent in the smallest unitiesthe bloc% of houses, the
street, the district, the commune. *t 'ould not ans'er its purpose if it did not
cover society 'ith a net'or% of thousands of associations to satisfy its thousand
needs7 the necessaries of life, articles of lu8ury, of study, en1oyment,
amusements. &nd such associations cannot remain narro' and local3 they must
necessarily tend (as is already the case 'ith learned societies, cyclist clubs,
humanitarian societies and the li%e) to become international.
&nd the sociable customs that ,ommunism'ere it only partial at its ori"in
must inevitably en"ender in life, 'ould already be a force incomparably more
po'erful to maintain and develop the %ernel of sociable customs than all
repressive machinery.
This, then, is the formsociable institutionof 'hich 'e as% the development of
the spirit of harmony that ,hurch and 6tate had underta%en to impose on us'ith
the sad result 'e %no' only too 'ell. &nd these remar%s contain our ans'er to
those 'ho affirm that ,ommunism and &narchy cannot "o to"ether. They are,
you see, a necessary complement to one another. The most po'erful
development of individuality, or individual ori"inalityas one of our comrades has
so 'ell said, can only be produced 'hen the first needs of food and shelter are
satisfied3 'hen the stru""le for e8istence a"ainst the forces of nature has been
simplified3 'hen man!s time is no lon"er ta%en up entirely by the meaner side of
daily subsistence,then only, his intelli"ence, his artistic taste, his inventive
spirit, his "enius, can develop freely and ever strive to "reater achievements.
,ommunism is the best basis for individual development and freedom3 not
that individualism 'hich drives man to the 'ar of each a"ainst allthis is the only
one %no'n up till no',but that 'hich represents the full e8pansion of man!s
faculties, the superior development of 'hat is ori"inal in him, the "reatest
fruitfulness of intelli"ence, feelin" and 'ill.
6uch bein" our ideal, 'hat does it matter to us that it cannot be reali2ed at
once+
(ur first duty is to find out, by an analysis of society, its characteristic
tendencies at a "iven moment of evolution and to state them clearly. Then, to act
accordin" to those tendencies in our relations 'ith all those 'ho thin% as 'e do.
&nd, finally, from today and especially darin" a revolutionary period, 'or% for
the destruction of the institutions, as, 'e** as the pre1udices, that impede the
development of such tendencies.
That is all 'e can do by peaceable or revolutionary methods, and 'e %no'
that by favorin" those tendencies 'e contribute to pro"ress, 'hile 'ho resist
them impede the march of pro"ress.
.evertheless, men often spea% of sta"es to be travelled throu"h, and they
propose to 'or% to reach 'hat they consider to be the nearest station and only
then to ta%e the hi"h road leadin" to 'hat they reco"ni2e to be a still hi"her
ideal.
)ut reasonin" li%e this seems to me to misunderstand the true character of
human pro"ress and to ma%e use of a badly chosen military comparison.
Humanity is not a rollin" ball, nor even a marchin" column. *t is a 'hole that
evolves simultaneously in the mulitude of millions of 'hich it *s composed3 and if
you 'ish for a comparison, you must rather ta%e it in the la's of or"anic
evolution than *n those of an inor"anic movin" body.
The fact is that each phase of development of a society is a resultant of all the
activities of the *ntellects 'hich compose that society3 it bears the imprint of all
those millions of 'ills. ,onse;uently, 'hatever may be the sta"e of development
that the t'entieth century is preparin" for us, this future state of society 'ill
sho' the effects of the a'a%enin" of libertarian ideas 'hich is no' ta%in" place.
&nd the depth 'ith 'hich this movement 'ill be impressed upon the comin"
t'entieth century institutions 'ill depend upon the number of men 'ho 'ill have
bro%en today 'ith authoritarian pre1udices, on the ener"y they 'ill have used in
attac%in" old institutions, on the impression they 'ill ma%e on the masses, on the
clearness 'ith 'hich the ideal of a free society 'ill have been impressed on the
minds of the masses. )ut, today, 'e can say in full confidence, that in :rance the
a'a%enin" of libertarian ideas had already put its stamp on society3 and that the
ne8t revolution 'ill not be the /acobin revolution 'hich it 'ould have been had it
buret out t'enty years a"o.
&nd as these ideas are neither the invention of a man nor a "roup, but result
from the 'hole of the movement of ideas of the time, 'e can be sure that,
'hatever comes out of the ne8t revolution, it 'ill not be the dictatorial and
centrali2ed ,ommunism 'hich 'as so much in vo"ue forty years a"o, nor the
authoritarian ,ollectivism to 'hich 'e 'ere ;uite recently invited to ally
ourselves, and 'hich its advocates dare only defend very feebly at present.
The #first sta"e,# it is certain, 'ill then be ;uite different from 'hat 'as
described under that name hardly t'enty years a"o. The latest developments of
the libertarian ideas have already modified it beforehand in an &narchist sense.
* have already mentioned that the "reat alldominatin" ;uestion no' is for the
6ocialist party, ta%en as a 'hole, to harmoni2e its ideal of society 'ith the
libertarian movement that "erminates, in the spirit of the masses, in literature, in
science, in philosophy. *t is also, it is especially so, to rouse the spirit of popular
initiative.
.o', it is precisely the 'or%ers! and peasants! initiative that all partiesthe
6ocialist authoritarian party includedhave al'ays stifled, 'ittin"ly or not, by
party discipline. ,ommittees, centers, orderin" everythin"3 local or"ans havin"
but to obey, #so as not to put the unity of the or"ani2ation in dan"er.# & 'hole
teachin", in a 'ord3 a 'hole false history, 'ritten to serve that purpose, a 'hole
incomprehensible pseudoscience of economics, elaborated to this end.
$ell, then, those 'ho 'ill 'or% to brea% up these superannuated tactics,
those 'ho 'ill %no' ho' to rouse the spirit of initiative in individuals and in
"roups, those 'ho 'ill be able to create in their mutual relations a movement
and a life based on the principles of free understandin"those that 'ill
understand that variety, conflict even, is life, and that uniformity is death,they
'ill 'or%, not for future centuries, but in "ood earnest for the ne8t revolution,
for our o'n times.
$e need not fear the dan"ers and #abuses# of liberty. *t is only those 'ho do
nothin" 'ho ma%e no mista%es. &s to those 'ho only %no' ho' to obey, they
ma%e 1ust as many, and more, mista%es than those 'ho stri%e out their o'n path
in tryin" to act in the direction their intelli"ence and their social education
su""est to them. The ideal of liberty of the individualif it is incorrectly
understood o'in" to surroundin"s 'here the notion of solidarity is insufficiently
accentuated by institutionscan certainly lead isolated men to acts that are
repu"nant to the social sentiments of humanity. Let us admit that it does happen7
is it, ho'ever, a reason for thro'in" the principle of liberty overboard- *s it a
reason for acceptin" the teachin" of those masters 'ho, in order to prevent
#di"ressions,# reestablish the censure of an enfranchised press and "uillotine
advanced parties to maintain uniformity and disciplinethat 'hich, 'hen all is
said, 'as in ?BHI the best means of insurin" the triumph of reaction-
The only thin" to be done 'hen 'e see antisocial acts committed in the name
of liberty of the individual, is to repudiate the principle of #each for himself and
God for all,# and to have the coura"e to say aloud in any one!s presence 'hat 'e
thin% of such acts. This can perhaps brin" about a conflict3 but conflict is life
itself. &nd from the conflict 'ill arise an appreciation of those acts far more 1ust
than all those appreciations 'hich could have been produced under the influence
of oldestablished ideas.
$hen the moral level of a society descends to the point it has reached today
'e must e8pect beforehand that a revolt a"ainst such a society 'ill sometimes
assume forms that 'ill ma%e us shudder. .o doubt, heads paraded on pi%es
dis"ust us3 but the hi"h and lo' "ibbets of the old re"ime in :rance, and the iron
ca"es Dictor Hu"o has told us of, 'ere they not the ori"in of this bloody
e8hibition- Let us hope that the coldblooded massacre of thirtyfive thousand
5arisians in 0ay, ?@B?, after the fall of the ,ommune, and the bombardment of,
5aris by Thiers 'ill have passed over the :rench nation 'ithout leavin" too "reat
a fund of ferocity. Let us hope that. Let us also hope that the corruption of the
s'ell mob, 'hich is continually brou"ht to li"ht in recent trials, 'ill not yet have
ruined the heart of the nation. Lot us hope it+ Let us help that it be so+ )ut if our
hopes are not fulfilledyou, youn" 6ocialists, 'ill you then turn your bac%s on the
people in revolt, because the ferocity of the rulers of today 'ill have left its
furro' in the people!s minds3 because the mud from above has splashed far and
'ide-
*t is evident that so profound a revolution producin" itself in people!s minds
cannot be confined to the domain of ideas 'ithout e8pandin" to the sphere of
action. &s 'as so 'ell e8pressed by the sympathetic youn" philosopher, too early
snatched by death from our midst, 0ar% Guyau,GGG in one of the most beautiful
boo%s published for thirty years, there is no abyss bet'een thou"ht and action,
at least for those 'ho are not used to modern sophistry. ,onception is already a
be"innin" of action.
,onse;uently, the ne' ideas have provo%ed a multitude of acts of revolt in all
countries, under all possible conditions7 first, individual revolt a"ainst ,apital
and 6tate3 then collective revoltstri%es and 'or%in" class insurrectionsboth
preparin", in men!s minds as in actions, a revolt of the masses, a revolution. *n
this, 6ocialism and &narchism have only follo'ed the course of evolution, 'hich
is al'ays accomplished by forceideas at the approach of "reat popular risin"s.
That is 'hy it 'ould be 'ron" to attribute the monopoly of acts of revolt to
&narchism. &nd, in fact, 'hen 'e pass in revie' the acts of revolt of the last
;uarter of a century, 'e see them proceedin" from all parties.
*n all Europe 'e see a multitude of risin"s of 'or%in" masses and peasants.
6tri%es, 'hich 'ere once #a 'ar of folded arms,# today easily turnin" to revolt,
and sometimes ta%in"in the >nited 6tates, in )el"ium, in &ndalusiathe
proportions of vast insurrections. *n the ne' and old 'orlds it is by the do2en
that 'e count the risin"s of stri%ers havin" turned to revolts.
(n the other hand, the individual act of revolt ta%es all possible characters,
and all advanced parties contribute to it. $e pass before us the rebel youn"
'oman Dera Fassulitch shootin" a satrap of &le8ander **.3 the 6ocial 4emocrat
HJdel and the =epublican .obilin" shootin" at the Emperor of Germany3 the
cooper (tero shootin" at the Kin" of 6pain, and the reli"ious 0a22mian,
5assanante, stri%in" at the Kin" of *taly. $e see a"rarian murders in *reland and
e8plosions in London, or"ani2ed by *rish .ationalists 'ho have a horror of
6ocialism and &narchism. $e see a 'hole "eneration of youn" =ussians
6ocialists, ,onstitutionalists and /acobins declare 'ar to the %nife a"ainst
&le8ander **., and pay for that revolt a"ainst autocracy by thirtyfive e8ecutions
and s'arms of e8iles. .umerous acts of personal reven"e ta%e place amon"
)el"ian, En"lish and &merican miners3 and it is only at the end of this lon" series
that 'e see the &narchists appear 'ith their acts of revolt in 6pain and :rance.
&nd, durin" this same period, massacres, 'holesale and retail, or"ani2ed by
"overnments, follo' their re"ular course. To the applause of the European
bour"eoisie, the Dersailles &ssembly causes thirtyfive thousand 5arisian
'or%men to be butcheredfor the most part prisoners of the van;uished
,ommune. #5in%erton thu"s#that private army of the rich &merican capitalists
massacre stri%ers accordin" to the rules of that art. 5riests incite an idiot to
shoot at Louise 0ichel, 'hoas a true &narchistsnatches her 'ouldbe murderer
from his 1ud"es by pleadin" for him. (utside Europe the *ndians of ,anada are
massacred and =iel is stran"led, the 0atabele are e8terminated, &le8andria is
bombarded, 'ithout sayin" more of the butcheries in 0ada"ascar, in Ton%in , in
Tur%oman!s land every'here, to 'hich is "iven the name of 'ar. &nd, finally,
each year hundreds and even thousands of years of imprisonment are distributed
amon" the rebellious 'or%ers of the t'o continents, and the 'ives and children,
'ho are thus condemned to e8piate the socalled crimes of their fathers, are
doomed to the dar%est misery.The rebels are transported to 6iberia, to )iribi, to
.oumea and to Guiana3 and in those places of e8ile the convicts are shot do'n
li%e do"s for the least act of insubordination. $hat a terrible indictment the
balance sheet of the sufferin"s endured by 'or%ers and their friends, durin" this
last ;uarter of a century, 'ould be+ $hat a multitude of horrible details that are
un%no'n to the public at lar"e and that 'ould haunt you li%e a ni"htmare if *
ventured to tell you them toni"ht+ $hat a fit of passion each pa"e 'ould provo%e
if the martyrolo"y of the modern forerunners of the "reat 6ocial =evolution 'ere
'ritten+$ell, then, 'e have lived throu"h such a history, and each one of us has
read 'hole pa"es from that boo% of blood and misery.
&nd, in the face of those sufferin"s, those e8ecutions, those Guianas, 6iberias,
.oumeas and )iribis, they have the insolence to reproach the rebel 'or%er 'ith
'ant of respect for human life+++
)ut the 'hole of our present life e8tin"uishes the respect for human life+ The
1ud"e 'ho sentences to death, and his lieutenant, the e8ecutioner, 'ho "arrots in
broad dayli"ht in 0adrid, or "uillotines in the mists of 5aris amid the 1eers of the
de"raded members of hi"h and lo' society3 the "eneral 'ho massacres at )ac
leh, and the ne'spaper correspondent 'ho strives to cover the assassins 'ith
"lory3 the employer 'ho poisons his 'or%men 'ith 'hite lead, becausehe
ans'ers#it 'ould cost so much more to substitute o8ide of 2inc for it3# the so
called En"lish "eo"rapher 'ho %ills an old 'omen lest she should a'a%e a
hostile villa"e by her sobs, and the German "eo"rapher 'ho causes the "irl he
had ta%en as a mistress to be han"ed 'ith her lover, the courtmartial that is
content 'ith fifteen days arrest for the )iribi "aoler convicted of murder....all,
all, all in the present society teaches absolute contempt for human lifefor that
flesh that costs so little in the mar%et+ &nd those 'ho "arrot, assassinate, 'ho
%ill depreciated human merchandise, they 'ho have made a reli"ion of the
ma8im that for the safety of the public you must "arrot, shoot and %ill, they
complain that human life is not sufficiently respected+++
.o, citi2ens, as lon" as society accepts the la' of retaliation, as lon" as
reli"ion and la', the barrac% and the la'courts, the prison and industrial penal
servitude, the press and the school continue to teach supreme contempt for the
life of the individual,do not as% the rebels a"ainst that society to respect it. *t
'ould be e8actin" a de"ree of "entleness and ma"nanimity from them, infinitely
superior to that of the 'hole society.
*f you 'ish, li%e us, that the entire liberty of the individual and, conse;uently,
his life be respected, you are necessarily brou"ht to repudiate the "overnment of
man by man, 'hatever shape it assumes3 you are forced to accept the principles
of &narchy that you have spurned so lon". 9ou must then search 'ith us the
forms of society that can best reali2e that ideal and put an end to all the violence
that rouses your indi"nation.
G The ma%in" of matches is a 6tate!s monopoly in :rance.
GG )iribi is the name "iven in :rance to the punishment battalions in &l"eria.
Every youn" man 'ho has been in prison before he be"ins his military service, is
sent to such a battalion. 0any soldiers, for 'ant of discipline, under"o the same
punishment. The treatment in these places is so horrid that no En"lishman 'ould
believe it possible. & very fe' years a"o, the pear shaped hole in the "round,
'here men 'ere left for 'ee%s, and some 'ere actually devoured by vermin, 'as
an habitual punishment. &t the present time, it is ;uite habitual to let a man,
handcuffed and chained, lay for a fortni"ht on the "round, covered by a bit of
cloth, under the scorchin" sun of &l"eria and throu"h the bitterly cold ni"hts,
compelled to eat his food and to lap his 'ater li%e a do". 6cores of the most
terrible facts became %no'n lately, since Geor"es 4arien published his boo%
#)iribi# (5aris, ?@HK, 6avine publisher) based on actual e8perience, and full of
the most horrible revelations. (ne of my ,lairvau8 companions had to spend t'o
years of military service in such a battalionhis condemnation at Lyons, as the
editor of an &narchist paper, bein" already a reason to be transported to &l"eria.
He fully confirmed, on his release. all that 'as 'ritten by 4arien.