From the Encyclopedia Britannica
"Anarchism", from The Encyclopedia Britannica, 1910.
Peter Kropotkin
ANARCHISM (from the Gr. ἄν, and αρχος, contrary to authority), the name given to a principle or theory of life and conduct under which society is conceived without government - harmony in such a society being obtained, not by submission to law, or by obedience to any authority, but by free agreements concluded between the various groups, territorial and professional, freely constituted for the sake of production and consumption, as also for the satisfaction of the infinite variety of needs and aspirations of a civilized being. In a society developed on these lines, the voluntary associations which already now begin to cover all ... (From : Anarchy Archives.)
Anarchism: Arguments for and against
by Albert Meltzer
Table of Contents
IntroductionInalienable Tenets of AnarchismThe Class StruggleOrganization and AnarchismThe Role of an Anarchist in an Authoritarian SocietyBringing About the New SocietyThe Marxist Criticism of AnarchismThe Social-Democratic Critique of AnarchismThe Liberal-Democratic Objection to AnarchismThe Fascist Objection to AnarchismThe Average Person's Objection to Anarchism
Introduction
The Historical Background to Anarchism
It is not without interest that what might be called the anarchist
approach goes back into antiquity; nor that there is an ana (From : Hack.org.)
1. The Basic Ideas of Anarchism 1 The Basic Ideas of Anarchism A MATTER OF WORDS The word anarchy is as old as the world. It is derived from two ancient Greek words, av (an), apxn (arkhe), and means something like the absence of authority or government. However, for millennia the presumption has been accepted that man cannot dispense with one or the other, and anarchy has been understood in a pejorative sense, as a synonym for disorder, chaos, and disorganization. Pierre-Joseph Proudhon was famous for his quips (such as "property is theft") and took to himself the word anarchy. As if his purpose were to shock as much as possible, in 1840 he engaged in the following dialogue with the "Philistine." "You are a republican." "Republican, yes; but that means nothing. Res publica is 'the State.' Kings, too, are republicans." "Ah well! You are a democrat?" "No." "What! Perhaps you are a monarchist?"...
Comments on the International Social Ecology Network Gathering and the "Deep Social Ecology" of John Clark
by Murray Bookchin
Between August 14 and 19, 1995, an international social ecology network gathering met near Dunoon, Scotland, to discuss the topic "Democracy and Ecology." Its agenda featured, among other presentations, a one-hour summary of a long essay by John Clark titled "The Politics of Social Ecology: Beyond the Limits of the City."
My age and growing disabilities prevented me from attending the gathering, which caused me some concern since Clark has broken with social ecology and become, as he impishly denominated himself in The Trumpeter, an organ of the deep ecolo... (From : Anarchy Archives.)
This article appears in Anarchy Archives with the permission of the author and New Politics.
The Communist Manifesto: Insights and Problems
Murray Bookchin
[from New Politics, vol. 6, no. 4 (new series), whole
no. 24, Winter 1998]
Murray Bookchin is the author of numerous books on left
social theory and history. His most recent work is The Third Revolution, a
three-volume history of popular movements in the revolutionary era, Volumes 1 and 2
of which have recently been published by Cassell.
IT IS POLITICALLY RESTORATIVE TO LOOK WITH A FRESH EYE at The Manifesto of the Communist Party (to use its original title), written before Marxism was overlaid by reformist, ... (From : Anarchy Archives.)
THE CONQUEST OF BREAD by P. Kropotkin CHAPTER VII Clothing I WHEN the houses have become the common heritage of the citizens, and when each man has his daily supply of food, another forward step will have to be taken. The question of clothing will of course demand consideration next, and again the only possible solution will be to take possession, in the name of the people, of all the shops and warehouses where clothing is sold or stored, and to throw open the doors to all, so that each can take what he needs. The communalization of clothing--the right of each to take what he needs from the communal stores, or to have it made for him at the tailors and outfitters--is a necessary corollary of the communalization of houses and food. Obviously we shall not need for that to despoil all citizens of their coats, to p...
This manuscript was provided to Anarchy Archives by the author.
Ecology and Revolutionary Thought
by Lewis Herber (pseudonym for Murray Bookchin)
[Originally published in Bookchin’s newsletter Comment in 1964 and republished in the British monthly Anarchy in 1965.]
In almost every period since the Renaissance, the development of revolutionary thought has been heavily influenced by a branch of science, often in conjunction with a school of philosophy.
Astronomy in the time of Copernicus and Galileo helped to guide a sweeping movement of ideas from the medieval world, riddled by superstition, into one pervaded by a critical rationalism, openly naturalistic and humanistic in outlook. During the Enlightenment—the era t... (From : Anarchy Archives.)
The text is from my copy of Peter Kropotkin, Ethics: Origins and Development, London: George E Harrap Co, Ltd. Ethics: Origin and Development by Peter Kropotkin TRANSLATORS' PREFACE Kropotkin's "Ethics: Origin and Development," is, in a sense, a continuation of his well-known work, "Mutual Aid as a Factor of Evolution." The basic ideas of the two books are closely connected, almost inseparable, in fact: -- the origin and progress of human relations in society. Only, in the "Ethics" Kropotkin approaches his theme through a study of the ideology of these relations. The Russian writer removes ethics from the sphere of the speculative and metaphysical, and brings human conduct and ethical teaching back to its natural environment: the ethical practices of men in their everyday concerns -- from the time of primitive societies to our modern highly organized States. Thus conceived, ethics becomes a subject of universa...
Kropotkin, P. (1927). The Great French Revolution, 1789-1793 (N. F. Dryhurst, Trans.) New York: Vanguard Printings. (Original work published 1909) ACTION The people--Revolution and Socialism Equal rights of all to land "Communism"--Situation not clearly understood by people--Hatred of poor towards aristocracy and clergy--Hatred of feudalism--People's readiness to take up arms But what of the people? What was their idea? The people, too, had felt to a certain extent the influence of the current philosophy. By a thousand indirect channels the great principles of liberty and enfranchisement had filtered down to the villages and the suburbs of the large towns. Respect for royalty and aristocracy was passing away. Ideas of equality...
From: Kropotkin (1889). "The Great French Revolution and its Lesson." The
Nineteenth Century. V.25, pp. 838-51.
THE GREAT FRENCH REVOLUTION AND ITS LESSON.
On the 5th of May last the celebration of the centenary of the French Revolution began by the commemoration of the opening of the States- General at Versailles, at the same date, in the memorable year of 1789. And Paris—that city which in January last so clearly manifested its dissatisfaction with Parliamentary rule—heartily joined in the festivities organized to celebrate a day when parliamentary institutions, crossing the Channel, went to take firm root on the Continent. Must we see in the enthusiasm of the Parisians one of those seeming contradictions which are ... (From : Anarchy Archives.)