26. What Isn’t Anarchism? Alexander Berkman (1870-1936 ) “ Before I tell you what Anarchism is, I want to tell you what it is not . . . “ It is not bombs, disorder, or chaos. “ It is not robbery and murder. “ It is not a war of each against all. “ It is not a return to barbarism or to the wild state of man. “ Anarchism is the very opposite of all that.”
31. What Isn’t Anarchism? “ Of course, say the anarchists, society must be organized. However, the new organization . . . must be established freely, socially, and, above all, from below.” – Voline
44. “ Every State . . . presupposes man to be essentially evil and wicked.” Mikhail Bakunin (1814-1876)
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52. Anarchist critique of power I call these sources of power “the dark trinity” (la trinidad sombría) : Ricardo Flores Magon (1874-1922)
53. Anarchist critique of power I call these sources of power “the dark trinity” (la trinidad sombría) : Ricardo Flores Magon (1874-1922) the gun
54. Anarchist critique of power I call these sources of power “the dark trinity” (la trinidad sombría) : Ricardo Flores Magon (1874-1922) the gun the dollar
55. Anarchist critique of power I call these sources of power “the dark trinity” (la trinidad sombría) : Ricardo Flores Magon (1874-1922) the gun the dollar the lie
56. Anarchist critique of power Mikhail Bakunin the gun the dollar the lie “ Slavery may change its form or its name – its essence remains the same.”
57. Anarchist critique of power Mikhail Bakunin Even a “democratic” State is still oppressive. In democracy, as I like to say, “the people are beat with the people’s stick.”
58. Representative Democracy vs. Anarchism “ If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” Thomas Jefferson John Adams James Madison
59. Representative Democracy vs. Anarchism “ If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” “ The people are turbulent and changing; they seldom judge or determine right.” Thomas Jefferson John Adams James Madison
60. Representative Democracy vs. Anarchism If all of us are corrupted by power, which of us is angelic enough to be trusted to govern? Thomas Jefferson John Adams James Madison
61. Representative Democracy vs. Anarchism If all of us are corrupted by power, which of us is angelic enough to be trusted to govern? Freedom is the only school that can prepare us to live in freedom. Thomas Jefferson John Adams James Madison
62. Representative Democracy vs. Anarchism “ In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty is this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” Thomas Jefferson John Adams James Madison
63. Representative Democracy vs. Anarchism No government can be trusted to check itself. Thomas Jefferson John Adams James Madison
64. Representative Democracy vs. Anarchism No government can be trusted to check itself. Thomas Jefferson John Adams James Madison
65. Representative Democracy vs. Anarchism No government can be trusted to check itself. Separation of powers is a bureaucratic solution to a problem created by the centralization of power that government creates in the first place. Thomas Jefferson John Adams James Madison
66. Representative Democracy vs. Anarchism No government can be trusted to check itself. Separation of powers is a bureaucratic solution to a problem created by the centralization of power that government creates in the first place. Power must be decentralized, dispersed among the people themselves, to prevent its abuse. This is what a federation of free communities and associations will do. Thomas Jefferson John Adams James Madison
67. Representative Democracy vs. Anarchism “ [The] Representative Assembly . . . should be in miniature, an exact portrait of the people at large. It should think, feel, reason, and act like them.” Thomas Jefferson John Adams James Madison
68. Representative Democracy vs. Anarchism Representatives cease to represent anything but themselves the moment they are elected. Thomas Jefferson John Adams James Madison
69. Representative Democracy vs. Anarchism Representatives cease to represent anything but themselves the moment they are elected. What need have I of a representative? Can’t I express my wishes myself? Thomas Jefferson John Adams James Madison
70. Representative Democracy vs. Anarchism “ A democracy [is] the only pure republic, but impracticable beyond the limits of a town.” Thomas Jefferson John Adams James Madison
71. Representative Democracy vs. Anarchism In a decentralized federation of communities, each unit can make agreements with others in the region, and regional assemblies can coordinate with one another. Thomas Jefferson John Adams James Madison
72. Representative Democracy vs. Anarchism “ Different interests necessarily exist in different classes of citizens. If a majority be united by a common interest, the rights of the minority will be insecure.” Thomas Jefferson John Adams James Madison
73. Representative Democracy vs. Anarchism Majority rule and minority rule are equally tyrannical. Neither has a right to impose its will on the other. Thomas Jefferson John Adams James Madison
74. Representative Democracy vs. Anarchism Majority rule and minority rule are equally tyrannical. Neither has a right to impose its will on the other. What you are really afraid of, however, is that your wealthy minority will be outvoted by the working class majority. Thomas Jefferson John Adams James Madison
76. Representative Democracy vs. Anarchism “ I am convinced that those societies (as the Indians) which live without government, enjoy in their general mass an infinitely greater degree of happiness, than those who live under the European governments. Among the former, public opinion is in the place of law, and restrains morals as powerfully as laws ever did anywhere.” Thomas Jefferson
80. Anarchism as direct democracy Mikhail Bakunin “ Where all govern, no one is governed, and the State as such does not exist.”
81. Anarchism as direct democracy Mikhail Bakunin “ Where all govern, no one is governed, and the State as such does not exist.” But how to practice this self-government?
82.
83.
84.
85.
86.
87.
88.
89. Anarchism as direct democracy “ No one knows better than the workers themselves the capacity of each one in a specific workplace. There, where everybody knows everybody, the practice of democracy is possible.” D.A. de Santillan (1897-1983)
91. Anarchism as direct democracy Local Council of Production Workers’ Council Workers’ Council Farm Cooperative Farm Cooperative
92. Anarchism as direct democracy Regional Producers’ Federation Local Council of Production Workers’ Council Workers’ Council Farm Cooperative Farm Cooperative Local Council of Production Workers’ Council Workers’ Council Farm Cooperative Farm Cooperative Local Council of Production Workers’ Council Workers’ Council Farm Cooperative Farm Cooperative Local Council of Production Workers’ Council Workers’ Council Farm Cooperative Farm Cooperative
93. Anarchism as direct democracy Regional Producers’ Federation Local Council of Production Workers’ Council Workers’ Council Farm Cooperative Farm Cooperative Local Council of Production Workers’ Council Workers’ Council Farm Cooperative Farm Cooperative Local Council of Production Workers’ Council Workers’ Council Farm Cooperative Farm Cooperative Local Council of Production Workers’ Council Workers’ Council Farm Cooperative Farm Cooperative Transregional federation Regional Producers’ Federation Local Council of Production Workers’ Council Workers’ Council Farm Cooperative Farm Cooperative Local Council of Production Workers’ Council Workers’ Council Farm Cooperative Farm Cooperative Local Council of Production Workers’ Council Workers’ Council Farm Cooperative Farm Cooperative Local Council of Production Workers’ Council Workers’ Council Farm Cooperative Farm Cooperative Regional Producers’ Federation Local Council of Production Workers’ Council Workers’ Council Farm Cooperative Farm Cooperative Local Council of Production Workers’ Council Workers’ Council Farm Cooperative Farm Cooperative Local Council of Production Workers’ Council Workers’ Council Farm Cooperative Farm Cooperative Local Council of Production Workers’ Council Workers’ Council Farm Cooperative Farm Cooperative
94. Anarchism as direct democracy Regional Producers’ Federation Transregional federation Local Council of Production Regional Producers’ Federation Regional Producers’ Federation Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Regional Producers’ Federation Transregional federation Regional Producers’ Federation Regional Producers’ Federation Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Regional Producers’ Federation Transregional federation Regional Producers’ Federation Regional Producers’ Federation Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Regional Producers’ Federation Transregional federation Regional Producers’ Federation Regional Producers’ Federation Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Local Council of Production Global Federation
102. A Cooperative Commonwealth “ The principle of organization must not issue from a center created in advance to capture the whole and impose itself upon it but, on the contrary, it must come from all sides to create nodes of coordination, natural centers to serve all these points.” – Voline
103. A Cooperative Commonwealth “ The principle of organization must not issue from a center created in advance to capture the whole and impose itself upon it but, on the contrary, it must come from all sides to create nodes of coordination, natural centers to serve all these points.” – Voline “ [Such a society,] like every organized living being . . . has its center everywhere and its circumference nowhere.” – Proudhon
105. Regional federation “ Do you need a road? Then the inhabitants of the neighboring communities will reach an agreement between themselves and will make one better than the Minister of Public Works.” Community assembly Community assembly
106. “ . . . Do you need a railway? . . .” Regional federation Regional federation ?
107. “ . . . Do you need a railway? The communities concerned in a whole region will make one better than the contractors who pile up millions building bad railways.” Regional federation Regional federation Transregional federation
117. 1872: The International Workingmen’s Association . . . SPLITS . . . over the conflict between Marx and Bakunin, leaders of the two largest factions.
120. Marxism vs. Anarchism Church and State are the servants of the Marketplace. Church, State, and Marketplace are merely different forms of enslavement.
121. Marxism vs. Anarchism Church and State are the servants of the Marketplace. Church, State, and Marketplace are merely different forms of enslavement. Don’t forget race!
122. Marxism vs. Anarchism Church and State are the servants of the Marketplace. Church, State, and Marketplace are merely different forms of enslavement. Don’t forget race! And gender, too!
123. Marxism vs. Anarchism After the revolution, there must be a transitional government – a dictatorship of the proletariat.
124. Marxism vs. Anarchism After the revolution, there must be a transitional government – a dictatorship of the proletariat. “ Dictatorship” of whom over whom??
125. Marxism vs. Anarchism After the revolution, there must be a transitional government – a dictatorship of the proletariat. You want to create a Red bureaucracy! “ Dictatorship” of whom over whom??
126. Marxism vs. Anarchism After the revolution, there must be a transitional government – a dictatorship of the proletariat. You want to create a Red bureaucracy! “ Dictatorship” of whom over whom?? Revolutionary means must be consistent with revolutionary ends.
127. Marxism vs. Anarchism Capitalism has to create the conditions for a successful revolution.
128. Marxism vs. Anarchism Capitalism has to create the conditions for a successful revolution. We can make a revolution whenever enough of us want it!
129. Marxism vs. Anarchism Capitalism has to create the conditions for a successful revolution. We can make a revolution whenever enough of us want it! Hah! You think revolutions are made by “will power.”
130. Marxism vs. Anarchism Capitalism has to create the conditions for a successful revolution. We can make a revolution whenever enough of us want it! Hah! You think revolutions are made by “will power.” No, by collective action.
139. Direct Action Voltairine de Cleyre (1866-1912) “ Every person who ever in his life had a difference with anyone to settle, and went straight to the other persons involved to settle it . . . was a direct actionist.”
140. Direct Action Murray Bookchin (1921-) Direct democracy is a permanent form of direct action.
141.
142.
143. Schools of Anarchist Thought Social Anarchism Individualist Anarchism
152. Stirner vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel Max Stirner All of history is really the progress of Ideas – the journey of a World Spirit ( Weltgeist ) toward self-discovery..
153. Stirner vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel Max Stirner All of history is really the progress of Ideas – the journey of a World Spirit ( Weltgeist ) toward self-discovery.. Ideas progress through the dialectic: first, the idea appears positively, as a Thesis, which calls forth its opposite or Antithesis; then a Synthesis can emerge, combining the best of both. This, too, becomes a thesis, and the process repeats . . .
156. Stirner vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel Max Stirner THESIS ANTITHESIS SYNTHESIS
157. Stirner vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel Max Stirner THESIS THESIS ANTITHESIS
158. Stirner vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel Max Stirner THESIS ANTITHESIS THESIS ANTITHESIS
159. Stirner vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel Max Stirner THESIS ANTITHESIS THESIS ANTITHESIS SYNTHESIS
160. Stirner vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel Max Stirner All of history is really the progress of Ideas – the journey of a World Spirit ( Weltgeist ) toward self-discovery.. Ideas progress through the dialectic: first, the idea appears positively, as a Thesis, which calls forth its opposite or Antithesis; then a Synthesis can emerge, combining the best of both. This, too, becomes a thesis, and the process repeats . . . Until finally an all-encompassing Idea is attained – the Absolute.
163. Stirner vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel Max Stirner THESIS ANTITHESIS THESIS
164. Stirner vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel Max Stirner THESIS ANTITHESIS THESIS ANTITHESIS
165. Stirner vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel Max Stirner THESIS ANTITHESIS THESIS ANTITHESIS THESIS
166. Stirner vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel Max Stirner THESIS ANTITHESIS THESIS ANTITHESIS THESIS ANTITHESIS
167. Stirner vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel Max Stirner THESIS ANTITHESIS THESIS ANTITHESIS THESIS ANTITHESIS ABSOLUTE
168. Stirner vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel Max Stirner Truly, you are haunted by a ghost (Geist)! Your disembodied “World Spirit” is imaginary – a mere abstraction.
169. Stirner vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel Max Stirner Truly, you are haunted by a ghost (Geist)! Your disembodied “World Spirit” is imaginary – a mere abstraction. The only true subject is the concrete, bodily individual – the Einzige .
170. Stirner vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel Max Stirner Truly, you are haunted by a ghost (Geist)! Your disembodied “World Spirit” is imaginary – a mere abstraction. The only true subject is the concrete, bodily individual – the Einzige . Nothing is “Absolute.” Everything is what it is relative to my interests.
171. Stirner vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel Max Stirner Truly, you are haunted by a ghost (Geist)! Your disembodied “World Spirit” is imaginary – a mere abstraction. The only true subject is the concrete, bodily individual – the Einzige . Nothing is “Absolute.” Everything is what it is relative to my interests. “ Nothing is more to me than myself!”
172. Stirner’s place in philosophy Max Stirner Friedrich Nietzsche Stirner’s negation of God and any source of values beyond the individual places him in the company of the existentialists . . . EXISTENTIALISTS Søren Kierkegaard Albert Camus Jean-Paul Sartre
173. Stirner’s place in philosophy Max Stirner Friedrich Nietzsche Stirner’s negation of God and any source of values beyond the individual places him in the company of the existentialists . . . . . . But we also wonder if he isn’t just a nihilist. EXISTENTIALISTS Søren Kierkegaard Albert Camus Jean-Paul Sartre
174. Stirner’s place in philosophy Max Stirner “ Stirner is the dialectician who reveals nihilism as the truth of the dialectic.” Gilles Deleuze (poststructuralist philosopher, 1925-1995)
175. Stirner’s place in philosophy Max Stirner “ Stirner is the dialectician who reveals nihilism as the truth of the dialectic.” Gilles Deleuze (poststructuralist philosopher, 1925-1995) . . . which makes him an important ancestor of poststructuralism.
176. Stirner’s place in philosophy Jean Baudrillard (postmodern theorist, 1929-) Max Stirner
177. Stirner’s place in philosophy Jean Baudrillard (postmodern theorist, 1929-) We share a similar critique of Marx’s Hegelian notion of “alienation.” Max Stirner
178. Stirner’s place in philosophy Jean Baudrillard (postmodern theorist, 1929-) We share a similar critique of Marx’s Hegelian notion of “alienation.” “ What an absurdity it is to pretend that men are 'other', to try to convince them that their deepest desire is to become 'themselves' again! Each man is totally there at each instant.” Max Stirner
179. Stirner’s place in philosophy Jean Baudrillard (postmodern theorist, 1929-) We share a similar critique of Marx’s Hegelian notion of “alienation.” “ The true man does not lie in the future, an object of longing, but lies, existent and real, in the present. Whatever and whoever I may be, joyous and suffering, a child or a graybeard, in confidence or doubt, in sleep or in waking, I am it, I am the true man.” “ What an absurdity it is to pretend that men are 'other', to try to convince them that their deepest desire is to become 'themselves' again! Each man is totally there at each instant.” Max Stirner
180. Stirner vs. the social anarchists “ The true man does not lie in the future, an object of longing, but lies, existent and real, in the present. Whatever and whoever I may be, joyous and suffering, a child or a graybeard, in confidence or doubt, in sleep or in waking, I am it, I am the true man.” Mikhail Bakunin Max Stirner
181. Stirner vs. the social anarchists “ The true man does not lie in the future, an object of longing, but lies, existent and real, in the present. Whatever and whoever I may be, joyous and suffering, a child or a graybeard, in confidence or doubt, in sleep or in waking, I am it, I am the true man.” Mikhail Bakunin Demystifying ideas, stripping them of sacred authority, is healthy – but Stirner deifies the ultimate abstraction: the self-contained “ego.” Max Stirner
182. Stirner vs. the social anarchists “ The true man does not lie in the future, an object of longing, but lies, existent and real, in the present. Whatever and whoever I may be, joyous and suffering, a child or a graybeard, in confidence or doubt, in sleep or in waking, I am it, I am the true man.” Mikhail Bakunin Anarchism is a philosophy of human development – of the potential contained within the actual. We only become free to develop fully in community. For Stirner, there is no potentiality, no becoming or development. Demystifying ideas, stripping them of sacred authority, is healthy – but Stirner deifies the ultimate abstraction: the self-contained “ego.” Max Stirner
183. Stirner vs. the social anarchists Mikhail Bakunin And as for economics – Stirner’s criticism leaves the competitive individualism of capitalism unscathed. Max Stirner
184. Stirner vs. the social anarchists Mikhail Bakunin And as for economics – Stirner’s criticism leaves the competitive individualism of capitalism unscathed. “ My intercourse with the world, what does it aim at? I want to have the enjoyment of it, therefore it must be my property, and therefore I want to win it. I do not want the liberty of men, nor their equality ; I want only my power over them, I want to make them my property, i. e. material for enjoyment. ” Max Stirner
185. Stirner vs. the social anarchists Mikhail Bakunin And as for economics – Stirner’s criticism leaves the competitive individualism of capitalism unscathed. Property is theft! “ My intercourse with the world, what does it aim at? I want to have the enjoyment of it, therefore it must be my property, and therefore I want to win it. I do not want the liberty of men, nor their equality ; I want only my power over them, I want to make them my property, i. e. material for enjoyment. “ P.-J. Proudhon Max Stirner
186. Stirner vs. the social anarchists Mikhail Bakunin P.-J. Proudhon In fact, the critique of “property” and the creation of economic alternatives to capitalism will turn out to be central to anarchist theory.
190. Proudhon vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel P.-J. Proudhon “ In all things and everywhere, I proclaim Progress . . .”
191. Proudhon vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel P.-J. Proudhon “ In all things and everywhere, I proclaim Progress . . .” Yes! Progress is the law of History!
192. Proudhon vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel P.-J. Proudhon X “ In all things and everywhere, I proclaim Progress . . .” “ . . . and no less resolutely, in all things and everywhere, I denounce the Absolute .” Yes! Progress is the law of History!
193. Proudhon vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel P.-J. Proudhon X “ In all things and everywhere, I proclaim Progress . . .” “ . . . and no less resolutely, in all things and everywhere, I denounce the Absolute .” Yes! Progress is the law of History! Frickin’ anarchists, always gotta be different . . .
194.
195. Proudhon vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel P.-J. Proudhon History is the work of the World Spirit thinking its way through the dialectic. In effect, History is the operation of Reason.
196. Proudhon vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel P.-J. Proudhon History is the work of the World Spirit thinking its way through the dialectic. In effect, History is the operation of Reason. Or, as I like to say: “What is real is rational, and what is rational is real.”
197. Proudhon vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel P.-J. Proudhon History is the work of the World Spirit thinking its way through the dialectic. In effect, History is the operation of Reason. Or, as I like to say: “What is real is rational, and what is rational is real.” On the one hand, this is ridiculous. There is no World Spirit, only individual minds working in a material world.
198. Proudhon vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel P.-J. Proudhon History is the work of the World Spirit thinking its way through the dialectic. In effect, History is the operation of Reason. Or, as I like to say: “What is real is rational, and what is rational is real.” On the one hand, this is ridiculous. There is no World Spirit, only individual minds working in a material world. On the other hand, just as our combined labor – our “collective force” – can accomplish more than the sum of our individual efforts, so society as a whole can be said to possess a “collective reason.”
199.
200.
201. Proudhon vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel P.-J. Proudhon Mere sensory experiences can only render limited knowledge of the material world. Higher knowledge must come from the contemplation of pure ideas.
202. Proudhon vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel P.-J. Proudhon Mere sensory experiences can only render limited knowledge of the material world. Higher knowledge must come from the contemplation of pure ideas. Karl Marx You have things backwards! Ideas are merely a reflection of the material world.
203. Proudhon vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel P.-J. Proudhon Mere sensory experiences can only render limited knowledge of the material world. Higher knowledge must come from the contemplation of pure ideas. Karl Marx You have things backwards! Ideas are merely a reflection of the material world. I refuse the very distinction between “ideas” and “matter.” The two cannot be separated from one another.
204. Proudhon vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel P.-J. Proudhon Karl Marx I refuse the very distinction between “ideas” and “matter.” The two cannot be separated from one another. Frickin’ anarchists!
205.
206.
207. Bakunin vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel Mikhail Bakunin Since history is the progress of ideas, philosophy is the science of history. In fact, the goal of history is to produce the philosopher who can render history’s pattern clear. Karl Marx
208. Bakunin vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel Mikhail Bakunin Since history is the progress of ideas, philosophy is the science of history. In fact, the goal of history is to produce the philosopher who can render history’s pattern clear. Hegel, a professional thinker, imagines that history is a matter of progress in ideas. In fact, ideas follow material, economic progress. My science of history will be founded on the study of economics. Karl Marx
209. Bakunin vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel Mikhail Bakunin Since history is the progress of ideas, philosophy is the science of history. In fact, the goal of history is to produce the philosopher who can render history’s pattern clear. Hegel, a professional thinker, imagines that history is a matter of progress in ideas. In fact, ideas follow material, economic progress. My science of history will be founded on the study of economics. There is no “science of history,” and even if there were, the “scientists” would have no right to dictate to the rest of us. Karl Marx
210. Bakunin vs. Hegel G.W.F. Hegel Mikhail Bakunin There is no “science of history,” and even if there were, the “scientists” would have no right to dictate to the rest of us. Frickin’ anarchists! Karl Marx
211.
212. Bakunin’s place in philosophy Mikhail Bakunin EXISTENTIALISM Bakunin and I attended the same lecture by the philosopher Friedrich Schelling at which he argued that Hegel’s philosophy had to be replaced by a “philosophy of existence” – the inspiration for my existentialist philosophy. Both of us distrust abstract systems of thought. Søren Kierkegaard
213. Bakunin’s place in philosophy Mikhail Bakunin EXISTENTIALISM Bakunin and I attended the same lecture by the philosopher Friedrich Schelling at which he argued that Hegel’s philosophy had to be replaced by a “philosophy of existence” – the inspiration for my existentialist philosophy. Both of us distrust abstract systems of thought. True. However, I am before all else an atheist and a socialist – not for me Kierkegaard’s incessant whining, his preoccupation with “dread,” “despair,” and God, and his individualistic indifference to politics. Søren Kierkegaard
214. Bakunin’s place in philosophy Mikhail Bakunin Bakunin’s rejection of “science” in favor of “life” puts him close to my own postmodernist philosophy, which is all about being skeptical toward “grand narratives” – big ideas like History, Progress, God, Reason, Nature, Truth, etc. Intellectuals use grand narratives to enhance their own authority and power at our expense. In fact, there is no objective knowledge, only stories we tell ourselves about the world we live in. Jean-François Lyotard POSTMODERNISM
215. Bakunin’s place in philosophy Mikhail Bakunin Bakunin’s rejection of “science” in favor of “life” puts him close to my own postmodernist philosophy, which is all about being skeptical toward “grand narratives” – big ideas like History, Progress, God, Reason, Nature, Truth, etc. Intellectuals use grand narratives to enhance their own authority and power at our expense. In fact, there is no objective knowledge, only stories we tell ourselves about the world we live in. But I would make a bad postmodernist, too. I value the natural sciences for making it possible to understand the world without reference to God. Nor do I deny the possibility of objective knowledge. It’s just that we should never grand absolute authority to anyone, not even to those who possess knowledge. Jean-François Lyotard POSTMODERNISM
216.
217. Kropotkin’s place in philosophy My place is not so much with the pure philosophers as it is with the scientists and ethicists.
218. Kropotkin’s place in philosophy Peter Kropotkin “ Of all the differences between man and the lower animals, the moral sense or conscience is by far the most important.” “ The moral feelings are not innate, but acquired.” Thomas Huxley Charles Darwin John Stuart Mill
219. Kropotkin’s place in philosophy “ The practice of that which is ethically best – what we call goodness or virtue – involves a course of conduct which, in all respects, is opposed to that which leads to success in the cosmic struggle for existence.” Thomas Huxley Charles Darwin John Stuart Mill
220. Kropotkin’s place in philosophy “ [In primitive societies,] the weakest and stupidest went to the wall, while the toughest and shrewdest, those who were best fitted to cope with their circumstances, but not the best in another way, survived. Life was a continuous free fight, and beyond the limited and temporary relations of the family, the Hobbesian war of each against all was the normal state of existence.” Thomas Huxley Charles Darwin John Stuart Mill
221. Kropotkin’s place in philosophy We must find a conception of morality which is thoroughly compatible with the findings of natural science, not requiring any supernatural authority to establish right and wrong. Fortunately, Darwin has shown us the way to one. Thomas Huxley Charles Darwin John Stuart Mill
222. Kropotkin’s place in philosophy We must find a conception of morality which is thoroughly compatible with the findings of natural science, not requiring any supernatural authority to establish right and wrong. Fortunately, Darwin has shown us the way to one. Natural selection does not promote the survival of the fittest individuals , but that of the fittest species . This explains why, as we can see from the abundance of “social” species on Earth, cooperation is as much the law of nature as competition. Thomas Huxley Charles Darwin John Stuart Mill
223. Kropotkin’s place in philosophy Natural selection does not promote the survival of the fittest individuals , but that of the fittest species . This explains why, as we can see from the abundance of “social” species on Earth, cooperation is as much the law of nature as competition. Altruism is as much part of human nature as egoism is – our collective survival has required it. Our customs and institutions can encourage the development of one instinct or the other – that is all. Thomas Huxley Charles Darwin John Stuart Mill
225. Anarchist economics is simply the art of arranging for needs to be met with the minimum of wasted effort. From each according to ability, to each according to need.
226. But who is to decide my abilities or my needs? I say my needs are 100; you say they are 90. I say my abilities are 90; you say they are 100.
227. It’s all a matter of labor. If you are able to work and don’t, you shouldn’t share in the wealth produced by others’ labor. To each according to his deeds !
228. A community does have the right to eject someone who refuses to help out. Still, it shouldn’t come to that most of the time – and a wage system only creates new problems.
229. A community does have the right to eject someone who refuses to help out. Still, it shouldn’t come to that most of the time – and a wage system only creates new problems. Such as?
230. A community does have the right to eject someone who refuses to help out. Still, it shouldn’t come to that most of the time – and a wage system only creates new problems. Such as? Well, who is to decide how valuable the products of my labor are? Is brain work worth more or less than manual labor? What about child-rearing?
231. It is true that economic value is very difficult to formulate. That’s why it should be a matter of negotiation – of contract.
232. There are two problems with reliance on a system of free contracts between individuals.
233. First of all, it will be necessary to coordinate and plan on a bigger scale than a couple of individuals making a deal..
234. First of all, it will be necessary to coordinate and plan on a bigger scale than a couple of individuals making a deal.. Second, the outcome of those contractual arrangements may be that someone ends up as exclusive owner of the means of production – which gives them the power to force others to work for them.
235. There are a few ways we can avoid these problems.
236. There are a few ways we can avoid these problems. For instance, we can establish equitable systems of trade – for instance, “labor note” currencies which allow us to trade work-time for work-time.
237. There are a few ways we can avoid these problems. For instance, we can establish equitable systems of trade – for instance, “labor note” currencies which allow us to trade work-time for work-time. We can also make contracts between groups of producers and consumers organized into cooperatives, which can in turn be networked.
238. Such a system is still too divisive – too much haggling. Anarchism requires a deeper sense of community. When people are assured that their needs will be met, they feel more secure and are capable of more generous behavior.
239. We should look to the example set by those primitive societies in which the primary form of property is still the gift – an institution which still survives among us in forms such as the barn-raising, the Red Cross, the quilting bee . . . and, of course, the family.
240.
241. Anarchism as ethics John Stuart Mill CONSEQUENTIALIST Peter Kropotkin ANARCHIST Immanuel Kant DEONTOLOGICAL
242. Anarchism as ethics “ Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness ; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. ” John Stuart Mill CONSEQUENTIALIST Peter Kropotkin ANARCHIST Immanuel Kant DEONTOLOGICAL
243. Anarchism as ethics “ Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.” John Stuart Mill CONSEQUENTIALIST Peter Kropotkin ANARCHIST Immanuel Kant DEONTOLOGICAL
244. Anarchism as ethics “ The morality which emerges from the observation of the whole animal kingdom may be summed up in the words: ‘Do to others what you would have them do to you in the same circumstances .’” John Stuart Mill CONSEQUENTIALIST Peter Kropotkin ANARCHIST Immanuel Kant DEONTOLOGICAL
245.
246. Anarchism as ethics “ We need a critique of moral values, and we must first question the very value of these values. For that we need a knowledge of the conditions and circumstance out of which these values grew, under which they have developed and changed . . .” Peter Kropotkin Friedrich Nietzsche
247. Anarchism as ethics “ The conception of good or evil varies according to the degree of intelligence or of knowledge acquired. There is nothing unchangeable about it . . .” Peter Kropotkin Friedrich Nietzsche
248. Anarchism as ethics “ There are epochs in which the moral conception changes entirely . . . Let us welcome such epochs, for they are epochs of criticism. They are an infallible sign that thought is working in society. A higher morality has begun to be wrought out.” Peter Kropotkin Friedrich Nietzsche
249. Anarchism as ethics “ Nihilism is the necessary consequence of the ideals entertained hitherto . . . [for] all the old ideals are hostile to life.” Peter Kropotkin Friedrich Nietzsche
250. Anarchism as ethics “ The end of morals cannot be ‘transcendental,’ as the idealists desire it to be: it must be real. We must find moral satisfaction in life and not in some form of extra-vital condition.” Peter Kropotkin Friedrich Nietzsche
251. Anarchism as ethics “ What is good? – All that heightens the feeling of power, the will to power, power itself in man.” Peter Kropotkin Friedrich Nietzsche
252. Anarchism as ethics “ Nature was represented by the Darwinists as an immense battlefield upon which one sees nothing but an incessant struggle for life and an extermination of the weak ones by the strongest . . . evil was the only lesson which man could get from Nature . . .” Peter Kropotkin Friedrich Nietzsche
253. Anarchism as ethics “ But if a scientist maintains that ‘the only lesson which Nature gives to man is one of evil,’ then he necessarily has to admit the existence of some other, extra-natural, or super-natural influence which inspires man with conceptions of ‘supreme good,’ and guides human development towards a higher goal . . .” Peter Kropotkin Friedrich Nietzsche
254. Anarchism as ethics “ In reality, however, things do not stand so badly as that . . . Mutual aid is the predominant fact of nature .” Peter Kropotkin Friedrich Nietzsche
255. Anarchism as ethics “ Life manifests itself in growth, in multiplication, in spreading . . . . From this consciousness of the superabundance of vital force, which strives to manifest itself in action, results that which we usually call self-sacrifice. We feel that we possess more energy than is necessary for our daily life, and we give this energy to others.” Peter Kropotkin Friedrich Nietzsche
256. Anarchism as ethics “ Be strong. Overflow with emotional and intellectual energy, and you will spread your intelligence, your love, your energy of action broadcast among others! This is what all moral teaching comes to.” Peter Kropotkin Friedrich Nietzsche
257. Anarchism as ethics “‘ Equal to the equal, unequal to the unequal’ – that would be the true slogan of justice; and also its corollary: ‘Never make equal what is unequal.’” Peter Kropotkin Friedrich Nietzsche
258. Anarchism as ethics “ Equality in mutual relations with the solidarity arising from it, this is the most powerful weapon of the animal world in the struggle for existence.” Peter Kropotkin Friedrich Nietzsche
259. Anarchism as ethics “‘ The world is perfect’ – thus says the instinct of the most spiritual . . . What is bad . . . Is born of weakness, of envy, of revenge . The anarchist and the Christian have the same origin.” Peter Kropotkin Friedrich Nietzsche
260. Anarchism as ethics “ [You] did not understand anything about the economic workers' revolt. The great Nietzsche . . . remained a slave to bourgeois prejudice.” Peter Kropotkin Friedrich Nietzsche
262. Anarchism and spirituality Long before Proudhon became the first to call himself “an anarchist” in 1840, anarchist ideas and movements had emerged in religious forms.
270. Anarchism and spirituality “ I wish people would not be so afraid of words, such as the word anarchist.”
271. Anarchism and spirituality “ All forms of rule have this in common: each wields more power than the given conditions require.”
272.
273. Anarchism and spirituality “ [In] a state of enlightened anarchy . . . every one is his own ruler. He rules himself in such a manner that he is never a hindrance to his neighbour . . . therefore, there is no political power because there is no State.”
