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The Anarchist Reader GEORGE WOODCOCK was born in Winnipeg in 1912 and came to England as a child, remaining until 1949. He taught English at the University of Washington, and English and Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia, but resigned from teaching in 1963 to devote himself to writing. He has edited various journals and papers including Now, War Commentary and Freedom and was one of the founder editors of the American journal Dissent. He has won many literary awards and in 1973 received the Molson Prize, the highest Canadian award for achievements in the arts and humanities. He has published over thirty books including The Cryst.il Spirit (1966), a study of George Orwell, Anarchism ( 1970) and biographies of Kropotkin, Proudhon, Wilde, Gandhi and Huxley. The Anarchist Reader Edited by George Woodcock Fontana Paperbacks First published by Fontana Paperbacks 1977 Second impression September 1978 Third impression September 1980 Fourth impression September 1983 Copyright in the Introduction and this selection © George Woodcock 1977 Made and printed in Great Britain by William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd, Glasgow CONDITIONS OF SALE: This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior permission in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser Contents Acknowledgements 9 Anarchism: A Historical Introduction George Woodcock 11 A Note on the Text 57 Part 1: The Anarchist Stance 61 Anarchy-Anarchist Sebastian Faure 62 Anarchy Defined Errico Malatesta 62 The Birth of Anarchy: the Death of Property 65 Pierre-Joseph Proudhon Disobedience: Man's Original Virtue Oscar Wilde 72 Anarchism and the Religious Impulse Herbert Read 14 Part 2: The Anarchists Accuse 79 Church and State Michael Bakunin 81 The State and the Sacred Max Stirner 88 Normal Politics and the Psychology of Power 92 Paul Goodman War is the Health of the State Randolph Bourne 98 1he Indefensible Constitution Lysander Spooner 103 The Illusion of Universal Suffrage Michael Bakunin 108 Parliamentary Isolation Pierre-Joseph Proudhon 110 The Uselessness of Laws Peter Kropotkin 111 The Violence of Laws Leo Tolstoy 117 pn Punishment William Godwin 118 Prison and its Effects Peter Kropotkin 124 On Property William Godwin 128 The Tyranny of the Clock George Woodcock 132 Part 3: The Wrong Road of Change 137 To Karl Marx Pierre-Joseph Proudhon 138 Perils of the Marxist State Michael Bakunin 140 State Socialism and Anarchism Benjamin Tucker 143 The Failure of the Russian Revolution Emma Goldman 153 6 Contents Part 4: Revolution? Rebellion? Insurrection? 163 The Principle of the Revolution Pierre-Joseph Proudhon 166 Revolution and Insurrection Max Stimer 167 Anarchist Action Nicolas Walter 167 Affinity Groups Murray Bookchin 173 Revolution and Social Reality Alex Comfort 175 Anarchism and Violence Peter Kropotkin 184 The Violence of the Lawful World Alexander Berkman 185 An Assassin's Attempt Alexander Berkman 187 A Terrorist's Defence Emile Henry 189 Civil Disobedience Henry David Thoreau 197 Resistance to Military Service Leo Tolstoy 204 Syndicalism Defined George Woodcock 208 Syndicalism: An Advocacy Pierre Monatte 213 Syndicalism: An Anarchist Critique Errico Malatesta 220 Part S: Flowers for the Rebels who Failed 226 The Paris Commune, 1871 Peter Kropotkin 228 Makhno's Anarchism in practice Peter Arshinov 236 Anarchists in the Spanish Civil War 243 Bueneventura Durutti with Pierre van Paasen Barcelona, 1936 George Orwell 244 An Andalusian Commune Franz Borkenau 246 A Commune in Aragon Gaston Leval 248 A Song for the Spanish Anarchists Herbert Read 256 Paris, 1968 Murray Bookchin 256 Part 6: Liberating F.ducation 266 The Evils of National Education William Godwin 261 Education through Desire William Godwin 210 Alternatives to Miseducation Paul Goodman 214 An Aesthetic Approach to Education Herbert Read 219 Part 7: Glimpses ofa New World 287 The Old Society - and the New Pierre-Joseph Proudhon 290 The Dissolution of Government William Godwin 291 Arranging our Lives Leo Tolstoy 306 What is Authority? Michael Bakunin 309 The Revolution and the Nation Pierre-Joseph Proudhon 314 Contents 7 Topless Federations Colin Ward 319 Reflections on Decentralism George Woodcock 326 The Organization of Production James Guillaume 332 Lazy Men and Dirty Work Alexander Berkman 334 Work and the Machine William Morris 338 The Time Store Josiah Warren 340 Exchange and Distribution James Guillaume 349 On the Wage System Peter Kropotkin 352 Crime in a Free World Peter Kropotkin 362 Anarchism and Ecology Murray Bookchin 365 The Anarchists: A Biographical Supplement 371 Bibliographical Note 382 Whoever puts his hand on me to govern me is an usurper and a tyrant; I declare him my enemy. Pierre-Joseph Proudhon Let us put our trust in the· eternal spirit which destroys and annihilates only because it is the unsearchable and eternally creative source of all life. The urge to destroy is ·also a creative urge. Michael Bakunin With what delight must every well informed friend of mankind look forward, to the auspicious period, the dissolution of political government, of that brute engine, which has been the only perennial cause of the vices of mankind, and which ... has mischiefs of various sorts incorporated with its substance, and no otherwise removable than by its utter annihilation. William Godwin The loathsome mask has fallen, the man remains Sceptreless, free, uncircumscribed, but man Equal, unclassed, tribeless, and nationless, Exempt from awe, worship, degree, the king Over himself; just, gentle, wise, but man Passionless? - no, yet free from guilt or pain, Which were, for his will made or suffered them, Nor yet exempt, though ruling them like slaves, From chance, and death, and mutability, The clogs of that which else might oversoar The loftiest star of unascended heaven Pinnacled deep in the intense inane. Percy Bysshe Shelley Proletarians of the world, look into the depths of your own beings, seek out the truth and realize it yourselves: you will find it nowhere else. Peter Arshinov Give flowers to the rebels who failed ..• Italian anarchist song Acknowledgements The author and publisher gratefully acknowledge permission to reproduce the following extracts: 'Topless Federations' from Anarchy in Action by Colin Ward reprinted by permission of the author, George Allen and Unwin Ltd, and Harper & Row, Publishers; 'A Commune in Aragon' reprinted by permission of Faber and Faber Ltd from The Spanish Cockpit by Franz Borkenau; 'A Song for the Spanish Anarchists' reprinted by permission of Faber and Faber Ltd and Horizon Press, New York from Collected Poems by Herbert Read; 'An Aesthetic Approach to Education' reprinted by permission of David Higham Associates Ltd from The Grassroots ofArt by Herbert Read published by Faber and Faber Ltd; 'Anarchism and the Religious Impulse' reprinted by permission of David Higham Associates Ltd from Anarchy and Order by Herbert Read published by Faber and Faber Ltd; 'Barcelona, 1936' reprinted by permission of Mrs Sonia Brownwell Orwell, Secker and Warburg Ltd and Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. from Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell; 'Revolution and Social Reality' reprinted by permission of David Higham Associates Ltd and the author from Authority a11d De­ linquency in the Modern State by Alex Comfort, published by Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd; 'Affinity Groups', 'Paris, 1968'; and 'Anarchism and Ecology' reprinted by permission of the author, Wildwood House Ltd and Ramparts Press, Palo Alto, California from Post-Scarcity Anarchism by Murray· Bookchin; 'The Violence of Laws', 'Resistance to Military Service' and 'Arranging Our Lives' from Leo Tolstoy's Works, translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude and published by the 0Aford University Press. Reprinted by permission of the publisher; 'Makhno's Anarchism in Practice' reprinted by permission of Black and Red and Solidarity, Detroit from History of the Makhnovist Movement by Peter Arshinov; 'The Failure of the Russian Revolution' reprinted by permission of Doubleday and Co. Inc. from My Further Disillusionment with Russia by Emma Goldman; 10 Acknowledgements 'Normal Politics and the Psychology of Power' reprinted by per­ mission of Random House Inc. from People and Personnel by Paul Goodman; 'Alternatives to Miseducation' reprinted from Compulsory Miseducation by Paul Goodman, copyright 1964 by permission of the publishers Horizon Press, New York. While every effort has been made to trace copyright holders, this has not always been possible. The publishers would be pleased to hear from any copyright holder not here acknowledged. Anarchism: A Historical Introduction GEORGE WOODCOCK 1 TRADITION AND TERRAIN Anarchism is a word about which there have been many con­ fusions. Anarchy is very often mistakenly regarded as the equivalent of chaos, and an anarchist is often thought of as at best a nihilist - a man who has abandoned all principles - and at worst a mindless terrorist. The anarchists whose works I shall be quoting in this collection were men of elaborate principles, a tiny minority of whom indeed did perform acts of violence, though they never aspired to compete, in terms of destructiveness, with the military leaders of the past or the nuclear scientists of our own day. In other words, I shall be presenting the anarchists as they were and are rather than as they have appeared in the fantasies of cartoon­ ists, journalists and politicians, whose favourite way of abusing an opponent is to accuse him of promoting anarchy. What we are concerned with, iµ terms of definition, is a cluster of words which in turn represents a cluster of doctrines and attitudes whose principal uniting feature is the belief that government is both harmful and unnecessary. A double Greek root is involved: the word archon, meaning a ruler, and the prefix an, indicating without; hence anarchy means the state of being without a ruler.
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