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•'I Must First Take Stock of My Own Self:" the Individual & the Not-Mass in Emma Goldman's Anarchism

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•'I Must First Take Stock of My Own Self: •'I MUST FIRST TAKE STOCK OF MY OWN SELF:" THE INDIVIDUAL & THE NOT-MASS IN EMMA GOLDMAN'S ANARCHISM A Thesis Submitted to the Committee on Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Faculty of Arts and Science TRENT UNIVERSITY Peterborough, Ontario, Canada (c) Copyright by Laura Greenwood 2011 Theory, Culture and Politics M.A. Graduate Program October 2011 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OttawaONK1A0N4 OttawaONK1A0N4 Canada Canada Your Tile Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-81100-9 Our file Notre r6f6rence ISBN: 978-0-494-81100-9 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre im primes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada ABSTRACT "I Must First Take Stock of My Own Self:" The Individual & The Not-Mass in Emma Goldman's Anarchism Laura Greenwood This thesis, which aims to interrogate Emma Goldman as an innovative anarchist thinker, seeks to illuminate her conception of the individual and its implications for radical political organizing by focusing on three texts. The individual is first described in relation to Goldman's Nietzschean essay "Minorities versus Majorities;" while the essay's title suggests a simple dichotomy, Greimasian semiotics reveals the not-mass as a tactic of individuals' political organizing. Goldman's notion of the individual is further developed in her autobiography Living My Life; this thesis argues that not only does Goldman constitute herself an anarchistic individual through this text, but also that the text advances a notion of the individual as open, becoming, unfixed, and self-creating. Finally, Goldman's My Disillusionment in Russia is read as an exploration of the downfalls of mass revolution and the possibility of individuals engaging in not-mass radical politics. Keywords: Emma Goldman, anarchism, individualism, subjectivity, writing, autobiography, Russian Revolution, political organizing ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As I entered the Theory, Culture and Politics Masters program, I did not plan to write a thesis focusing on Emma Goldman. Prior to the writing of this thesis, my anarchism and my academic work have, for the most part, been two components of my life which have remained relatively separate; while I expressed interest in writing a thesis on anarchism prior to my arrival in Peterborough, I always harboured some doubts about whether the project would materialize. Two years later, I am very pleased that it has; I am especially glad that Emma Goldman, one of the first anarchists whose work I encountered a decade ago and whose books have been a constant presence on my shelf ever since, became this project's focus. This work would never have come to fruition were it not for those who have generously offered their friendship, guidance, support, constructive criticism, and thoughtful insight. I first wish to extend my thanks to my thesis supervisor, Alan O'Connor, for his support and encouragement since the very beginning of this project, when the ideas that would inform this work were still very much in their formative stages. His insightful lines of questioning, suggestions of resources and new ideas, and willingness to meet for frequent discussions have all been invaluable to the completion of this thesis. I also thank Nadine Changfoot for her contributions to this thesis as a reader and committee member; her input has greatly enhanced this work. I am thankful to Kathy Ferguson for serving as external advisor; her reading of this work and her participation in the thesis defence process are tremendously appreciated. Finally, I wish to thank Davide Panagia for serving as chair of my thesis defence. The supportive environment created by those involved with the Centre for the iii Study of Theory, Culture and Politics at Trent University has contributed greatly to my ability to complete this project. I would like to thank those whom, as Centre directors and professors during my first year of graduate studies, offered their support and guidance: the discussions I have shared with Doug Torgerson, Andrew Wernick, David Holdsworth, and Veronica Hollinger have contributed to my thought and have, in surprising ways, emerged in this work. I also extend my gratitude to my fellow students at the Centre, with whom I have had the privilege of sharing many a conversation over evening drinks; these conversations not only contributed to the content of this project but also bolstered my ability to navigate the stresses of life as a graduate student. I also thank Nancy Legate, the Centre's administrative assistant, for all her kind words, support, and invaluable advice. Having presented a version of the first chapter of this work at the North American Anarchist Studies Network (NAASN) Conference in Toronto on 15 January 2011,1 had the opportunity to share many thoughtful conversations with other presenters and attendees; I thank them for their input, which has enriched both this work and my own anarchist perspective. I also extend thanks to my friends. Specifically, I wish to thank Nick Day, a friend and conference co-panelist, for his support as well as his suggestions about the first chapter of this thesis. I thank Josh Clark for proofreading my final draft. I thank Tricia Morris, who has likely read the majority of this work via online chatting and email, for her many valuable insights as well as her support and encouragement. I thank Stu Morris for the great many discussions in which he has shared his knowledge of Emma Goldman. Lastly, but certainly not least, infinite gratitude is owed to my family. Their support and encouragement enabled me to begin this project as well as to complete it. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Acknowledgements iii Table of Contents v List of Figures vi Introduction 1 Individuals and Masses: Expanding a Dichotomy I. Minorities Versus Majorities: An Overview 9 II. The Not-Mass: Illuminating a Fourth Position 16 III. A More Complex Individualism 28 An Individual Living Her Life IV Flux and Becoming 32 V The Autobiographical Individual 44 VI. Constituting a Self, Writing a Self 54 VII. Disjunctures & Discontinuities 59 i. Haymarket 59 ii. Homestead 66 iii. Russia 75 VIII. New Possibilities 85 Lessons from a Non-Revolution IX. Critique of Bolshevik Politics 87 X. The Bolshevik Mass, The Revolutionary Not-Mass 96 XL Goldman, The Not-Mass, and Radical Politics Today 106 Conclusion 112 Bibliography 115 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure I Basic semiotic square representing the elementary structure of meaning Figure II Semiotic square modelling sexual relations according to Claude Levi-Strauss' division of the semantic universe into the dimensions of nature and culture Figure III Semiotic square modelling the dichotomy of individual versus mass in Emma Goldman's "Minorities versus Majorities' Figure IV Semiotic square modelling the individual versus the mass incorporating Berkman's attentat as biographical trace Figure V Semiotic dichotomy modelling Goldman's contrast between Revolution and Bolshevism Figure VI Semiotic square modelling the dichotomy of Goldman's Revolution versus Bolshevism VI 1 Introduction Emma Goldman was born in 1869 in what is today Kaunas, Lithuania, to a "petit bourgeois Orthodox Jewish family of declining fortunes."1 Her family moved several times, but she spent most of her childhood in Konigsberg and later Saint Petersburg. She immigrated, along with her older sister Helene, to the United States in late December 1885. It was shortly after her arrival that she first began to identify herself as an anarchist. Though she had some radical political influences as a child, especially in Russia, it was the Haymarket strikes, bombing, and the subsequent conviction and execution of four prominent anarchist organizers that she cites as radicalizing her political views. In her autobiography, Living My Life, she recounts her strong emotional response to a public speech about the
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