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Luigi Galleani the End of Anarchism.Pdf Luigi Galleani THE END OF ANARCHISM? Translated from the Italian by Max Sartin and Robert D'Attilio .with an introduction by M. S. Cienfuegos Press, Orkney Galleani, Luigi The end of anarchism? 1. Anarchism and anarchists I. Title II. Sartin, Max III. D' Attilio, Robert IV. La fine dell'anarchismo? English 335'.83 HX833. ISBN 0 904564 55 2 The End of Anarchism?, Luigi Galleani Translated from the Italian by Max Sartin and Robert D'At tilio Jacket Illustration by Flavia Costantini First English language edition published by Cienfuegos Press, Sanday, Orkney, U.K., 1982 La Fine Dell'Anarchismo, Luigi Galleani Edizione Curata da Vecchi Lettori Di Cronaca Sovversiva First Italian edition published Newark, New Jersey, 1925. Contents Page Introduction I The Interview with Merlino II The Anarchism of Merlino 6 III The Characteristics of Anarchism 10 IV Socialist-Collectivism and Anarchist Communism 17 V Anarchist-Communism and Individualism 34 VI Workers' Organisation 47 VII Propaganda of the Deed 51 VIII Anarchy Will Be! 65 Footnotes 73 Introduction The first decade of the twentieth century seemed to be quite promising. We were being told at school and on the streets that a new era of democratic freedom and social justice had opened. Criticism of the old institutions was encouraged by politicians, and the hopes of working people were raised by the labour unions' promises of protection. The vanguards of political and social thought were spreading the seeds of new ideas among the workers of the world about ways and means to bring about a thorough emancipation from the oppression of political power and from the exploitation of land and capital by private ownership. Rulers and employers had not changed, of course, and used violence and terror from time to time. But their brutality was beginning to provoke tentative efforts at resistance. In the industrial centres, the mining fields, and agrarian communities, sporadic explosions of rebel­ lion were registered. In Russia a serious revolutionary movement shook the old order of things during the years 1905-1906. The movement was finally defeated, but it had badly destroyed the myth of the Czar's absolute authority, and, even more important, it had deeply hurt the old regime at its roots, the countryside. In Western Europe working people were in motion. The class struggle was in fulldevelopment, and no police or military bloodshed seemed able to stop it. Governments use jails and guns against dissent, but there are not enough jails and guns to silence all dissenters when they are determined to speak out and fight for their rights. Everywhere dissent had found ways to express itself. In Italy alone, more than eighty anarchist periodicals were published - with varying success - during the first seven years of the century. And many, many more were, of course, being published elsewhere, in Europe and the Americas. At the beginning of the year, 1907, some Belgian and Dutch comrades proposed an International Anarchist Congress to be held some time in the following Summer. It was considered the first truly international Anarchist Congress, and it took place in Amsterdam fromthe 23rd to the 31st day of October 1907. During this period, one of the most absorbing debates among the anarchists was about the attitude they would take on the subject of syndicalism. 1 Born in France, syndicalism was substantially a rebellion against the submissive character the trade unions and similar labour organizations had assumed under the leadership of the legalist socialists. Regional and national conventions were promoted in all countries. In Italy, one such congress was held in Rome from the 16th to the 20th day of June 1907, with the participation of more than one hundred militants from all parts of Italy. It was the first public gathering of anarchists in Italy since the beginning of the century, and the conservative circles, the faint-hearted and the fanatics, informedby an alarmist press, could not help noticing it and brooding over it. How great and how imminent could the danger of such 'subversive' activities be? Mr Cesare Sobrero, the Roman corres­ pondent of a Turin daily newspaper, La Stampa, remembered that a Roman lawyer, Francesco Saverio Mq-lino,2 who had been for many years a capable and learned anarchist militantand a competent writer on social matters, might be of exceptional help in searching foran answer to these questions. Merlino consented to be interviewed, and the result was published by La Stampa on 18 June under the sensational title, 'La Fine Dell' Anarchismo' (The End of Anarchism). Other orthodox newspapers, such as L'Ora in Palermo and L' Unione in Tunis reprinted it verbatim for the benefit of their middle-class readers. Obviously, the more than one hundred anarchists gathered in Rome - as well as their comrades scattered throughout all parts ofltaly and the world - felt that the offensive statement was unwarranted, that anarch­ ism was very much alive in their hearts, in their minds, and above all, in their words and deeds. Luigi Fabbri,3 who was then co-editor with Pietro Gori4 of the fortnightly review Il Pensiero (Thought) and a personal friend of Merli­ no, couldn't believe his eyes. He wrote to Merlino, asking if the 'strange' published text of the interview was really a faithful presentation of his opinions. A reply came to him promptly, saying that everything in the published interview, except for the title, reflected his opinions on anarchism. Both Merlino's letter and Fabbri's commentary were later published in Il Pensiero in Rome and in Cronaca Sovversiva, the Italian language weekly Luigi Galleani had been publishing in Barre, Vermont, since 1903. Luigi Galleani had been, like Merlino, a well known militant in the Italian movement since the eighteen-eighties. Both were then passionate fighters for freedom and social justice against the brutal repressions of ·the Italian Government. In 1884 Merlino was tried for 'conspiracy' and sentenced by a Roman tribunal to four years in prison. On appeal, the sentence was reduced to three years, but by then Merlino had gone abroad. For ten years he travelled through Western Europe and North America, spreading everywhere, by word of mouth, by books, articles and essays, his competent criticisms of the existing order of things. In 1892, while in New York City, he, with other Italian comrades, founded the journal, Il Grido degli Oppressi, (The Cry of the Oppressed), which existed until November 1894. But, by that time, Merlino had returned to Italy where he was arrested in Naples and imprisoned to serve his old sentence. Galleani was also in prison, having been arrested in Genoa at the end of 1893, tried forconspiracy with 35 other comrades and sentenced to three years in prison. But, at the end of that period, while Galleani, was more resolute than ever in his convictions, was forced to take up residence on an island under police supervision (domicilio coatto), Merlino was set completely free at the end of his term. And at the beginning of 1897, having established himself in Rome, he sent a letter to the conservative news­ paper, fl Messaggero, declaring that his opinions had changed. This provoked a debate with Errico Malatesta,5 a debate that continued until 1898, when Malatesta was arrested. In conclusion, Merlino stated that he no longer considered himself an anarchist, but that he would rather definehimself a 'libertarian socialist'. Furthermore, he now approved of parliamentary action, so much so, that, in agreement with other friends, he proposed to present Galleani (who was then confinedto the island of Pantelleria, situated between Sicily and Tunisia) as a candidate for Parliament on the Socialist Party ticket as a protest against political detention and as a means to set him free by popular request. Galleani refusedthe offer, publicly and most emphatically, and sent to the anarchist paper L'Agitazione (of Ancona) a signed statement to that effect. After this, a collective proposal from the anarchist prisoners on Pantelleria was sent to all other anarchist prisoners, either in Italian jails or in domicilio coatto. It was an appeal to publish a special paper, edited and paid forby themselves, forthe purpose of asserting once and forall their firmrefusal to compromise, or in any way distort, their opposition to the State - a fundamental tenet of their convictions as anarchists Their proposal was accepted by all. The comrades from Ancona agreed to publish the prisoners' declarations, and a four-pagenewspaper appeared on the second day of November 1899 under the title, I Morti, (The Deceased). It carried the byline, "Edited and published by the political prisoners". Articles and statements were signed individually or collectively by the detained anarchists. The front page carried an editorial by Galleani entitled, Manet lmmota Fides (The faith remains unshaken), stating that the hostages of reaction were very much alive and determined to save the dignity of their principles. They would rather remain in the squalor of their jails or their islands of confinement, at peace with themselves, than return to the so-called freeworld by bowing to their jailers - whom they despised - with concessions they knew to be false and shameful. The paper was confiscatedby the police, but enough copies were saved and circulated all over Italy and abroad to secure it an enduring place in the hearts and memories of militants and concerned people. Shortly after this, Galleani escaped from the island of Pantelleria. He landed in North Africaand tried to settle in Egypt, but without success. In fact,he found himself facing the danger of extradition to Italy. So he moved to London with his family and from there embarked for the United States, where he had been offered editorial responsibility forLa Questione Sociale, an Italian language weekly which had been published in Paterson, NJ since 1895.
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