The Anarchist Reader

385 Pages·1977·12.19 MB·English

by  George Woodcock

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 ofA rt 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;