Anarchism: A Criticism and History of the Anarchist TheoryZenker, E. V. (Ernst Viktor)
History
Anarchism: A Criticism and History of the Anarchist Theory
Zenker, E. V. (Ernst Viktor)
Anarchism
There is a well-marked geographical division, not only in the
Anarchism of agitation, but also in Anarchist theory. The Anarchist
Communism, to which the "propaganda of action" is allied, appears to
be almost exclusively confined to the Romance peoples, the French,
Spaniards, and Italians; while the Teutonic nations appear to incline
more towards individualist Anarchism. If this geographical division is
not quite exact, it must be remembered that these views themselves are
not so clearly separated, and that the ideas of Proudhon rarely
develop into pure Individualism as proclaimed by Stirner. The external
distinction between Individualists and Communists is certainly marked
most clearly by the condemnation of the foolish propaganda of action
of the former; and in order to prevent the disagreeable confusion of
their views with the perpetrators of bomb outrages, the theorists of
Germany and England give their systems more harmless names, such as
Free Land, Anticratism, United Christianity, Voluntarism, and so on.
It is perhaps owing to this circumstance that States which supervise
mental movements in the minds of their citizens so closely, so
anxiously, as do Austria and Germany, allow the extension of the
theoretical propaganda of a movement which is only distinguished from
the doctrines of Kropotkin, as explained above, by a difference in
formulating the common axiom on which they are based.
* * * * *
In the beginning of the seventies there appeared in Germany an eager
worshipper of Proudhon, named Arthur Muelberger, born in 1847, who has
practised since 1873 as a physician, and lately as medical officer in
Crailsheim, and who has explained with great clearness separate
portions of Proudhon's teaching in various articles in magazines and
reviews.[1] Muelberger's writings have certainly chiefly an historical
value; but he is one of the few who have not merely written about and
criticised Proudhon, but have thoroughly studied him. He is
accordingly, in spite of his somewhat partisan attitude as a supporter
of Proudhon, certainly his most trustworthy and faithful interpreter.
[1] Now collected as _Studien ueber Proudhon_, Stuttgart,
1893.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account