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
With Most's departure for America, the central government created by
him--if we can speak of a central government in view of the complete
autonomy of the groups--appears to have completely lost its power, and
when, at the congresses of Chicago (1891) and London (1892), Merlino
and Malatesta moved that some form of leadership of the party should
be established, their motion was rejected, it being pointed out that
it was inconsistent with the main Anarchist principle: "Do as thou
wilt." When nowadays we hear talk of an "International Organisation"
of an Anarchist party and so forth, this must be taken merely in the
very wide meaning of a completely free _entente_ between single
groups.
Everything at present rests with the "group," which is, at the same
time, very small and of an extremely fluctuating character. Five,
seven, or at most a dozen men unite in a group according to
occupation, personal relationships, propinquity of dwelling, or other
causes; only after a certain time to separate again. The groups are
only connected with each other almost entirely by means of moving
intermediaries, called _trimardeurs_, a slang expression borrowed from
the thieves. This organisation completely corresponds to the purely
individual character of their actions; Anarchist riots and
conspiracies are out of fashion; and the outrages of recent years have
arisen almost exclusively from the initiative of individuals. This
circumstance, as well as the whole organisation of the Anarchists, of
course renders difficult any summary proceedings on the part of the
Government of the country; which is probably by no means the least
important reason for the adoption of these tactics by the Anarchists.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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