The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Place of Anarchism in Socialistic
Evolution, by Pierre Kropotkin
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: The Place of Anarchism in Socialistic Evolution
An Address Delivered in Paris
Author: Pierre Kropotkin
Translator: Henry Glasse
Release Date: January 27, 2010 [EBook #31104]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANARCHISM IN SOCIALISTIC EVOLUTION ***
Produced by Fritz Ohrenschall, Stephanie Eason, and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net.
(This file was produced from images generously made
available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries.)
New Edition (enlarged) TWO PENCE
The Place of Anarchism
in Socialistic Evolution
An Address delivered in Paris
BY
PIERRE KROPOTKIN
Translated by HENRY GLASSE
AN APPEAL TO THE YOUNG
By Pierre Kropotkin
PRICE - - - 2d.
WILLIAM REEVES 83 CHARING CROSS ROAD,
BOOKSELLER LIMITED. --LONDON, W.C.2.--
THE PLACE OF ANARCHISM IN SOCIALISTIC EVOLUTION
PART I.
You must often have asked yourselves what is the cause of Anarchism, and
why, since there are already so many Socialist schools, it is necessary
to found an additional one--that of Anarchism. In order to answer this
question I will go back to the close of last century.
You all know the characteristics which marked that epoch: there was an
expansion of intelligence, a prodigious development of the natural
sciences, a pitiless examination of accepted prejudices, the formation
of a theory of Nature based on a truly scientific foundation,
observation and reasoning. In addition to these there was criticism of
the political institutions bequeathed to Humanity by preceding ages, and
a movement towards that ideal of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity which
has in all times been the ideal of the popular masses. Fettered in its
free development by despotism and by the narrow selfishness of the
privileged classes, this movement, being at the same time favoured by an
explosion of popular indignation, engendered the Great Revolution which
had to force its way through the midst of a thousan
|