ANAlRa ISM
Wihiat it is and what it is not

by JOSEPH A. LABADIE
Detroit,   eQ        Michigan.
(Written before 1900)
PAAAoo4 Job
P~zut~     At44n I-La




0 you w.ant me to tell you what AnarchSism is, do you? I can do no less th:1:
make he attempt, and in my own simpie way try to make you. understand at le:ist
that it is not what the uninformed and the
capitalistic newspapers, liars, fools and vilaiIns.generally say it is.
In the first place, let me urge upo'n all who
desire to learn the truth about Anarchism not
to go to its enemies for information, but "o
talk with Anarchists and read anarchistic literature. And it is not always safe to t'ce
what one, two or even a half dozen persons
may say;iahnt it. either, though they caii
themselves Anarchists. Take what a goodly
number of them   say and tlhe' cancel thost
statements in which they are not in accord.
What remains in all probability is true. For
example, what is Christianity? Ask a do:.en
or more people and it is likely their ansi erswill not agree in every particular. They may.
however, agree upon some fln-damental -propositions. This is more likely to be the correct position of Christianity than the statements made by any one of them. This process of cancellatibn is the best way of finding
out what any philosophy is. This I have done
in determining what Anarchism is. a'd it it  a
fair presumption that I have arrived tolerably
near the truth.
Anarchism, in the language of Benjamin R.
Tucker, may be described as the doctrine that
"all the affairs of men should be managed by
individuals or voluntary associations, and that
the state should be abolished."
The state is "the embodiment of the principle of invasion in an individual, or a b:ind
of individuals, assuming to cnt as representatives or masters of the entire people within a
given area."
Government is "the subjection of the noninvasive i-dividual to an external will."




Now, keep these definitions in mind, and
don't use the word "state" or "government"
or "Anarchy" in any other sense than that
in which the Anarchist himself uses it. Mr.
Tucker's definitions are gea:erally accepted by
Anarchists everywhere.
The state, according to.lHerbert Spencer
and others, originated in war, aggressive war.
violence, and has always been maintained by
violence. The function of the state has always
been  to  govern-to   make * the -:on-ruling
classes do what the ruling classes want done.
The state is the king in a monarchy, the king
and parliament in a limited monarchy, elected
representatives in such a republic as exists in
th'e United States, and the majority of the
voters i-n a democracy as in Switzerland. Historvy shows that the masses are always improved in mental,, moral and material conditions as the powvers of thie state over the
individual are reduced.  As man becomes
more enlightened ýegarding his interests, individual and collediive. he insists that forcible authority over him and his conduct shall
be abolished. He points to the fact that the
church has improved in its material affairs,
to say nothing of the spiritual, since the individual is not compelled to support it andl
accept its doctrines or be declared a heretic
aind burned at the stake or otherwise matreated; to the fact that people are better
dressed since the state has annulled. the laws
regulating dress; to the fact that people are
lhappier married since each person can choose,is own mate; to the fact that people are better in every way since the laws were abolished
regulating the individual's hair-cut, his traveling,. his trade, the nn h.. of window-panes
in his house, chewing tobacco or kissing on
Sundays. and so on without number.      In
Russia and some other countries even now
you would not be allowed to go into the coun



try or couie out of it without- legal permitsioii, to pri:t or read boos or papers except
those permitted by law, to keep anyone in your
i1ou0-e over fighilt \ itiout iutotlying ithe police,
Lland il a thousand ways the individual is hampcraeli inrs movemncits. Even in the freest
countries the individual is robbed by the taxcollector, is beatenl by the police. is fi:eed and
jailed by the courts-is browbeaten by authority in many ways when his conduct is not aggressive or in violation of equal freedom.
It is a mistake often miiade, even by some
Anarchists, to say that Anarchism aims to establish absolute freedom. Anarchism is a practical philosophy, and is not striving to do the
impssible. \Vhat Anarchism aims to do, however, is to make equal freedom applicable to
every human creature. The majority under
this ruiie has n6 more rights than the minority,
the millions no greater rights than one. It
assumes that every human being should have
equal rights to all the products of nature without money and without price; that what one
prdluces would belong to himself, and that no
individual or collection of persons. be they outlaw or state, should take any portion of it
without his knowledge or consent; that every
perso", should he allowed to exchange his own
products wherever he wills; that he should be
allowed to co-operate with his fellows if he
chooses. or to compete against them in whatever ield lie elects; that no restrictions whatsoever should be put upon him in what he
prints or reads or drinks or eats or does, so
long as he does not invade the equal rights
of his fellows.
It is often remarked that Anarchism is an
impractical theory imported into the United
States by a lot of ignorant foreigners. Of
course, those who make this statement are
as much mistaken as though they made it
while conscious of its falsity. The doctrine




of personal freedom is an American doctrine.
in so far as the attempt to put it into practice
is concer::ed, as Paine, Franklin, Jefferson
and others understood it quite well. Even the
Puritans had a faint idea of it, as they came
here to exercise the right of private judgment
in religious, matters. -The right to exercise
private judgment in religion is Anarchy in
religion. The first to formulate the doctrine
of individual sovereignty was a blue-bellied
Yankee, as Josiah Warren was a descendant
of the Revolutionary General Warren. We
have Anarchy in trade between the states in
this country, as free trade,is sirply commercial Anarchy,
No one who commits crime can be an Anarchist, because crime is the doing of injury
to another by aggression-the opposite of Anarchism.
No one can kill another, except in self-defense, and be an Anarchist, because that would
be invading another's equal right to live-the
antithesis of Anarchism.
Hence assassins and criminals generally are
called Anarchists only by the ignorant and
malicious.
You can't be an Anarchist and do the things
which Anarchism condemns.
Anarchism would make occupancy and v$se
the sole title to land, thereby abolishing rent
for land.
It would guarantee to each individual or association the right to issue money as a medium
of exchange, thereby abqlishing interest on
money in so far as co-operation and competition can do it.
It denies the justice of patent and copyrights, and would abolish monopolbyby abolishing patent-rights.
It denies the right of any body of people to




tax the individual for anityhing he does:ot
want. but that taxation snlouid be voluntary,
such as is now done by churches, trade unions,
insurance societies and all other voluntary as-,
sociatlons.
f; It believes that freedom in every walk of life
is the greatest possible means of elevating the
human race to happier conditions.
S It is said that Anarchism is not socialism.
- This is a mistake. Anarchism is voluntary
SSocialism. There are two kinds of Socialism,
archistic and anarchistic, authoritarian and libertarian, state and, free. Indeed, every proposition for social betterment is either to increase
or decrease the powers of external wills and
forces over the individual. As they increase
they are archistic; as they decrease they are
anarchistic.
Anarchy is a synonym for liberty, freedom,
independence, free play, self-government, nonSinterference, mind your own business and let
your neighbor's alone, laissez faire, ungoverned, autonomy, and so on.
Now that I am done I find that you have
been given only a faint outlie of what Anarchism is and is not. Those ip desire to pursue the subject further will find food for intellectual adults in Tucker's "Instead of a Book."
Proudhon's "What is Property" and "Economical Contradictions;" Tandy's "Voluntary
Socialism";  Mackay's   "The   Anarchists";
Auberon Herbert's "Free Life,"
Isued by the
Internationl Anarchist Group of Detroit