To this we reply that with the economic crisis constantly accentuating, involuntary idleness becoming more and more frequent, the difficulties of getting a living more and more pronounced every day, and political entanglements more aggravated, keeping relative pace with the increase of folly on the part of those who hold “the reins of government,” we are marching steadily towards this revolution, which will be brought about by the force of circumstances, which nothing can prevent, and concerning which, therefore, there is but one thing to do, viz., to be ready to take part in it in order to turn it to the profit of the principles we champion. But this fear of the unknown is so strong, so tenacious, that after having admitted the logic of all our objections and agreed to the truth of all our deductions, our opponent begins again: “Yes, that is all true; but would it not be better to act prudently? Progress advances by slow degrees; brutal action should be avoided; we might perhaps succeed at last in getting the bourgeoisie to make concessions!”
Assuredly if we had to deal only with insincere people that contradict for pure love of contradiction, because they are determined not to be convinced, the proper thing to do would be to quit the discussion, turn our backs, and give them Cambronne’s answer.21 Unfortunately the most sincere people in the world, affected by their surroundings, education, and habituation to authority, likewise believe that everything is lost when they see it disappear from their horizon; and having no further answer to make, regularly come back, without perceiving it, to their first argument, unable to imagine a society without laws, judges, or policemen, wherein people should live side by side, mutually aiding each other instead of leaping at each other’s throats. What can we say to them? They want proofs that society will go on as we foresee. We may draw conclusions from the logic of events, form a comparison of them through the arguments we may gather from the analysis thereof. But palpable proofs! Experiment alone can give them to us, and these experiments can only be made by commencing with the overthrow of existing society!
But one thing is left for us to say to them: We have shown you that the present society begets poverty, creates famine, entails the ignorance of an entire class—the most numerous at that—prevents the development of new generations by bequeathing to them a heritage of prejudices and lies which it preserves alive. We have shown you that its organization tends to ensure the exploitation of the mass for the benefit of a privileged minority. We have shown you that its evil functioning, together with the development of new aspirations in the breasts of the workers, is leading us to a revolution. What more do you want us to say?—If we have got to fight, let it at least be for the realization of what seems just and best to us!
Shall we be conquerors or conquered? Who can foresee? If we waited to be sure of the victory before demanding our rights, we might wait centuries for our emancipation. Moreover we do not dictate circumstances; much oftener they sweep us along; the most we can do is to foresee them that we may not be submerged in the flood. Once in the melee the duty of the Anarchists will be to exert all the energy of which they are capable towards carrying the masses along with them.—That there may be acts of private vengeance in the coming revolution, massacres, deeds of savagery, is very likely. Not only can nobody prevent it, but nobody ought to prevent it. If the propagandists are outdone by the crowd, so much the better. Let them shoot everybody who would turn the revolution into sentimentality! For if they suffered reactionary measures in order to save a few victims, they might also permit such as would stem the revolutionary outburst for the purpose of preventing an attack upon those institutions which must disappear, causing it to spare what ought to be destroyed. The struggle once begun sentimentality will be out of place; the masses should ignore all phrase-makers, and pitilessly crush everything which would stand in the way. All that we can do is to declare, from now on, that the doing away with individuals can be of but small moment to the workers; that it is institutions they must attack; that it is these that must be sapped, overthrown, destroyed, and no vestige of them allowed to remain, thus preventing any reconstruction of them under other names. Capitalistic society is strong only by virtue of its institutions and because it has succeeded in making the workers believe that they are interested in the preservation of these institutions; because it has succeeded partly through their own will, partly by force, in making them its defenders. Reduced to their own unaided strength the capitalistic class could not resist the revolution; and how many of them would have the slightest will to do so? Individuals, therefore, are not dangerous, taken individually. But if, on the day of the revolution, there be some who are obstacles, let them be swept away by the tempest! If private revenge be indulged in, so much the worse for those who have served to resurrect such vengeance! Their evil deeds must have been many for hatred of their personality to be unappeased by the destruction of their caste and the abolition of their privileges;
