Memoirs of a Revolutionist

Nineteenth Century, Mr. James Knowles, with his admirable perspicacity, at once seized the gist of the matter, and with a truly youthful energy encouraged me to take it in hand. The other supporter was the regretted H. W. Bates, whom Darwin, in his Autobiography, described as one of the most intelligent men he ever met. He was secretary of the Geographical Society, and I knew him; so I spoke to him of my intention. He was delighted with it. “Yes, most assuredly write it,” he said. “That is true Darwinism. It is a shame to think of what they have made of Darwin’s ideas. Write it, and when you have published it, I will write you a letter of commendation which you may publish.” I could not have had better encouragement, and I began the work, which was published in the Nineteenth Century under the titles of “Mutual Aid Among Animals,” “Among Savages,” “Among Barbarians,” “In the Medieval City,” and “Amongst Ourselves.” Unfortunately I neglected to submit to Bates the first two articles of this series, dealing with animals, which were published during his lifetime; I hoped to be soon ready with the second part of the work, “Mutual Aid Among Men;” but it took me several years to complete it, and in the meantime Bates passed from among us.

The researches which I had to make during these studies, in order to acquaint myself with the institutions of the barbarian period and with those of the medieval free cities, led me to another important research: the part played in history by the state during its latest manifestation in Europe, in the last three centuries. And on the other hand, the study of the mutual support institutions at different stages of civilization led me to examine the evolutionist bases of the senses of justice and morality in man.

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Within the last ten years the growth of socialism in England has taken on a new aspect. Those who judge only by the numbers of socialist and anarchist meetings held in the country, and the audiences attracted by these meetings, are prone to conclude that socialist propaganda is now on the decline. And those who judge the progress of it by the numbers of votes that are given to those who claim to represent socialism in Parliament jump to the conclusion that there is now hardly any socialist work going on in England. But the depth and the penetration of the socialist ideas can nowhere be judged by the numbers of votes given in favor of those who bring more or less socialism into their electoral programmes. Especially is this the case in England. The fact is, that of the three systems of socialism which were formulated by Fourier, Saint-Simon, and Robert Owen, it is the last-named which prevails in England and Scotland. Consequently it is not so much by the number of meetings or of socialist votes that the intensity of the movement must be judged, but by the infiltration of the socialist point of view into the trade-unionist, the cooperative, and the so-called municipal socialist movements, as well as the general infiltration of socialist ideas all over the country. Under this aspect, the extent to which the socialist views have penetrated is immense in comparison with what it was in 1886; and I do not hesitate to say that it is simply colossal in comparison with what it was in the years 1876⁠–⁠82. And I may also add that the persevering endeavors of the small anarchist groups have contributed, to an extent which makes us feel that we have not wasted our time, to spread the ideas of no-government, of the rights of the individual, of local action and free agreement, as against those of state supremacy, centralization, and discipline, which were dominant twenty years ago.

All Europe is now going through a very bad phase of the development of the military spirit. This was an unavoidable consequence of the victory obtained by the German military empire, with its universal military service system, over France in 1871, and it was already then foreseen, and foretold by many, in an especially impressive form by Bakúnin. But the countercurrent already begins to make itself felt in modern life.

Communist ideas, divested of their monastic form, have penetrated in Europe and America to an immense extent during the twenty-seven years in which I have taken an active part in the socialist movement and could observe their growth. When I think of the vague, confused, timid ideas which were expressed by the workers at the first congresses of the International Workingmen’s Association, or which were current at Paris during the Commune insurrection, even among the most thoughtful of the leaders, and compare them with those which have been arrived at today by a vast number of workers, I must say that they seem to me to belong to two entirely different worlds.

There is no period in history⁠—with the exception, perhaps, of the period of the insurrections in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, which led to the birth of the medieval Communes⁠—during which a similarly deep change has taken place in the current conceptions of society. And now, in my fifty-seventh year, I am even more deeply convinced than I was twenty-five years ago that a chance combination of accidental circumstances may bring about in Europe a revolution as widespread as that of 1848, and far more important; not in the sense of mere fighting between different parties, but in the sense of a profound and rapid social reconstruction; and I am convinced that whatever character such a movement may take in different countries, there will be displayed everywhere a far deeper comprehension of the required changes than has ever been displayed within the last six centuries; while the resistance which the movement will meet in the privileged classes will hardly have the character of obtuse obstinacy which made the revolutions of times past so violent.

To obtain this great result is well worth the efforts