Aldred, Guy A. Michel Bakunin, Communist.

MICHEL BAKUNIN, C MMUNI!".

Michel Bakunin was born in May, 1814, at Pryamuchina, situated between Moscow and Petrograd, two years after his friend, Alexander Her en, first saw the light by the fires of Moscow! "he future a#ostle of $ihilism was the son of a wealthy landed #ro#rietor, who boasted a line of aristocratic ancestors! %conomic conditions had decided that his natural destiny was the army! &onse'uently, at the age of fourteen, he entered the (chool of Artillery at (t! Petersburg! Here he found, among a large minority of the students at least, an underground current of )iberalism which was only outwardly loyal and obedient to the behests of the *o+ernmental des#otism! Amongst themsel+es, these rebel students cherished the memories of the ,ecembrists of 18-., and handed round the #oems/that some of the martyred rebels had written/as sacred literature, to be #reser+ed and #assed on from generation to generation! Anecdotage of the martyrs themsel+es/most of whom had belonged to the 0irst &adet &or#s and the Artillery 1nstitute/was also eagerly retailed and 2ealously recited! "hose of the ,ecembrists who had been sentenced to (iberia were #itied for not ha+ing been able to share the honourable fate of those who were executed! 1t was im#ossible for military des#otism to efface memories of heroic re+olt or to silence entirely the genius of knowledge! (o the re+olutionary enthusiasm continued to exist and to grow a#ace! "hat it influenced Bakunin is certain3 but to what extent we cannot say! 0or he was conscious more immediately of the discord existing between himself and his en+ironment! "hus, writing to his #arents, in the autumn of 18-4, Bakunin says5 6! ! ! Here begins a new era in my life! 7ntil now my soul and imagination were #ure and innocent! "hey were not stained in any way! But here, in the artillery school, 1 became ac'uainted with the black, foul, low side of life! And if 1 was not dragged into the sins, of which 1 was often the witness, 1, at any rate, got so used to it as to ha+e ceased to wonder at anything now! 1 got used to lying, for the art of lying/in that useful society of ours/was not only not considered a sin5 it was unanimously a##ro+ed! 1 ne+er had a conscious religious feeling, but 1 #ossessed a sort of religious feeling which was associated closely with my life at home! 1n the artillery school this feeling disa##eared altogether! "here reigned among all the students instead, a cold indifference to e+erything noble, great, or holy! All my s#irituality seemed to go to slee#! ,uring my stay in this school 1 ha+e li+ed in s#iritual somnolence!6 At the conclusion of his training he #assed his examination with great eclat! 8riting home of this e+ent, he said5 6At last 1 #assed as an officer, eighteen year old! "hus began truly a new e#och in my life! 0rom a condition of sla+ish military disci#line, 1 suddenly gain #ersonal freedom! 1, so to s#eak, burst u#on the free world! 1 could not undertake to describe the feelings that #ossessed me! 1 only can say that, thanks to this +igorous change, 1 commenced to breathe freer, 1 began to feel nobler! After such a #rolonged s#iritual slee#, my soul has awakened to s#iritual life again! At first 1 was sur#rised, sur#rised and glad at my new life ! ! ! 1 was glad to be free to go where 1 liked and when 1 liked at all times! ! ! ! %xce#t in the lesson hours, 1 did not meet any of my fellow officers! 1 se+ered e+ery relation with them! "heir #resence always reminded me of the meanness and infamy of my school life! 1 ha+e awakened 9 A new life has o#ened out 9 A strong moral feeling/that has taken off of me the res#onsibility of my school life/has kindled in my soul! 1 ha+e decided to work u#wards to alter myself!6 "he truth is, Bakunin at this time was suffering from extreme conser+atism! 6"he :ussians are

not 0rench,6 he wrote to his #arents! 6"hey lo+e their country and adore their monarch, and to them his will is law! ;ne could not find a single :ussian who would not sacrifice all his interests for the welfare of the (o+ereign and the #ros#erity of the fatherland!6 Bakunin should ha+e become an officer of the *uards as a matter of course! "his would ha+e meant #artici#ating in the s#lendour of the &ourt! Bakunin had contri+ed to anger his father, howe+er, and to arouse the 2ealousy of the ,irector of Artillery! As a #unishment for this dual offence he was gi+en a commission in the line! "his meant that he was doomed to s#end his days in a miserable #easant +illage far away from an centre of ci+ilisation! A #easant<s hut had been assigned to Bakunin for his new 'uarters! Here he took u# his abode in conse'uence! All social intercourse was ab2ured, and whole days were s#ent in meditation! His military duties were entirely neglected until, at last, his commanding officer was obliged to order him to resign his a##ointment! He now sent in his #a#ers conse'uently and returned to Moscow, where he was recei+ed into 6a circle6 of youthful sa+ants similarly situated to himself! "his circle was engrossed in *erman #hiloso#hy, and was es#ecially keen on Hegel! 1ts founder was (tanke+itch, who had sat under Professor Pawlo+ at Moscow 7ni+ersity! "his worthy #edant had introduced *erman #hiloso#hy into the 7ni+ersity curriculum ten years #re+iously! But he had confined his attention to (chelling and ;ken! (tanke+itch, howe+er, had become fascinated with Hegel, and it was the latter<s #hiloso#hy that seemed to him to be all/im#ortant! &onse'uently he had introduced it to the select circle of his friends as a sub2ect for serious study! Amongst these were Alexander Her en and Michel Bakunin! ///// Her en was the lo+e child of a *erman mother and a :ussian noble, and was recognised by his father from the +ery first! 1n 18-= he was sent to the 7ni+ersity of Moscow to com#lete the studies he had commenced at home! At this time, reaction was steadily trium#hant throughout :ussia! "he & ar and his &ourt were cons#iring to close the uni+ersities entirely and to re#lace them by organised military schools! Moscow, in #articular, was sus#ect by the reaction as a hotbed of liberal and re+olutionary thought and #lans! 1t boasted an ancient foundation and a real tradition for learning! 1t demanded a real res#ect and an inde#endent life for its students and boasted #rofessors who were actually free s#irits, ins#ired by a lo+e of knowledge, and con+inced of the dignity of learning! (uch #rofessors declined to ser+ilely flatter autocracy and de+elo#ed in the students a true sense of #ersonality and res#onsibility! "he students, in their turn, secretly re+ered as saints and martyrs the rebels of 18-. who had died on the gibbet or been dri+en into exile! & arism and its agents made increasing warfare on the #rofessors, who could de+elo# their genius only at the ex#ense of secret denunciation and exile or remo+al! ,e+otion to knowledge rendered a man sus#ect and #laced him at the mercy of ignorant ins#ectors and ser+ile auxiliaries of the #olice de#artment! 8eak men bowed before the ruling system, only to find their genius gone, their #ersonality extinguished! )ectures declined little by little into the hands of inca#able masters, in whom routine re#laced talent! "hese men were ke#t in office by corru#tion and #olice considerations! Meanwhile, knowledge banned, became lo+ed! And the students in their 'uest #ro+ed the truth of Moncure &onway<s words5 6"hey who menace our freedom of thought and s#eech are tam#ering with something more #owerful than gun#owder!6 "he 0rench #hiloso#hers were forbidden! >oltaire, :ousseau, ,iderot, Morelli, Mably, and 0ourier were denied their #lace in the 7ni+ersity library! ,id "ruth des#air on that account? $ot at all! (o much did the authorities dread the 0rench that they forgot to en'uire if there were *erman ones! And so Hegel was #ermitted/Hegel whose method has ins#ired more thorough re+olutionary thinking than >oltaire! 0euerbach was allowed also/0euerbach who denied the existence of the soul and re#eated the &ommunist warcry, heard in the streets of Paris in those days of re+olution5 6Pro#erty is :obbery!6 And so the 0rench #hiloso#hers were neglected and the *ermans succeeded them in the

affections of the students! And the re+olution #roceeded a#ace! Her en sought to understand the wonderful *erman #hiloso#hy! 1t excited his imagination and fired his ambition! He assimilated its theories and wrote seditious essays in conse'uence! His manuscri#ts were sei ed! A year<s im#risonment followed! "hen he was exiled to Perm, on the +ery borders of (iberia, for his acti+ities, more es#ecially for taking #art in a dinner attended by the re+olutionary students, who re+erenced Hegel and sung re+olutionary songs! 1n solitude, he determined to fathom Hegel! "hen he was #ermitted to return to ci+ilised life and to li+e at >ladimir! 0rom here he fled to Moscow and carried off from one of the im#erial schools a young cousin to whom he was engaged! He was forgi+en for this esca#ade and #ermitted to li+e in Moscow, where he 2oined the re+olutionary study circle at which he met Bakunin! %ntire nights were s#ent in keenly discussing, #aragra#h by #aragra#h, the three +olumes of Hegel<s 6)ogic,6 the two +olumes of his 6%thics,6 his 6%ncyclo#edia,6 etc! 6Peo#le who regarded one another with affection,6 says Her en, in describing these study circles, 6would ha+e nothing to do with one another for weeks after a disagreement res#ecting the definition of <the interce#ting mind,< and would regard o#inions concerning <the absolute #ersonality< and its autonomous existence as #ersonal insults! All the most insignificant #am#hlets which a##eared in Berlin or the +arious #ro+incial cities of *ermany, which dealt with *erman #hiloso#hy, and contained e+en the merest mention of Hegel, were bought and read until in a few days they were torn and tattered and falling to #ieces!6 Actually there were two distinct circles e'ually keen on the discussion of 8estern #hiloso#hy! ;ne was the Bakunin/Bielinsky/(tankie+itch grou#! "he other was the grou# of Her en and ;gario+! )ittle sym#athy existed between these two factions! "he Her en grou# was 0rench in its outlook, and almost exclusi+ely #olitical in its aim! "he Bakunin faction was almost exclusi+ely s#eculati+e in its outlook and *erman in its thought! "hey were denounced as sentimentalists by the Her enites! "his was the #eriod of crisis for Bakunin and the friend o+er whom he exercised so great an influence, Bielinsky! Both #assed through the crisis and went o+er to the extreme left before (tankie+itch<s circle dissol+ed in 18@4! "hey did more! "hey #assed from being *ermano#hiles and 0ranco#hotes to becoming 0ranco#hiles and *ermano#hotes! "he hindrance of such racial idealism #ro+ed as fatal when 0rench #re2udices were fa+oured as when *erman ones were, exce#t for a more radical form of address, and a clearer outlook on the world of theology! Her en asserted that Hegel<s system was nothing less than the algebra of the re+olution, and that was all he a##ro#riated from it! But it was badly formulated algebra/+ery likely the bad formulation was intentional! 1t had attracted a band of immediate disci#les, therefore, who were not nearly so closely allied to the Hegelian teaching as the (ocialists! 0or the Hegelian #hiloso#hy left men free in a sense that no other #hiloso#hy had done or could do! 1t liberated the world from obsolete conditions, and left no stone unturned in &hristendom! 1t #roclaimed the idea that nothing was immutable and that e+ery social condition contained the germs of radical change! Bakunin and his friend Bielinsky came to su##ort these contentions of Her en before the dawn of the hungry and re+olutionary forties! But at first both were reactionary! 8hether right or left, Bakunin insisted on thoroughness! He went to the +ery de#ths of *erman meta#hysical idealism and hesitated before none of the logical conse'uences of his thought! He a##lauded it because it was the #hiloso#hy of authority and order, and not Her en<s algebra of re+olution! He s#oke with contem#tuous irony of the 6#hiloso#hications6 of >oltaire, :ousseau, ,iderot, d<Alembert, and other 0rench writers, who had assumed the

gaudy and unmerited title of #hiloso#ers! He denounces the turbulent and recriminati+e 0rench and condemns 6the furious and sanguinary scenes of6 their re+olution, the 6abstract and illimitable6 whirlwind which 6shook 0rance and all but destroyed her!6 He re2oiced that 6the #rofound religious and aesthetic feeling of the *erman #eo#le6 sa+ed it from such ex#eriences! Hegel had reconciled Bakunin to reality and o##ression! 6Aes,6 he wrote, 6suffering is good3 it is that #urifying flame which transforms the s#irit and makes it steadfast!6 He declared that 6reconciliation with reality in all its relations and under all conditions is the great #roblem of our day,6 and maintained that real education was 6that which makes a true and #owerful :ussian man de+oted to the & ar!6 Hegel and *oethe were 6the leaders of this mo+ement of reconciliation, this return from death to life!6 61n 0rance,6 he added, 6the last s#ark of :e+elation has disa##eared! &hristendom, that eternal and immutable #roof of the &reator<s lo+e for His creatures, has become an ob2ect of mockery and contem#t for all! ! ! ! :eligion has +anished, bearing with it the ha##iness and the #eace of 0rance! ! ! ! 8ithout religion, there can be no (tate and the :e+olution was the negation of any (tate and of all legal order ! ! ! ! "he whole life of 0rance is merely the consciousness of the +oid ! ! ! ! <*i+e us what is new, the old things weary us</such is the watchword of the Aoung 0rance ! ! ! ! "he 0rench sacrifice to the fashion, which has been their sole goddess from all time, all that is most holy and truly great in life!6 "his 60rench malady6 had attacked the :ussian intellectuals, who 6filled themsel+es with 0rench #hrases, +ain words, em#ty of meaning, killing the soul in the germ, and ex#elling from it all that is holy and beautiful!6 :ussian society had to 6abandon this babbling6 and ally itself with 6the *erman world with its disci#lined conscience6 and 6with our beautiful :ussian reality!6 "hus s#oke the a#ostle of & arism and Prussianism! $o wonder he des#ised the students at the Artillery (chool! $o wonder, when he had #assed through the +iolent change which transformed him into an anarchist and enemy of & arism, he hated e+erything *erman and adored most things 0rench! 1t may not ha+e been reasonable! But it was +ery human! And Bakunin was nothing if not human! By tem#erament he was #assionate and elemental! "his fact ex#lains the com#letion of his mental change! And so Bakunin came to su##ort the contentions of Her en with a boldness and irresistible dialetic that marked him out as the most brilliant member of a brilliant grou# of dis#utants! Her en was im#ressed with his incom#arable 6re+olutionary tact6 and tireless energy! He had made himself thoroughly at home with the *erman language and the *erman #hiloso#hy! Proudhon noted the effect of these studies and masteries on his thought and style when he declared that Bakunin was a monstrosity in his terse dialetic and his luminous #erce#tion of ideas in their essence! //// "ourgenieff once in+ented a $ihilist hero, named Ba aroff! "his character li+es in my mind only because of his re#ly to a sce#tical 'uestion! He was asked whether he, as a $ihilist #ro#agandist, imagined that he influenced the masses! And he re#lied5 6A half#enny tallow di# sufficed to set all Moscow in a bla e!6 Her en<s name is associated by his nati+ity with the immortal flames thus humbly originated! He is the lighted tallow ti# which began the mighty conflagration now threatening to consume the whole of &a#italist society! %+en as the flames s#read, he s#luttered and went out! But he set fire to a rare torch in Bakunin/one who was destined to s#read the smoke and the fire of re+olution throughout the world!

"his world mission began in 1841, when Bakunin #roceeded to Berlin to continue the studies commenced at Moscow! He was now a red among reds! Philoso#her, :ebel, (ocialist, he left :ussia for the first time! "he following year he remo+ed to ,resden in order to gain a nearer ac'uaintance with Arnold :uge, the inter#reter of Hegel, with whom he most sym#athised, and to #roclaim definitely his ra#ture with &onser+atism and his adhesion to the Hegelians 6of the left!6 He did this in his first re+olutionary essay, entitled the 6:eaction in *ermany,6 contributed to :uge<s 6Bahrbucher6 for 184-, $os! -4=/.1! As if anxious to em#hasise his change of front on the relati+e worth of the 0rench and *erman s#irit, Bakunin used the 6nom/de/#lume6 of 6Bules %li ard,6 and had :uge #retend that it was a 60ragment by a 0renchman!6 "he article itself showed that Bakunin had not altered his estimate of the 0rench and *erman s#irit! He had merely changed sides consciously and deliberately! He entered an uncom#romising #lea for re+olution and $ihilism! "he #rinci#le of re+olution, he declared, is the #rinci#le of negation, the e+erlasting s#irit of destruction and annihilation that is the fathomless and e+er/creating fountain of all life! 1t is the s#irit of intelligence, the e+er/young, the e+er new/born, that is not to be looked for among the ruins of the #ast! "he cham#ions of this #rinci#le are something more than the mere negati+e #arty, the uncom#romising enemies of the #ositi+e3 for the latter exists only as the contrary of the negati+e, whilst that which sustains and ele+ates the #arty of re+olt is the all/embracing #rinci#le of absolute freedom, "he 0rench :e+olution erected the "em#le of )iberty, on which it wrote the mysterious words5 6)iberty, %'uality, and 0raternity!6 1t was im#ossible not to know and feel that these words meant the total annihilation of the existing world of #olitics and society! 1t was im#ossible, also, not to ex#erience a thrill of #leasure at the bare suggestion of this annihilation! But that was because 6the 2oy of destruction is also the 2oy of creation!6 "he year after the #ublication of this essay, Bakunin 'uitted ,resden for Paris, as he belie+ed he had learned all there was to be learned in *ermany! 1n the 0rench ca#ital he identified himself with all who where noted for their decided +iews and re+olutionary abandon! But a certain community of thought attracts him most to Proudhon! "he latter had answered the 'uestion 68hat is Pro#erty?6 with Brissot<s re#ly, gi+en when still a re+olutionary, and subse'uently ado#ted by 0euerbach and acce#ted by Bakunin! He declared without hesitation that 6Pro#erty holders are thie+es!6 His motto was the early &hristian motto which a##ealed so much to Bakunin5 61 will destroy and 1 will rebuild!6 He #ossessed an intense admiration for Hegel and belie+ed, at least, #hiloso#hically, with Bakunin that the #rocess of destruction was also the #rocess of construction! Hence Bakunin<s friendshi#! 1t must be confessed, howe+er, that Marx<s estimate of Proudhon as an 7to#ian and a reformist who uttered bold and striking #hrases is much more to the #oint than Bakunin<s +iew of Proudhon as a social re+olutionist of the first water! A few months after this meeting, Proudhon was obliged to lea+e Paris for )yons! Bakunin was induced by his Polish friends to go to (wit erland! "wo years later he was in+ol+ed in the trial of the (wiss (ocialists! He was thereu#on de#ri+ed of his rank as a :ussian officer and his rights of nobility! 1n all, he whittled away fi+e years in the (wiss +illages! Proceeding to Paris at the end of this time, he here threw himself wholeheartedly into the struggle for freedom! His acti+ity brought him into contact with Marx! $early a 'uarter/of/a/century later, writing in the year that witnessed the disaster of the &ommune and the beginnings of the Parliamentary debacle, Bakunin recorded his im#ression of his great *erman colleague and o##onent5 6Marx was much more ad+anced than 1 was as he remains to/day, not more ad+anced but incom#arably more learned than 1 am! 1 knew then nothing of #olitical economy! 1 had not yet

rid myself of meta#hysical abstractions, and my (ocialism was only instincti+e! He, though younger than 1, was already an Atheist, an instructed materialist, a well/considered (ocialist! 1t was 2ust at this time C184=D that he elaborated the first foundations of his #resent system! 8e saw each other fairly often, for 1 res#ected him much for his learning and his #assionate and serious de+otion/always mixed, howe+er, with #ersonal +anity/to the cause of the #roletariat! 1 sought eagerly his con+ersation, which was always instructi+e and cle+er, when it was not ins#ired by a #altry hate, which, alas9 ha##ened only too often! But there was ne+er any frank intimacy between us! ;ur tem#eraments would not suffer it! He called me a sentimental idealist, and he was right! 1 called him a +ain man, #erfidious, and crafty3 and 1, also, was right!6 //// $o+ember -4, 184=, was the anni+ersary of the 1nsurrection of 8arsaw! ;n this date Paris witnessed Bakunin<s #ronouncement of his celebrated s#eech to the Poles! 0or the first time a :ussian was seen to offer a hand of Brotherhood to this much #ersecuted #eo#le, and renounce #ublicly the *o+ernment of (t! Petersburg! His oration formed the #rototy#e of countless other s#eeches of :ussian and Polish re+olutionists! 1t acknowledged the grie+ous in2ustice done to the Polish nation by :ussia, and #romised that the re+olution of the future would not only make amends for this, but would remo+e all the existing differences between the two leading (la+ families! 1t would, conse'uently, unite the lands east of the ;rder into a #ro#er and beneficient federati+e :e#ublic! 1t must not be concluded from this s#eech that Bakunin was antici#ating the Poland of Pilsudski and the Allied financiers, the tool of the counter/re+olution! He was antici#ating a (o+iet Poland and a (o+iet :ussia, two allied lands in which all #ower and authority would be rested in the hands of toilers and exist only in res#onse to real needs of social organisation and the #eo#le<s well/being! Hence his s#eech made a great sensation! "he & ar<s *o+ernment #laced a reward of 1E,EEE roubles on the +enturesome orator<s head, and demanded his ex#ulsion from Paris! His e+ery mo+e was now watched by :ussian agents! *ui ot/who but a few years before had been too #olite to refuse the :ussian *o+ernment<s re'uest for Marx<s ex#ulsion/conse'uently ex#elled him from Paris! )ike Marx, he went to Brussels3 but he had scarcely reached here when Paris ex#elled *ui ot and )ouis Philli##e from 0rance! "he new Pro+isional *o+ernment/that now in+ited the 6bra+e and loyal Marx6 to return to the country whence tyranny had banished him, and where he, like all fighting in the sacred cause, the cause of the fraternity of all #eo#les6 would be welcome/also welcomed Bakunin! He accordingly returned to Paris and #assionately threw himself into the new #olitical life that then began! But men like Marx and Bakunin/who took the :e#ublican ideal in earnest and realised the material re+olution that must #recede its realisation/were a menace to the )amartine and Marast *o+ernment! Bakunin<s de#arture was a relief to it! He went to the (la+o/Polish &ongress assembled at Breslau, and afterwards attended the &ongress con+ened at Prague on 1st Bune, 1848! Here his famous (la+onic #rogram was written! 7# to the time that 8indisgraet dis#ersed the congress with Austrian cannon, Bakunin worked with the (la+onians! "hese e+ents ins#ired Marx<s famous cha#ters on 6:e+olution and &ounter/ :e+olution!6 "reating of this #olitical storm #eriod, Marx sings the #raises of the generous bra+ery, the nobility, and the far/sightedness of the s#ontaneous re+olt of the >iennese #o#ulace in the cause of Hungarian freedom! He contrasts their action with the 6cautious circums#ection6 of Hungarian (tatesmanshi#! Parliamentarians he dismisses as #oor, weak/ minded men, so little accustomed to anything like success during their generally +ery obscure li+es that they actually belie+ed their Parliamentary amendments more im#ortant than external e+ents! "he most im#ortant #assages are those treating of the #art #layed by the military in times of re+olution! 8e are often told by so/called Marxists, the former slanderers of Bakunin and the

#resent enemies of Bolshe+ism, that 6we6 must ca#ture the Parliamentary machine in order to control the armed forces! 8ithout discussing who the 6we6 is who is going to ca#ture this machine, one may +enture to cite the following excer#ts from Marx<s #ages, #ro+ing that Parliament does not control the army nor e+en the executi+e authority! 6But we re#eat5 these armies, strengthened by the )iberals as a means of action against the more ad+anced #arties!!!turned themsel+es against the )iberals and restored to #ower men of the old system! 8hen :adet ky in his cam# beyond the Adige recei+ed the first orders from the res#onsible ministers at >ienna, he exclaimed5 <8ho are these ministers? "hey are not the go+ernment of Austria!< Austria is now nowhere but in my cam#3 <1 and my army, we are Ausrtia3 and when we ha+e beaten the 1talians, we shall recon'uer the %m#ire for the %m#eror!< And old :adet ky was right, but the imbecile <res#onsible< ministers at >ienna heeded him not!6/&h! 1F! 6"he army again was the decisi+e #ower in the (tate, and the army belonged not to the middle classes but to themsel+es!!!!"he!!!army, more united than e+ery, flushed with +ictory in minor insurrections and foreign warfare!!!had only to be ke#t in constant #etty conflicts with the #eo#le, and the decisi+e moment once at hand, it could, with on great blow, crash the :%+olutionists, and set aside the #resum#tions of the middle class #arliamentarians!6 /&h!F! 1n these trenchant words, Marx describes how the Austrian army regained its confidence at Prague and sounds the call of battle and social re+olutionary/anti/#arliamentarism! He thus identifies himself and his work with the struggle and endea+our of Bakunin! ,uring this storm/#eriod, Her en left :ussia ne+er to return to it again! 0or a time he had returned to the ser+ice of the (tate and s#ent his s#are time in writing no+els, romances, and studies of manners! But the meanness of his occu#ation outraged his self/res#ect! ;nce more he took u# the struggle against & arism! ;nce more his #en denounced des#otism! He wrote boldly and bitterly and encountered #ersecution as a matter of course! "hen he abandoned his office as a barrister and went into exile! 1t was now that Her en #roclaimed his gos#el of uni+ersal negation, the need to destroy com#letely the existing #olitical world! He denounced bourgeois re#ublicanism, whate+er means were em#loyed to bring it about! His goal was the (ocialist :e#ublic, which was to be brought into existence by burying existing society under its own ruins! ;nce abolished, the old society could ne+er reconstitute itself! But another society would emerge ine+itably/a better and truer society without doubt! Her en could not see beyond that society! He did not know what was to follow it! But he knew it could not be the end! 1n this sense, regarding life as a constant ferment, and +iewing the old society as a regime of death, Her en saluted the #ros#ects of re+olution with the words 5/ 6,eath to the old world9 )ong li+e chaos and destruction9 )ong li+e death9 Place for the future!6 ;ut of the chaos, (ocialism was to emerge5/

6(ocialism will be de+elo#ed in all its #hases, e+en to its uttermost conse'uences, the absurd! "hen, once again, there will come forth the cry of negation from the titantic breast of the re+olutionary minority! ;nce more, the mortal struggle will recommence! But in the struggle (ocialism will take the #lace of the #resent &onser+atism, to be con'uered in its turn by a re+olution unknown to us! "he eternal game of life, cruel as death, ine+itable as birth, constitutes the flux and reflux of history, <#er#etuum mobile< of life!6 "hus thought and wrote Her en 6Before the (torm6 which swe#t o+er %uro#e in 1848! "hat storm left #ower in the hands of the hated bourgeois, 6the #ri e beasts of the <$ational!<6 He de+elo#s his theory with greater force 6After the (torm65 68e are not called u#on to gather the fruits of the #ast, but to be its torturers and #ersecutors! 8e must 2udge it, and learn to recognise it under e+ery disguise, and immolate it for the sake of the future!6 1n these words, Her en challenged the entire constitutional theory of a gradual con'uest of #olitical #ower by the #roletariat under &a#italism! He denied that Besus had con'uered &onstantine by the &hurch establishing itself in the &a#itol! He saw the original #lan of tyranny being de+elo#ed and im#ro+ed in detail, but ne+er abandoned nor destroyed! "he :eformation headed by )uther did not emanci#ate the #eo#le! 1t only sa+ed clericalism! "he 0rench :e+olution did not destroy authority! 1t conser+ed it! But the coming (ocial :e+olution would u#root and destroy! 1t would not widen the #ower of the states but destroy their entire #olitical structure! As one follows Her en in the de+elo#ment of this theory, one knows that his message is radically at one with Marx! 1t is the message of the class struggle! And it foreshadowed, without a doubt, the re+olutionary negation of #arliamentarism, and the establishment of (o+iet res#onsibility! ///////

Guitting Prague, Bakunin fled to *ermany, where he was recei+ed with o#en arms by the :adical element! Here he remained concealed for sometime, first at Berlin, then at ,essau, &othen, and +arious towns in (axony! %+erywhere #ursued and ex#elled by the #olice, he was a wanderer until the end of A#ril, 1844, when he succeeded in finding em#loyment, under an assumed name, at the 7ni+ersity of )ei#sic! Here a circle of Bohemian students embraced both his re+olutionary and #ansla+istic doctrines! Bakunin now united in o##osition to Palacky/whom Marx denounced/the (la+onian democrats with the Hungarian inde#endence mo+ement and the *erman re+olutionists! (ubse'uently he took command at the defence of ,resden and ac'uired a glory which e+en his enemies ha+e not denied! 0rom the Hth to the 4th May, he was the +ery life and soul of its defence against the Prussian and (axon troo#s! ;n the later date, when all was lost, Bakunin ordered the general retreat to 0rieberg with the same #roud dignity as he had issued his commands for resisting the siege and had insisted, only the day before, on the %uro#ean im#ortance of this des#erate enter#rise! At &hemnit he was sei ed by treachery, with two of

his com#anions3 and from that time/1Eth May, 1844/commenced his long martyrdom! %+en then his #roud and courageous demeanour did not desert him! "wenty/se+en years afterwards, one of the Prussian officers who had guarded the #risoner on the way through Altenburg still remembered the calmness and intre#idity with which the tall man in fetters re#lied to a lieutenant who inter#ellated him, 6that in #olitics the issue alone can decide what is a great action and what a crime!6 0rom August, 1844, to May, 18.E, Bakunin was ke#t a #risoner in the fortress of Ionistein! He was then tried and sentenced to death by the (axon tribunal! 1n #ursuance of a resolution #assed by the old ,iet of the Bund in 18@H, he was deli+ered u# to the Austrian *o+ernment and sent CchainedD to Prague instead of being executed! "he Austrian *o+ernment attem#ted in +ain to extort from him the secrets of the (la+onian mo+ement! A year later it sentenced him to death, but immediately commuted the death sentence to one of #er#etual im#risonment! 1n the inter+al he had been remo+ed from the fortress at *rat to that at Almut , as the *o+ernment was terrified by the re#ort of a design to liberate him! Here he #assed six months chained to the wall! After this, the Austrian *o+ernment surrendered him to the :ussian! "he Austrian chains were re#laced by nati+e irons of twice the weight! "his was in the autumn of 18.1, when Bakunin was taken through 8arsaw and >ilna to (t! Petersburg, to #ass three weary years in the fortress of Alexis! At >ilna, in s#ite of the threats of the :ussian *o+ernment, the Poles gathered in the streets to #ay the last tribute of silent res#ect to the heroic :ussian orator of -=th $o+ember, 184=! As Bakunin dro+e #ast them in the sledge, they bowed their heads with an affection ne+er assumed in the #resence of em#erors! Bakunin understood! His fortitude during six years< confinement in :ussian dungeons showed that he was not unworthy of their de+otion! 1n 18.4, at the beginning of the &rimean 8ar, Bakunin was transferred to the casemates of the dreaded fortress of (chlusselburg, which actually lie beneath the le+el of the $e+a! 8hen Alexander 11! ascended the throne in August, 18.H, he half/#ardoned many #olitical refugees and cons#irators, including the ,ecembrists of 18-.! Bakunin was not among them! 8hen his mother #etitioned the %m#eror, the latter re#lied, with affability, 6As long as your son li+es, madame, he will ne+er be free!6 Howe+er, 18.= saw Bakunin<s release from #rison and remo+al to %astern (iberia as a #enal colonist! "hree years later, the %m#eror refused to let Bakunin return to :ussia, as he saw in him 6no sign of remorse!6 After eight years< im#risonment and four years< exile, he had to look forward still to a long series of dreary years in (iberia! "wo of these dreary years had gone when, in 18.4, the :ussian *o+ernment annexed the territory of the Amur! A brighter #ros#ect was offered Bakunin by #ermission to settle here, and to mo+e about almost as he #leased! A new flame was kindled throughout :ussia/*aribaldi had unfurled the 1talian flag of freedom! Bakunin, at 4= years of age and with his #ulse full of +igour, could not remain a tame and distant s#ectator of these e+ents! He determined to esca#e from (iberia! "his he successfully carried out by extending his excursions as far as $o+o/$ikolaie+sk, where he secretly boarded an American cli##er, on which he reached Ba#an! He was the first #olitical refugee to seek shelter there! "hence he arri+ed at (an 0rancisco, crossed the 1sthmus of

Panama, and came to $ew Aork! ;n -Hth ,ecember, 18H1, he landed at )i+er#ool, and the next day he was with his comrades in )ondon! 6Bakunin is in )ondon9 Bakunin buried in dungeons, lost in %astern (iberia, re/a##ears in the midst of us full of life and energy! He returns more ho#eful than e+er, with redoubled lo+e for freedom<s holy cause! He is in+igorated by the shar# but healthy air of (iberia! 8ith his resurrection, how many images and shadows rise from the dead9 "he +isions of 1848 rea##ear! 8e feel no longer that 1848 is dead9 1t has only changed its #lace in the order of time96 (uch were the greetings with which all %nglish lo+ers of freedom and members of the re+olutionary working class committees welcomed the a##roach of the new year 18H-9 "o 2ustify these ex#ectations, Bakunin settled down to the #art editorshi# of Her en<s 6Iolokol!6 ///////

6"he slightest concession, the smallest grace and com#assion will bring us back to the #ast again, and lea+e our fetters untouched! ;f two things we must choose one! %ither we must 2ustify oursel+es and go on, or we must falter and beg for mercy when we ha+e arri+ed half/ way!6 1n these terms, written in a mood of uncom#romising $ihilism, Her en condemned his own career! 8hen he #ublished his #am#hlet 6Before the (torm,6 in :ome, it did not seem #ossible that the world would ha+e to wait long for the ine+itable conflagration! "he downfall of all existing institutions seemed imminent! (ocialism was the gos#el of youth, the ho#e of humanity, the goal to be attained! And it seemed as though the youth of the world was about to come into its own! Her en re+elled in the thought that the s#ring/time was at hand5/ 68hen the s#ring comes, a young and fresh life will show itself o+er the whitened se#ulchres of the feeble generations which will ha+e disa##eared in the ex#losion! 0or the age of senile barbarity, there will be substituted a 2u+enile barbarity, full of disconnected forces! A sa+age and fresh +igour will in+ade the young breasts of new #eo#les! "hen will commence a new cycle of e+ents and a new +olume of uni+ersal history! "he future belongs to (ocialist ideas!6 But the 1848 u#hea+al failed! Her en #ro#hesised more +igorously than e+er! He clamoured strenuously and ably for uni+ersal destruction! But his faith in 6words and flags, in the deification of humanity, and the illusion that sal+ation can be only effected by the &hurch of %uro#ean ci+ilisation6 declined! "he west in which he #laced so much ho#e was dead! And he began his weary 6return to :ussia6 in thought, though not in fact! 0or he li+ed and died in exile! 68e were young two years ago3 to/day we are old,6 he wrote in 18.E! "he crushing of the 0rench )abour mo+ement angered and disheartened him! He became ashamed of his #recious affection for %uro#e, 6blushed for his #re2udices,6 declared that he knew nothing of the lands he had lo+ed from the distance, and had embellished them with 6mar+ellous colors6 because they were as 6forbidden fruit6 to him! 7ni+ersal sorrow at the general check recei+ed by the re+olution throughout %uro#e disturbed his outlook and he #oured out his sense of ho#elessness and des#air in his work, 60rom the ;ther (hore!6 But he cound not 'uite gi+e u# his faith in re+olution! "he 8est had failed / but there was

:ussia! 8hy should not :ussia become a (ocialist (tate without #assing through &a#italism? Her en saw no reason 5 and so in 18.1 he #enned the #ro#hetic words5 6"he man of the future in :ussia is the mou2ik, 2ust as in 0rance he is the artisan!6 He saw :ussia emanci#ating the world and continued in this faith down to the renewal of his association with Bakunin in )ondon! At this time he de+elo#ed his ideas in 6"he ;ld 8orld and :ussia!6 All the (tates / the :;man, &hristian, and feudal institutions, the #arliamentary, monarchial, and re#ublican centres / but not the #eo#le of %uro#e will #erish! "he coming re+olution, unlike any #re+ious change, would destroy the bases of the (tates! 1n line with which understanding of the social issue, Her en o##osed himself to reformism in the following words5/ 68e can do no more #lastering and re#airing! 1t has become im#ossible to mo+e in the ancient forms without breaking them! ;ur re+olutionary idea is incom#atible entirely with the existing state of things!6 6A constitution is only a treaty between master and sla+e!6 "his declaration was made by Her en also! 1t at once became the motto of the :ussian extremists, who were few com#ared with the constitutionalists who wanted either a limited monarchy or a re#ublic! But the boldness of his thought was #aralysed by the :ussian character of his outlook! He attem#ted to turn o##ortunist in #ractice in order to bring about insurrectionary mo+ements in :ussia, and became disheartened by failure! He com#romised with the religious sectarians and conr#sired with the #easants! "he intrigue colla#sed, and he re#udiated the $ihilism he had abandoned in order to intrigue! 0or #ractical reasons, he retreated from his re+olutionary #osition, and left his colleague, Michel Bakunin, to s#read the flame of uni+ersal destruction! But Her en<s retreat was in direct o##osition to all that he taught and belie+ed! "o Bakunin he wrote, stating that he had no faith in re+olutionary measures and now stood for )iberalism! He neither wished to march ahead of, nor remain behind, the #rogress of makind! "he latter would not / and could not / follow him in his #assion for destruction, which Baskunin mistook for a #assion for creation! "he trouble was not with the re+olutionary #rogramme! 1t rested with Her en<s anti/ re+olutionary com#assion for his fatherland abo+e other lands! &oncessions were made to religion and #olitical cons#iracy! He failed the social re+olution and then denied its truth because his work seemed to end in smoke! "he +a#our was Her en not $ihilism! ////////// 8hereas Her en a##ealed to a :ussian audience, Bakunin demanded a %uro#ean one! He remained the (la+ at heart, and on the 1nternational stage #araded his hatred of the "euton! 1n )ondon he assured his admirers that he would de+ote the rest of his life to the war with & arism! He wanted to be 6a true and free :ussian,6 howe+er, and to kee# off the "artars in the %ast and 6to maintain the *ermans in *ermany!6 "his $ationalist touch marred all his work and seriously distracted from his re+olutionary +igor in moments of crisis! But it did not seem to ham#er his energy! Her en<s #a#er stood for the reform of :ussian officialdom, not its destruction! But he was no match for Bakunin<s energy, eal, and abandon! More and more did the 6Iolokol6 become identified with the latter<s $ihilism, his a##lause of the negati+e #rinci#le, and his denunciation of all #ositi+e institution! "his altered #olicy was maintained down to 18H., when the 6Iolokol6 was transferred from )ondon to *ene+a only to die! 0our years later Bakunin deli+ered his famous s#eech to the Peace &ongress at Berne! He im#eached modern ci+ilisation as ha+ing been 6founded from time immemorial on the forced labour of the enormous ma2ority, condemned to lead the li+es of brutes and sla+es, in order that a small minority might be enabled to li+e as human creatures! "his monstrous ine'uality,6 he disco+ered, rested 67#on the absolute se#aration between headwork and hand/labour! But this abomination

cannot last3 for in future the working classes are resol+ed to make their own #olitics! "hey insist that instead of two classes, there shall be in future only one, which shall offer to all men alike, without grade or distinction, the same starting #oint, the same maintainence, the same o##ortunities of education and culture, the same means of industry3 not, indeed, by +irtue of laws, but by the nature of the organisation of this class which shall oblige e+eryone to work with his head as with his hands!6 )ater on, Bakunin re#udiated &ommunism in a #assage that has so often been misinter#reted, that we re#roduce it at length5 6&ommunism 1 abhor, because it is the negation of liberty, and without liberty 1 cannot imagine anything truly human! 1 abhor it because it concentrates all the strength of society in the (tate, and s'uanders that strength in its ser+ice 3 because it #laces all #ro#erty in the hands of the (tate, whereas my #rinci#le is the abolition of the (tate itself! 1 want the organisation of society and the distribution of #ro#erty to #roceed from below, by the free +oice of society itself 3 not downwards from abo+e, by the dictate of authority! 1 want the abolition of #ersonal hereditary #ro#erty, which is merely an institution of the (tate, and a conse'uence of (tate #rinci#les! 1n this sense 1 am a &ollecti+ist not a &ommunist! Here Bakunin #ro#ounds the old Anarchist fallacy of the (tate creating #ro#erty, instead of es#ousing the sound doctrine that #ro#erty necessitates and conditions the (tate! He fights the shadow for the substance! His as#iration as to social organisation all &ommunists share! And when he re#udiates &ommunism for &ollecti+ism, they know he is gi+ing a different meaning to these terms from that which we gi+e to them! Actually, he is ex#ressing his fear of a dictatorshi#! But since he belie+ed in +iolence, which is the essence of dictatorshi#, we do not see the #oint of his ob2ection! $o one belie+es in a #ermanent authoritarian society! All realise that there must be a transitional #eriod during which the workers must #rotect the re+olution and organise to crush the counter/re+olution! %+ery action of the working class during that #eriod must be organised, must be #ower/action, and conse'uently dictatorial! 1t is im#ossible either for Bakunin or for anyone else to esca#e from reality in this matter! "o destroy #ower the workers must secure #ower!"here is no other way! "he address becomes ha##ier when the author turns to the 'uestion of religion 5 but since he re#eats, word for word, whole #assages subse'uently re#roduced in 6*od and the (tate,6 there is no need to cite his reflections! Bakunin<s one great consistency was his hatred of *od and the idealists! /////////// Bakunin<s #an/sla+ism was the fatal contradiction that #aralysed his re+olutionary endea+our! "his will be seen from his #am#hlet 6:omanoff, Pugatscheff, or Pestal,6 #ublished in 18H-! 1n this, he announced his willingness to make #eace with absolutism #ro+ided that the son of the %m#eror $icholas would conset to be 6a good and loyal & ar,6 a democratic ruler, and would #ut himself at the head of a #o#ular assembly in order to constitute a new :ussia, and #lay the #art of the sa+iour of the (la+ #eo#le! 6,oes this :omanoff mean to be the & ar of the #easants, or the Petersburgian em#eror of the house of Holstein/*ottor#? "his 'uestion will ha+e to be decided soon, and then we shall know what we are and what we ha+e to do!6 "he & ar<s silence angered Bakunin, and he returned again to $ihilism as he would ha+e done in any case! Bakunin was altogether too loyal to the cause of re+olution to com#romise with & ars for any length of time! But the weakness was there, and the fact must be recorded! 1t found ex#ression once again with the outbreak of the 0ranco/Prussian 8ar and the *erman in+asion of 0rance! Bakunin forgot the youth to whom he had issued his re+olutionary a##eals! All his ancient :ussian enmity of the *ermanic race/from whose thinkers he had imbibed the milk of his #hiloso#hic doctrines/came out! He at once addressed an a##eal to the

#leasantry of all countries, im#loring them 6to come to dri+e out the Prussians!6 "he cause of 0rance, he said, was the cause of humanity! And the #owerful Musco+ite Press agreed with him! Bakunin was at one with ruling class :ussia! 1n backing 0rance, he was acting as became a :ussian and a #atriot, not as became an Anarchist and an 1nternationalist! "his is ob+ious from the com#any in which he found himself! /////////// Bakunin outlined the case against *ermany, and enunciated his theory of the historic mission of the 0rench, in his 6)etters to a 0renchman about "he Present &risis,6 written in (e#tember, 18=E, and his #am#hlet on 6"he Inouto/*ermanic %m#ire!6 He disowned nationalism and race, and the $a#oleons, Bismarcks, and & ars who fostered #atriotism in order to destroy the freedom of all nations! 1n his eyes, this was a +ery mean, +ery narrow and +ery interested #assion! 1t was fundamentally inhuman and had no other #ur#ose than the conser+ation of the #ower of the national (tate/that is, the attem#ted ex#loitations and #ri+ileges inside a nation! 68hen the masses become #atriotic they are stu#id, as are to/day a #art of the masses in *ermany, who let themsel+es be slaughtered in tens of thousands with a silly enthusiasm, for the trium#h of that great unity, and for the organisation of that *erman %m#ire, which, if founded on the ruins of usur#ed 0rance, will become the tomb of all ho#es for the future!6 1n #enning that, he did not recall his own #an/(la+ic utterances, and ad+ocacy of racial antagonisms in+ol+ing the continuation of go+ernment and the su##ort of militarism! History was sha+ed shamefully so as to o##ose the 0rance of 1=4@ to the *ermany of Bismarck! $othing was said about re+olutionary *ermany! "he 0rance which demanded $a#oleons, su##orted :oyalism, and fa+oured bourgeois :e#ublicanism, was dismissed! Bakunin was enabled, by these means, to #icture the world as waiting on the initiation of 0rance for its ad+ance towards liberty! 0rance was to dri+e back *ermany, exile her traitor officials/and inaugurate (ocialism9 68hat 1 would consider a great misfortune for the whole of humanity would be the defeat and death of 0rance as a great national manifestation5 the death of its great national character, the 0rench s#irit3 of the courageous, heroic instincts, of the re+olutionary daring, which took with storm, in order to destroy, all authorities that had been made holy by history, all #ower of hea+en and earth! 1f that great historical nature called 0rance should be missed at this hour, if it should disa##ear from the world/scene3 or,/what would be much worse/if the s#irited and de+elo#ed nature should fall suddenly from the honoured height which she has attained, thanks to the work of the heroic genius of #ast generations/into the abyss and continue her existence as Bismarck<s sla+e5 a terrible em#tiness will engulf the whole world! 1t would be more than a national catastro#he! 1t would be a world/wide misfortune, a uni+ersal defeat!6 8e need add only that the great 60rench (#irit6 murdered in cold blood its communards in the famous May/Bune days of 18=1! /////////// As a national manifestation, the 0rench (#irit was confined within territorial boundaries! 1t has been seen that Bakunin belie+ed also in a :ussian nationalism, bounded on the %ast by the "artars, and on the 8est by the *ermans! *i+en these frontiers, it is im#ossible not to belie+e in a *erman race, bounded on the 8est by 0rance and on the %ast by :ussia! "hus Bakunin belie+ed in u#holding the (tates of %uro#e! He aimed at the status 'uo! Aet he said 5/ 67sur#ation is not only the outcome, but the highest aim of all states, large or small, #owerful or weak, des#otic or liberal, monarchic, aristocratic, or democratic!!!!1t follows that the war of one (tate u#on another is a necessity and common fact, and e+ery #eace is only a #ro+isional truce!6 "his idea was not worked out at some other time, under different circumstances, but in these 6)etters to a 0renchman6 eulogising the national s#irit! He asserted that all (tates were bad, and there could be no +irtuos (tate5/

68ho says (tate, says #ower, o##ression, ex#loitation, in2ustice/all these established as the #re+ailing system and as the fundamental conditions of the existing society! "he (tate ne+er had a morality, and can ne+er ha+e one! 1ts only morality and 2ustice is its own ad+antage, its own existence, and its own omni#otence at any #rice! Before these interests, all interests of mankind must disa##ear! "he (tate is the negation of manhood!6 6(o long as there is a (tate, war will ne+er cease! %ach (tate must o+ercome or be o+ercome! %ach (tate must found its #ower on the weakness, and, if it can, without danger to itself, on the abrogation of other (tates! "o stri+e for an 1nternational 2ustice and freedom and lasting #eace, and therewith seek the maintenance of the (tate, is a ridiculous nai+ete!6 Bakunin had to esca#e this +ery charge of ridiculous nai+ete! /////////// "he *erman (ocial ,emocrats belie+ed in a #rogressi+e series of (tate reforms and *erman unity with Prussia as the head of the centralising mo+ement! By sei ing on this fact, Bakunin was able to gi+e #oint to his case for the 0rench (#irit! 7nless, howe+er, he could make the *erman (ocial ,emocrats amenable to that s#irit, he remained the a#ologist for the 0rench (tate! He carefully #ointed out, therefore, that the *erman (ocial ,emocrats were anxious to go beyond their #rogramme, and were waiting to solidate with the 0rench workers to #roclaim the 7ni+ersal (ocialist :e#ublic of the #roletaires! 1n this way, he destroyed entirely the significance of the 0rench (#irit! And he did not write the truth! "he *erman (ocial ,emocrats were not waiting to solidate with the 0rench workers! "he 0rench workers were not willing to initiate the (ocialist :e#ublic! (o cle+erly did Bakunin reconcile his contradictions, that he buried his su#erstition and Anarchism in the same logical gra+e! 1t is well that this was only a #assing aberration, that Bakunin was so sincerely #roletarian that the &ommune of Paris found him its defender and eulogist, and our gratitude for his +igour and audacity in conse'uence exceeds our regrets at his la#ses! 8e recall that all his contem#oraries, including Marx, nodded, and that the age of the giants who ne+er fail and are su#erior to circumstance has not arri+ed! /////////// Bakunin closed his stormy career at Berne on 1st Buly, 18=H! He had founded his (ocial ,emocratic Alliance and had been ex#elled from the Marxist 1nternational! His heroism and tireless eal commanded the res#ect of all who sur+i+ed, and it was decided at his funeral to reconcile the (ocial ,emocrats and the Anarchists in one association, and to bury minor differences/namely, the 'uestions of Parliamentarism and (tate reforms9 "his idea of com#romise was su##orted by the Anarchists and (ocial ,emocrats throughout %uro#e! Mar+ellous words of regard were #aid to Bakunin<s memory! ;n =th August, the Bura 0ederation assembled at &haux/de/0onds and sent a fraternal greeting, drawn u# by Bames *uillaume, to the *erman (ocial ,emocratic &ongress at *otha! 0our weeks later, 8ilhelm )iebknecht re#lied in the following terms5/ 6"he &ongress of the *erman (ocialists has commissioned me to ex#ress to you my delight o+er the fact that the &ongress of the 0ederation of Bura has ex#ressed itself in fa+our of the union of all (ocialists!6 "he eighth 1nternational &ongress of the 1nternational was held at Berne a month later! "he *erman (ocial ,emocratic Party sent a delegate who ex#ressed the following ho#e of union5/ 6"he *erman (ocial ,emocracy ex#resses the desire that the (ocialists may treat each other with mutual consideration, so that, if a com#lete union is not #ossible, there may be established at least, a certain understanding, in accordance with which e+eryone may #ursue #eacefully his way!6 At the ban'uet, which concluded the &ongress, &afiero, the disci#le of Bakunin, drank to the health of the *erman (ocialists3 and ,e Pae#e toasted the memory of Michel Bakunin! 6Anarchism6 ke#t com#any with (tate reforms and (ocialism was regarded as a Parliamentary issue, o+er which one must not grow #assionate! All Bakunin<s fiery words against the (tate, all his talk of the :e+olution, his hurrying across %uro#e to boost first one

and then another insurrection had ended seemingly in/+a#our, smoke9 But the thing was im#ossible! "he e+ents of the storm years, 1848 and 18=1, had made the same im#ression on Marx as on Bakunin! Both belie+ed in re+olutionary +iolence, in insurrectional #olitics, in the &ommune and not the %m#ire! 8hate+er their #ersonal 'uarrel and their difference as to the rigid inter#retation of the Marxian formula, both were genuine social re+olutionists, the real #ioneers of the new social order, the masters from whom Bohn Most drew his ins#iration! 1n their differences, each side erred! 1n their fundamental as#iration, both were at one! $ot so with )assalle from whom the (ocial ,emocrats drew their fatal ins#iration, whose motto, 6"hrough uni+ersal suffrage to +ictory,6 they substituted, after the downfall of the &ommune and the defeat of the #roletariat, for Marx<s magnificent5 68orkers of all lands, unite9 Aou ha+e nothing to lose but your chains9 Aou ha+e a world to gain96 6"o set about to make a re+olution,6 said )asalle/the father of that %uro#ean (ocial ,emocracy which buried itself and attem#ted to murder outright the %uro#ean #roletariat in the world war of 1414/18/6is the folly of immature minds, which ha+e no notion of the laws of history!6 1n this s#irit, he inter#reted the e+ents of 1848 and 1844 as an argument for/direct uni+ersal suffrage9 8ith the mo+ement founded to maintain this #rinci#le and work towards this middle class end, the Anarchists seriously thought of identifying themsel+es9 "hey imagined this to be an honour to Bakunin, 2ust as the Marxists thought they were honouring Marx by re#udiating his re+olutionary #rinci#les! /////////// 6And so you think that Marx and Bakunin were at one,6 said my friend! 6Aes,6 1 re#lied, 61 think that they were at one! 1 belie+e that they were one in #ur#ose and in as#iration! But they accom#lished distinct tasks and ser+ed different functions! 1t would not do for us all to act the same #art! 0itted by tem#erament to enact a #eculiar role, each man felt his work to be a s#ecial call, the one aim of life! "his de+elo#ed strong #ersonality! And when the two strong #ersonalities came into conflict through the nature of their res#ecti+e tasks, the natural antagonisms of their tem#erament dis#layed themsel+es! "hen came fools, who called themsel+es disci#les of the wise men, and magnified their accidental collisions into +ital discords of #ur#ose! ,o we not know/the friend who #ersuades us to 'uarrel? And do we not know the <disci#les< who are actually street brawlers of a refined order? Marx and Bakunin ha+e suffered at the hands of these mental numskulls!6 6But how would you define the difference between the two men,6 #ursued my friend! 6>ery easily,6 1 answered, 6Marx defined the (ocial :e+olution, whilst Bakunin ex#ressed it! "he first stood for the in+incible logic of the cause! "he second concentrated in his own #erson its un'uenchable s#irit! Marx was an im#regnable rock of first #rinci#les, remorselessly com#osed of facts! He dwarfed the intelligence of &a#italist society and witnessed to the indestructability of (ocialism! He incarnated the #roletarian u#hea+al! He was the immo+able mountain of the re+olution! Bakunin, on the other hand, was the tem#est! He symbolised the coming flood! Both were great bra+e men3 and together they ga+e con#leteness to the certitude of re+olution! "hey #romised success by land and by water! "hey symbolised inexhaustible #atience, unwearying stability, ine+itable growth, and tireless, resistless attack! 8ho can concei+e of a world not made u# of land and water? 8ho can concei+e of the (ocial :e+olution without the work of Marx and Bakunin?6 But my friend was not con+inced, so we turned to other sub2ects!