Trama e riassunto di Anarchism and Other Essays

A chi è rivolto

Readers drawn to political philosophy, radical history and impassioned essays will love this collection, especially those curious about labor, women's rights, prisons, war and education.

Che cos’è questo libro

A young woman sits in a packed hall, sure that one speaker's voice can change every mind in the room. Emma Goldman felt exactly that, then spent twenty-one years learning how little a speech leaves behind. So she gathered her best thinking into a book for the readers who truly want to learn.

That book is Anarchism and Other Essays, published in 1910. Its twelve pieces attack the pillars of her age, from government and prisons to patriotism, marriage and the stage. She argues that the individual and society are not enemies, and that the cure for their war is liberty. The first idea is the most misunderstood: what anarchism really means.

Questions about Anarchism and Other Essays

What is Anarchism and Other Essays about?

It is a collection of twelve essays by Emma Goldman on anarchism, majority rule, political violence, prisons, patriotism, education, Puritanism, prostitution, woman suffrage, marriage and modern drama. Together they argue for individual liberty and against the power of state, church and property.

What does Emma Goldman mean by anarchism?

She defines it as a philosophy of a new social order based on freedom from man-made laws, resting on the view that all government rests on force. She presents it as voluntary cooperation among free individuals, not as disorder.

Does Goldman support political violence?

She says she hates murder, and argues that anarchism values human life above things. In the essay on political violence, she explains such acts as responses to despair and injustice, and she places the blame on the conditions that drive people to them.

Is Anarchism and Other Essays easy to read?

Each essay stands alone, so you can read them in any order. Goldman writes in a lively, direct voice, uses vivid cases such as Ferrer, Vaillant and Nora, and opens with a short preface that explains her purpose.

Why is the book still worth reading?

It gives a first-hand account of the radical ideas of 1910 on labor, women's lives, prisons, war and schooling. Many of its questions about authority, conformity and personal freedom are still debated, so it gives you strong arguments to think against or with.