10 h 42 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 10 h 42 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if anarchism is not one doctrine, but a question that leads seven thinkers in different directions?
In Anarchism, Paul Eltzbacher looks past the bombs and chaos associated with the word to ask what anarchist writers actually say. A German jurist rather than a partisan, he examines their views on the state, law and property. His aim is clear: to discover whether these ideas belong to one shared doctrine.
William Godwin, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Max Stirner, Mikhail Bakunin, Peter Kropotkin, Benjamin Tucker and Leo Tolstoy come under the same careful lens. Reason, justice, the individual, community and religious conviction enter the comparison. As their differences emerge, you can weigh each position without being asked to defend a single school.
What you’ll discover
- Texts before myths Follow a careful inquiry that starts with what thinkers write, rather than what their label suggests.
- Reason and justice Explore Godwin and Proudhon through the ideas that ground their approaches to anarchy.
- The individual comes first Meet Stirner and Tucker as Eltzbacher examines the place of the individual in their thought.
- Revolution and community Consider Bakunin and Kropotkin through their approaches to collective life, freedom and radical change.
- Tolstoy's religious path See how Tolstoy's reading of the Sermon on the Mount shapes his rejection of the state.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who like to see an argument built step by step, anyone curious about the thinkers behind anarchism, and those who enjoy clear definitions and comparisons.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Compare thinkers instead of chasing slogans
- Clear definitions make comparison possible
- Godwin puts reason before fixed law
- Proudhon builds order through voluntary agreements
- Stirner makes personal welfare the measure
- Bakunin sees freedom advancing through history
- Kropotkin finds cooperation already taking shape
- Different beliefs lead toward shared refusal
- Shared questions reveal differences and agreement
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Anarchism
by Paul Eltzbacher · 1900
Seven thinkers, one word: a German lawyer sorts Godwin, Proudhon, Stirner, Bakunin, Kropotkin, Tucker and Tolstoi.
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In short
Everyone has an opinion about anarchism, and almost no two people mean the same thing by it. Some think it means chaos.
Anarchism at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 50 min4 h 35 min fast, 6 h 55 min slow
- Length
- 83,100 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1900by Paul Eltzbacher
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Define your terms and choose your witnesses
Eltzbacher opens with a problem. Ask ten people what anarchism teaches and you get ten answers. Some say it rejects law, others say society, others only the State.
To study anarchist teachings, you must first know which teachings count. That seems to need the very definition you are looking for. He solves it by asking whom the study is for: readers whose loose notions must be replaced with exact concepts. Then he takes the group of teachings that the greatest number of scholars recognize. When a scholar names a teaching as anarchist, that counts for more than any general definition. The result is seven names that nearly every account offers.
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- 15-minute summary
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Details
- First published
- 1900
- Language
- English
- Level
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Cite this edition
Eltzbacher, Paul. Anarchism. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/anarchism.
Eltzbacher, P. (2026). Anarchism. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/anarchism (Original work published 1900)
Eltzbacher, Paul. Anarchism. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/anarchism.
@book{eltzbacher2026anarchism,
author = {Eltzbacher, Paul},
title = {Anarchism},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/anarchism},
note = {First published 1900}
}
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What is Anarchism by Paul Eltzbacher about?
It is a comparative study of seven thinkers, Godwin, Proudhon, Stirner, Bakunin, Kropotkin, Tucker and Tolstoy. Eltzbacher asks each the same questions about law, the State and property, then defines anarchism from what they share.
Who are the seven thinkers in Eltzbacher's Anarchism?
They are William Godwin, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Max Stirner, Mikhail Bakunin, Peter Kropotkin, Benjamin Tucker and Leo Tolstoy. Eltzbacher chose them because most scholars of his day counted their teachings as anarchist.
How does Eltzbacher define anarchism?
Within legal philosophy, he defines anarchism as a rejection of the State. That is the one thing all seven teachings share, though they differ on law, property, basis and the means of change.
The author
Paul Eltzbacher
1868–1928 · German jurist
Paul Eltzbacher (1868–1928) was a German lawyer and legal scholar. He was born in Cologne and died in Berlin. He wrote Anarchism, first published in German in 1900 under the title Der Anarchismus. An English translation appeared in 1908. He also wrote about law.
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