by Prof. J •thro Brown, LL. B., Lltt.B.
Prof, of L*« in thw Ifnlverelty of Adelaide.
J Proa Tho Hlbbort Journal. Ho. J2. 19»0, orlnted la SBglasft)
"One ai*ht suooeed la explaining to tho dullest of son UmismI difficult of ?robleae, If ho had no orevioua ooncaotion In rt^rd to UM| but it la Impossible to explain to tho cleverest Ma •▼an tho simplest jiattor. If ho la perfectly sure that ho knows everything about it."-— Tolatol.
When a Brussels ->olloo offloor was lnforsed that tho allltant aeaber of tho Brltiah Houae of Co mom ahoa ho had arrested wae not an anarchist but ^ aoctailat, he reniiad that ho failed to aoa tho difference. To soae apologists of tho status quo tho alatatco of tho Belgian official will a?peor excusable and his action meritorious. To tho aoolal reformer tho incident alii aorro aa a reolnder of tho faot that enarohy and aoolellsa, though radically ot?oaod In tholr aethods and Ideals, reai together at groat sohacaas of aoolal rooonatruction which clalJi to have dlecovered a solution of tho -jrobloaa of our sge.
Tha aoolal rofonior, If ho la In eemeet about things, «111 find othor raaaona for being lntoroatod in anarchy than tho faot that It is ona of two grant thoorlaa for tho roconatruetion of aodern society. Ho will be aaara that anarchy, no lees than aoolal is a, can boaat ita aoute and original thlnters, ita numerous and militant societies, and ita multitude of unconaoioua /idherents who, z.% tho vary -aoaent thtt thoy oondeun ita control doctrine, are engaged in adTooatlng principles that anarchy haa tho aerlt of bftfcng a oha1longa to Ideas of which tho eternal validity la apt to bo t-.iwn for granted—a .aorlt not aaally overrated in a vorId of aoanolont conviction and laborious unroat. Wo aro born undor government, livo am J d la undor It, for tho aost -virt without even ao lauoh aa ctnslder-lag vhothor government la a good thing or not. But what, it mttj bo asssd, is tho good of our interainsble discussions r-bout tho aohoro of tho State unless we h-ve clear and aonalatont ldoaa of tho right of tho State to h*ve any sphere at all?
of tho groat oauaoa which havo Inspired huuan dovotlon in tho past havo suffered ao touch as anarchy fro3 tho unoritloal deorod&tloa which conf jios essentials with aooldontal aaaoclationa. I propose to dlacuaa several exaaoles. °erhana the aoat striding rolatee to tho aeeoe Mr bringing the new aoolal order into being. To tho popular alnd, tho atllotto and tho bomb aro the very lyatell of anarchy. Tho aeons whloh soae anarchists eaploy for tho -nirpose of achieving the end In view aro aistaxen for the end itself. Tho explanation la slaple. While tho aanale of a certain type of orlao nbaorb tho oo>jlar intereet, tho abstraet troatlaee on the nature of van and aoolety which oxolala that type, aad say aeox lncldontly to Juatify it, are allowed to slubber In the dust of our llbrarloe; and anarchy le regarded, not aa a theory of eooial rooeast root Ion, but aa a goeoel of violerwe and criae. So *o road in our aorning -*-mr of snarohlate in India! The fact la overlooked that tho native revolutionaries who eaoljpy tho aethede of vloloaoo merely deelro to aubatltute one aet of political institutions for another.
In Tart, of oouree. tho anarchists tho-saelvee, or soao of ttia, ara to blase. He who coaalta a erlae to servo a aeble purpoeo ought mt to be surprised is an und 1 so ri floating nubile over loose his purpoeo la Its horror of his orlae. iany readers sin reaeaber the aseaeelaatlea of Our Alexander. A boob had erected the carriage In vhloh ho sea rldiaai hah
tho Cm-.r ImH to earth ntnarently unharaed. Someone nahed forward t "Sour Hi J • si/ Is Mfi?" "res, than* God," was the "It Is too
soon to thank God," said th* anarchist *ho tkirew a second hoato with fatal •f foot. Tho blaaeleas President f'Xlnley was shot by a «a to »hoe Ho had extended his hund In frloadly greeting! At Geneva, la tho afternoon of Saturday, «"th Seoteaber an assassin olunged a atllotto In tho
heart of a defenseless woaan whoso only orlae wae to too an laoress! vo forgot doodo suoh as thoso; nor oan we forgot thnt thoy uro proaoted toy anarchist organisations, and defenfled by anarchist tain tars of abftlltj and psfits. Johannes lost, for exaanle, in a celebrated :via:;fclet on revolutionary warfare and dynaaiters, has won distinction as an exponent of tho gontlo art of assassination. Tho International Congress, hold at London In July resolved thet all jeans waro *rdls*able for tho
annlhlbitIon of rulers, alnioters of State, nobility, tho clergy, tho aost *>r*alnent o:» ^ltallsts, and othor oxnloltors; and that aooordlngly groat ••.ttontlon should bo given to tho study of cheaistry and tho preparation of explosives!
Those *ho, under tho *>retenoe of the end justifying tho a sans, oo -alt or ">lot aurder in cold blood, hare axih to answer for. Yet we oan no sore reject anarchy bsoaase 111 deeds tore been done In Its naae, than we oan reject liberty for tho saae reason; or than we oan repudiate Catholicism beoause of tno Inquisition. In actual fact, cnarchy did not originate as r. theory of violence; and those sho have advocated violence hawe done so -ie a temporary aeans and on the ground of an overwhelalng necessity. The a^-joal to vlolonoe origln^tod in Russia, where aen, o^oslng forco to force, atrac* in blind fury of to test at a desnotls* •hlch sooasd unassailable by any other we:ion. While we reudlate the nihilist and hla lalt?;tors In other *trts of the world, we aust reaeaber that tee re.il -•roblea for consideration In rslatlon to anarchy Is the rjraotTrillty and -.srlts of a foru of social organisation and not the ^eans ->rooo8ed by aoae explosive enthusiast* for bringing that organisation into existence. The absense of any essential connection between ennrchy and viol once is sufficiently *>roved by the attitude of aaay acknowledged oxoononts. "The ilngdoa of truth," said Godwin, "ooaes quietly. . . .1 had rather convince aon by argument than seduce thea by examle. *'?) "*hen once Ideas have originated," said Proud hon, "the wery nr.wing otonss will rise of theaselvee, unless the Governaent has sense enough to avert this. And If not, then nothing else is of any use." "The socisl revolution," declares Benjaaln Tucker, "aust ooae by passive resistance." Tolstoi, g rent est or all the anarchists, loots forward to the realisation of the new order as a result of the gradual recognition of the cintradlotion between civic Institutions and the Chrlet law.(»
The confusion of -mrchy ftU assassination roc a lie the ?hloftot*10Ai thoory of the anr.rohlst stlrner. "Might," he declared, "goes before right, and quite rightly. . .. What I have the might to It I have the right to be. I deduce all right and all title free ayself j X an entitled to everything that I have alght over. I aa entitled to overthrew zoos, Jehovah, or God, if I oan; If I cannot, then thoso gods will always reaaln In the right and alght as against as. . . .one gets farther with a handful of alght than with a bagful of right. "(4) But the theory of Stlrnor la anything but tynloal. An/irohlsa, ar ordinarily presented, la a protest against ths rule of night, it Is sn a wjeal froa the alght of rulere to the slnse of right In the individual; free the ooerolea of the State to the oonso lease of the o It is en; froa the law whloh la oenalty enforced to the law ehloh le voluntarily aooeoted.
The Illusion Just referred to finds soae Justlflsatlen la aaarehlst literature. So auch oan scaroely be said of the Illusion that anarony. In rejecting the State, also rejeete society and aeseelated effort. Although Oodsln, at m wrt frequently reminded, coodenned the orcheetral ooiwsrt as a dsgrsdlng fora of sntsrtainasnt which must atowartlj dlsa->-*ar bsfore the progress of Individual lndepenasttce, we should dlspla, a «fcmngs lao* of discrimination if we regard sd the condemnation •• more than an interesting revelntlon of Godwin's Tiusloal attainment*. Through-oat anarchist literature a distinction is drawn between soclotj and tho Stats—betseen voluntary groups of huaan beings united by co-operation in proaotlag of coaaon interests. and ths organlssed stats with IU agenclee for cos-toiling Individuals to 11 vs aooordlng to certain rules whether tnsy a Tnrove of thea op not. "Society and government are different in themselves, and h&ve diffsrsnt origins. 3ooiety is Produced by our wants, and goveraent by our wickedness. Society is in every state a blessing} government, even in Its best st; to, but a necessary evil. "(5) "8oolety, says Benjaaln Tuoicer. "is insetsrnbls from the Urea of Individuals. It has Moons to be aun's dearest possession." (o)
So statsoent of po-rulcr alsooneoptlone about anarchy would be complete without reference to the illusion th!:t anarchy is hostile to la» in the ssnse of rulss of oond^st gsnerally observed *mong aen. Although soae exponents express tae strange opinion that aen can dispense with rules of confiuct, each aan doing as hs things best under the Particular circumstances, anarchists In goner 1 are not guilty of »o puerile an assua-stion. *Iaagins," s^claios Bernard Shaw, •leaving the tmfflo of 'Icoadllly or Broadway to proceed on the understanding that every driver should £se - to th:tt al£e of ths road which seeasd to hla to proaote the greatest ha^pinsss of ths greatest nuaber. "{7) The protect of anarohy ia not against rulos of conduct, but against the enforcement of such rules e# sendees by the aigkt of society without regart to their approval by the lnrii vidua la upon whoa they are enforced, ffe can only aoouse anarchy of lawlessness if we Halt the tero law to State-enforced rulss.
*," exolaiaod the railway sorter laaort&llsed in Punch, "is dogs, cats is dogs; rebbits is dogs; but this *sre tortoise is a hlneect." Soae readers arill be tsa-ted to challenge ay definition of anarchy as no less arbitrary. In oolnt of faot, however, underlying all the divergencies of opinion, ths originalities or the absurdltlse of isolated anarchists, there Is one coaaon and fun'uaental conviction which is neither criminal nor rbsurd—the conviction that the bsst social ordsr is one where sen live their lives, not under the ooapulsory regulation of the State, but in voluntary cooperation. Both the negative and positive aspeots of this conviction call for soae explanation.
Negatively, anarchy aoans the repudiation of the olala of the State to impose its will u^on the citizen by force. The right of a society to promote the conion gool of its a sabers Is not called in question; what is denied is the claim of society to force upon Individuals its own Interpret at Ion of that good. The anarchist la the sworn foe, not of all government, bat of govemnent which Is not based upon the free and full consent of the Individual. The qualified character of the repudiation of the State deeerves oarsful notloe. Ansrt from the vigilance Committee for dealing with cases of flagrant orlalnallty, aost anarchists eapreesly or lmplioit-ly sanction a aeaaure of compulsion in the eohere of contrast aai property.
W The st. teaent Implies a coercive law. in
regards iroperty, while soae reject the oonceitlon altogether, other* retaln^lt in one form or another. Aooordlng to Tucker, every Individual Is to bs guaranteed the product of his labor; aooordlng to Baoinln, private prooerty is to be allowed in the objects of consumption; assorting to Snpotsin. there may be social property, but no private property* Vhmt, then. It nay be as iced, is the distinction between the State, as the term > is ordinarily understood, and a social order In whleh contractual ebllga-tlon Is enforced and some forms of property are orotmotedf The dletiastlen 11 in the foot thnt the State ootroM tha Individual whether M oomioU to the coercion or not. ahllat the anarehiet community rtpttdUiM all coerelen mti In so far as the individual «i«t be held to have consented
to ltj for oxmiple, by oromlelng to perform acts or to eonfom to nalee, or by voluntarily enrolling hlaaelf oa a member of a community of •jflag*a and Institutions ho m->provoe.
From tha ->osltiro -x>lnt of now, anarohy aeans ael f-government, "•why 3 ■•eait >f ^narohlam?" asaa Kgity. "Why not lay ht onoo eelf-dleol^lfcn lne?" limitation," says Tuoter, *oonslats In teaohlng men to govern thoaaelvea by lotting them do it.* Tho logical fclnehlo of auoh vlewe to tho theory of the sarly Protest*nte will bo a^p*rent; tut the claim la xoro com-rahenalve. Although Luther. In Tho Bab/lqaleh CastiTltr. went so far as to oegao urge tho central dopt of anarohy that no nan ahould b» ruled ut« by hie own oonaent, tho oarly roforaera generally were only conoarned with aslf goveraaent ae a aeane to oolritual freedom. Thoy were oontant to aubatitute the -vrloathoo* of tho believer for tho ?rloat-hood of tha Jhuroh. Tho imrohlito taies a eider vlewj ho soots to realist freedom In ganertl. While tho oarly Protectant Troclalmed tho right of tha lndlvidu-1 to worahin Ood aooordlng to tho 6lot*too of hie o»n ooneclenfto, tho modern *narohl«t ->roci/4las tho innate nnd imprescriptible right of tha Individual to govern hlaaelf in all tho affaire of llfo.
Tha a, in tha *ingdoa ahioh tho anarchist eeo*e to oatabllah. lao la aelf-la^oaed, and all aaaoolated of fort Is tho roault of voluntary co-o->or..tlon. I ousa to tho arguoenta by ehioh thla conception of aoolal Llfo Is Justified. It aould bo au^orfluoua to warn tho reader a^ainet regarding ay at-.tecnent of ttaaaa »rg\i.iento aa adequate. Apart from tho fact ta t etch anarchist has hla own intellectual aruovry, tho exaeedlng dlffiaulty of doing Justice to opinions ahioh challenge a long-eatabiiahoS ordor of thlnga aill ho readily admitted by anyono who has made a aorloua effort la thie 'Mrectlon. Tho oonvlctlon that Political Institutions are a *^art of tha eternal ordor of natire la so deeply rooted in all our idem* abojt sjolal life that in adocuate at*te;aent of tho case for tho anarohiot aould iooly a ooj-»n»hensive treatise. I shall only attoa^t to giwo tho cereat outline of the aubjoot, stating what aipearo to no to bo tho noro lunortint arguaonts aa clearly and aa forcibly ua I can.
I aha 11 begin vith s aubjeot about «hloh aoat oooolo are liicoiy to be in 'great*ent—tha failure of huaan gorernaonta to aeoure aoclal Jistloe. In theory, the ?toto ozlata to oroaote the gonoraX lntoroet; in historical fiot, gorornaents h^ee sought to oroaoto, first and foraaoat, the lntereats of a governing ol&sa. Even where they have aiaod at tho oo-Jton good, their view of tha nature of that good baa boon determined hy olaos institutions a a d ->rojudloeo. Although under aodem demooraoloo there exlata a clearer appreciation of the ends which governments ought to serve, tha Ignorance unri self-interest of rulers, the empire of trad, ltlonal sonoe-tlona over tha ainda of the multitude, the ambitions of soae and the general inertia of many* eo affect tho course of leglelmtloa aa to suggest the diaturblng question ehethor government is not responsible for ooro evil than it irevente. Ho* many individuals are there, even in the moat democratic oommunltloe, who can be trusted not to omplof their Political corner In the lntereata of thornselvee or their olaaat if we are to Judge >.n institution by 1U frulU, what shall bo eaid of hmmma government ehen we regard lu-sartlally its most dlstlnotlvo prodmot—our ayatem of prooertyf When «aley, surely one of the least revolutionary of '>hlloso">here, began his defeose of that system, he wrote In m famous oaaaaget "If you should see a flook of olgeone in a field of oom, maft if •. 1 net end of ecoh olcxing whore and vhat it Hied, taking Just mm muah :<s it wanted, and no more) you ehould see ninety-nine of thmm gather all thoy got Into a heap; reeervlng nothing for themmelvoe tat trnm ohaff -tnd refuse; -cooping this hea-> for one, end th»-t the vMkHt, oerhape the vsrit, -olgeon of the flock; sitting round, end looking on, all the winter, whilst this one w*s devouring, throwing about, i.nd wasting It; and If a ->lgeon, aore hardy or hungry than tho root, touched a grain of the hoard, ail the others Instantly flylti* unon it, end touring It to nieces; If you should ao® thlo, you would ooo nothing aore than what lo every day oractised ?:nd established aiong aen. "(8)
To sm« this -.nslogy a y seea «holly reaote froa Mio faot. I do not thin* tho i-narti~.i historian would so regard it. "I contend," s*id Thor-old Rogers, "thut froa 156J to IP24, a conspiracy, ooncoctsd by tho law, and carried oat by parties interested in Its aucoess, was ontorod into to cheat tho Snglish wormian of hlo wagee, to tio hi* to tho sill. to doprive his or hooe, and to degrade hia into lrreaeditble poverty. "(9) "Wo ha.ro boon able," he ^dds in a later abactor, "to trace tho process by whleh tho condition of Sngllah labour had boon continuously deteriorated by the aoto • of tho Oovera&ent. It was flrat iJ^overlshed by tho issue of b«»o auney. Next it Sta robbed of its guild aaoltal by tho land thieves of B!ward*o Regency. It was next brought into contact with a now and aore needy oot of eaoloyera, tae ahse->aasters, who succeeded the aouxa. It waa thea with a oretense, : nd ierha ?s witn the intention of xlndness, subjected to tho quarter sessions uaenrtaent, jercilessiy used in the first half of tho seventeenth century, the ;grivultural labourer being still further impoverished by being a. do tho reaiduua of 311 labour. Tho agricultural labourer then further aulcted by the lnciosures, and tho extinction of those iaaeaor-bie rights of mature at*} fuel which he bad eeeioag enjoyed so long. The noor law ->rofo9oed to find hla work, but was so administered that the reduction of his wagss to a biro subsistence became an easy process and an economical expedient. "i to >
I h:»re quoted ths opinions of a -/hiiooo-Jher ana of an historian, neither of «ho-a can be suspected of & bias towards anarshy. Those opinion* Jay be read xlth aivant_ge in the li^ht of the facts of out tlae as jrk.rr.ted in Journals which represent the ctaseea who are su-jposed to bo aost Interested in the ualnten&nae of the existing order. A recent article in the Tiaes ha a dealt with the social and economic condition* which nrer.il in the -o3t advanced of aodorn republics. The 'Jolted States, with its highly developed industrial organisation, its vast resouroes, and Its colossal fortunes, oossosses in fairly orosoerous years not less than 4,coo#:V2V> o u-^rsl If wo divide the entire copulation into three thousand oarta, one of those ->',rts will own aoro than a fifth of the total wealth of the whole country! In other words, twenty percent. of tho oooefcefcdea nation's we.ith is o*ned by less than one-thirtieth ?er Cent, of tho population! In alee 70rc City, with its brilliant society, its bouxylloss luxury and profligate extravagance, two-thirds of the inhabitants live In tenement houses whi.Jh have j©o,'vso living rooas into which, as they have no windows, no ray of sunlight ever entersf One person in every ten of Its citizens receives a pauper's burial! in t*>J, in the borough of feahattaa alone, w<V<Mfaaillea wore evicted froa their houesl (t»)
We are all aoro or less faaillar with the existence of suoh faets as I have quoted—too faaillar ^orh-.ns to feel the shook of thea. Our sensibility is so dulled by their frequent renitltion that wo oro only too In:lined to ta«ce thea for granted and pass on our way. If *e are so far affected as to feel unooafortablo, wo perhaps seek an anodyne In pious reflection on the mysterious dispensations of ?rovidenoo, or aoolain tho inexorable sharaoter of n^tuml laws. But, however dlsugreeablo aay bo U» foots to which I h. ve referred, I aust a ax the reader to oonsldor then fairly without shifts or evasions. It Is only in this way that •• can hope to understand the anarchist point of view. *Wo *no»," said Aeolus, "that eo are defending the oauso of the .coor, ths disinherited and the suffering."(12) I noed not say that the language of anarohlet attaeh la
often extreme; but rhetcrlcal exaggeration Is o frailty to whioli all reformers »r« liable. The question for consideration is not whether the language of oensure Is wholly true, hut whether It Is eufflolently near the truth to explain a deep ontlnathy to existing civlo Institutions.
A few extracts eili senre to liiuatrate the view ehich Is taken by Anarchists eith respect to the Institution of private nronerty as It hae developed in aodern st-tt»e. "Wh'it men Ma at In life," a^ys Tolstoi, "ie not to do eh't they thinx good, frit to call f-.s a ny things as noscible 'nine'. . . . It is : orlae ttot tens of thousands of hungry, cold, deeply degraded huoun beings are living in joacow, ehlle I elth a few thousttod others have tender loin and sturgeon for dinner :.nr3 cover horses floors wita bUm-ta nd oar >ets. "i t}) "The li^norr.nt," wrote 9eclus, quoting .laiiuo-rata, "are not the meads of the wise; thw aan who has ne cart is not the friend of hi-a *ho has a curt. ?rlertdshi-j Is the daughter of quality; It is never born of Inequality." ( i4) "!x*ws," exclalna Prouihen, .vre jobwebs for the powerful --nd rich; ch. liis which no ateel can breax for the little und the ->oor; fishers* nets In the h.nds of the Oovernaent.*\'15) "*e enuct nuny lues that taunuf^ture orlainals," rotesta Tucier, " nd then a fee that -vanish th«."{ioi "In the nineteenth century? exolalao t>r. Sheets in Bellamy's otory, "fully nineteentSwentieths of the crime, uain* the -isrd broadly to include all sorts of aladeaeJiners, resulted fr» the inequality In the ossesalons of Individuals! wunt tested the ioor; luat of greater gains, or the desire to nreserve foraer gains, teaoted the »eil-to-do. directly or indirectly, the desire for aoney, which tnen -leant every good tning, sas the Active of all this crime, the taoroot of a vast nolson growth, ehloh the aachinery of law courts and •^ollce could barely prevent from'ohoxlng civilisation outright.{!7J
The "nrrchiot .tt>-orts government on other gr unds thi.n the Inequities of our existing ayates of *>ro-»erty. He shoes ho* lr.rge Is the part ehloh h a been -»lnyed in the history of political institutions by force, violence fraud, and olaaa interest; he dwells u*>n the corrupting Influence of 9oeer u >on those *ho osaece it; i*nd he asserts the Inevitable tendency of rulers to magnify their office, to enlarge their competence, tiud to displace the aelf-gcvernment of the Individual by the coercion of law.
But noehere is the i mrchiat ln~ictaent on surer ground th&n when ;-ttaexing the militancy of governments. A budget, the meacry of a disastrous ear, the novels of a 2ola or a. Tolstoi, enable us to realise soaething of tne evila of sarfare-—the coat in blood and aoney, the ;.raaments for whica the fear of ear Is responsible, ^nd the stlaulua to national nr.te shlch Is afforded by wars, the possession of vast afeaaaente, and the pursuit of a "vigorous foreign volley." What most of us fall to rer.llse Is the extent to which the ingenuity of governments is directed te the riggrivr.tlon cf such evils. Intoxicated by the senae of power, fascinated by the lure of foreign conquest, they are restrained froa war leea by a desire far poace than by the fear of defeat. "By far the greater pro-)ortion of the debt of Burone," erites ,ir. ::h.-.rles Booth, "haa been contracted for munitions of war. In the yea re > j>o6 of the Christian era, when British :olitlcluns were wrangling about a iraposal to set apart •It '■3,000 for the Turooae of providing pensions for the veterans of industry, the net ex->eac? iture for the amy and navy eae Just under the enonaous sua of 4, 60,00090001 According to the anarchist, such things should be regarded aa an inevitable reault, leaa of the frailitiea or average huaan nature, than of political institutions which affect to oxlmt in order to promote peace and goodwill ehlle engaged in a policy of fomenting national distrust and hate. Mo one eill queetlea that a Multitude of wars can only be attributed to the incoaoetence, the oorruptlca, the ambition, or the greed of government. One government nay wish to avoid war and the burden of groat araaaentaj but it le power leaa to give effect to th»t wish in a world cf governments umed to the teeth, ftvea if there were r real desire naong aoat nation* to achieve itfom la Uim «li rect Lena, the greed of a eingle ftovernaent eete the ■»«• M cthere. "It ia the nature of f Kovennent,* writes Tolstoi, "not to be ruled, tat to rula Ant! r.o It derives Its -ower froa tha amy. It will narar glva the unay;nor will It ever renounce that fop which tha aray la deelgrted— war. "itP) ^ularo, ho arlntnlna, are lees lntereeted In tha ooadltloa of tne -joorjlo than In the glory of foreign conquest, and deliberately thwart deaands far doaestlo refora by diverting national enthuslaeo Into tha unannel of lntarautlon.il oonfllot. The facte of the oraaant, no leee than tne history of the -»»st, aa<a thla ch* rgo difficult to die-rove. Tha refor* aovsaent In Oero«ny of to-d?.y finds itaelf confronted by a court ind ft bureaucracy which -re neither Ignorant of, nor disposed to profit by, the feet ttar'j t the ao*t effective check to doaestloa* refon le the pureult of a vigorous foreign policy. I au-»pose no one will question that the recent ear of *uaal.-- \nd Jii-v.n, with Its terrific a laughter, lta devaate-tion of territory, rnd lta frightful ex ploitation of national raaouroaa, waa the wore of the ttusslan Oovernaent, not of tha Sues lan oeonle. Xf wa thiac of the oonlition of 3iro->e to-day, If »t think of the enoraoua suae u-oeat annually on araaents shile aultitudes at hoae 3Urve or oerlsb, wa -can understand any the rnarohlat regard a such a oortfitlon of things as a acre oowerfil lnlictaent of government th- n could ba uritten by tha band of o&o.
,loit<e defended w^e ua a ueens of eaanol mating the huaan a-»irlt fro* tne bondage of a£teri tiaa. ?«ess distinguished c-^ologlsta hr.ve aaintalned the aaae line of defense, ^ven ex -ounders of the Christian faith hi va t:-ught ui ho* to r*Jon.>Ue th t filth with a goaoel of entity. "Sot" ax-o la las Tolstoi, quoting a-ias nt, "assembling In herda by the hundred thousand, ..\naing nl^ht r*i dsy without reat, with no tlat for thought or for ctu'y, never to rea-', learning nothing, of no use whr.taoever to any Living toeing, rotting *lth filth, sleeping in the aud. living il«ce'a wild beast in ^rennlnl at te of stupidity, olunderlng uities, burning villages, ruining ahoLe n.tlons; then to encounter another aount&ln of huar.n flesh, rush u?on it, cause rivera of blood to flow, tad stree the fields 11 th the dead n"> the dying, all stained with the auddy and
reddened soil, to h-.ve one's liabs severed, one's brain scattered aa wanton jfaste, end to -crl3h In the comer of o field ahlle one*a aged ocrenta, one's aife nd children, are dying of hunger ut hoae---thia la whf.t It ^eana to be saved froa fa-ling into the groaae3t Adterialiaal . . ...To in vide n oountry, to ii LI the uan *ho defends his hoae beoauae ba eef-.ra a blouse usy' doea not wectr a to burn tha dwelling* of starvlo$
*retohee, to riin or blunder a a*n*a houaehold goods, to drlni tha wine found in the sellers, to violate the wxaen found In the atraat, consume aiillona of f rune a in ~>4^er, rnd to leuve ulaery and cholera lu their truck. This ia wh-t they aean by a:.vlng aen froa the aoat 3hooilng aattrl.nll«ft**< » ^
Two oounts in the ?n» r3hiat lndlctaent h>.ve been oonaldared—tha eoi social lnjuatlce of whlob governaenta are guilty, and tha allltancy which they aeeu exoresaly designed to foater. It would not be difficult to abov thr.t theae -»erveraiona of the exvie of government tre peculiar to no age aJr people; ;ind tit t the social oroblea as we call it to-day la no new problaa, but existed in Greece and in »oae, and hne existed In every developed State of whloh we have any knowledge. Wherever oolltloal Inatltutlona are to be fourri ee can trace the debusing influence of oover upon thoae who exercise it; we can aee governaenta fclae to the ourpoaaa they orofaaa te serve; we can aee lndivlduala exploiting legcl Inatltutlona for aalfltt ebda; we oan a«e aany 3offering in noverty while a faa ravel la profllgate extr-ivngr nce. If wa eaoane froa the oomaoaplaoe rut of taking traditional inatltutlona for granted, if wa reflect earloualy upon tha iajuatloa and
wrong which has everywhere aoaoo^anled oolltloal institutions ll*e an attendant s-«otre, we oan understand, If we d<j not share, that distrust of goveroaent to which the arvrohlst of our day glvee ef festive eaoreeelaa Although the frets which ex-«l«ln that distrust are familiar to everyone
who has thought »«bout the subject bt all, the =ne»rchist nay olala to bo aore sensible of their existence, If not aore anxioui to discover a a sans for of fee tins their reaedy, th*n the resectable aeabero of society who regnri his Indlotaont as exaggerated and his r«toffy as la^osslble.
I sh-11 no* nss to consider an arguaent whloh Is aore distinctive of ansrohlst te~.'jhlno---the argument that government, even If It were enlightened and Just, *ould still be o^en to the fatal objection that It a-ites self-government lanossible. Self-government laollee the rule of Oi^ca inUvidur.I by hlaaelf; -*olltlcal institutions la->ly the control of Individuals by rulers *ho, *t best, only represent zonular raajoritleo. Before at' ting thl3 ?>rgu-ent In greater detail, It any be well to dwell for a aoaent on the truth---ns to whloh ethic-il Inquirers of very different schools of thought "re agreed—that the lde.il source of law aust be found In .sin hiaself. "It is the esense of aoral duty," said T.H.Green, "to be Imposed by 1 tan on himself. The aorul duty to obey a -osltlve low, Whether s law of the State or the Church, Is laposed not by the author >r la->o»er of the positive kiw, but by thut spirit of whloh 3ets before his the ldeul of a perfect life.":JoJ Proa this standpoint, perfected nr.nhood i allies obedience to lfaws which, whether divine or huar'.n In origin, are set by am to himself, in the case of the child, the nooe-?sity for *n external control *iat be &daitted; but the object of th-t control Is not to ensure a servile submission to the "sternal rile of life but to -w>cre the ohllfl for self-dieo Inline. The wise father, lire Hector, wishes for hia son:
Th-1 sen t«iy say, the boy Is better fi.r *!*rn was his sire.
*uoh nn ides I In only to be notr Used by so training the child that he cones to see t Is goo* for himself, «:nd learns to follow that good because he sees th t It Is pood, if, then the aorui li:ir is only fulflled when Its rule of life Ij aelf-la^osed, r.afl if t.rentv l oontrol should uia at teaching the chili to be loyal to the ^aroosea he sees to be Just, a nrr.otlcal question iriaea for oonalderation: fh&t social system la beet adapted to secure aelf-discinline aaong aen? The Lnawer of the an&rehiat is stable and eanhiitio. Self-disci *llne is to be promoted by allowing the In^lvl^ual to govern hlaself. "Civilisation," says Tucker, "consiete in teaching aen to govern theaselvee by letting thea do it." The faot that aen cannot live together without exerolalnf. e autual restraint u?oa one -another's rot ions is not called in question. The existence of such restra int Is adaittei to be inevitable, and, within limits, useful. But when the social groun attests to Induce oonforalty to ty->o by se&ne of -»hvslo.s.l force, it is charged with the guilt of destroying tlu.t tsoral autonoay which should be its chief care. "The oersu>.alve Influence off nubile opinion see'<s to win aen to ado*"t for theaselves the ootsaon roloj the ea^loylent of ohyslcsi foroe 8"^ the foundations of the ooral life rnd substitutes a dead legality for a living aorality."
To the anarchist It seeae that aen In the oast have been content to afflra the 1 aborts nee of eelf-governaent aa a aoml ideal while aubelttl% In fact, to the oontrol of institutions which aake the realisation off that ideal lanoealblo. He showe how oil existing foraa of <>olltloal society are beaed u-x>n foroe, since they lanly the coercion of tho Individual by the Oovemaent. Bren the m->et deoocratlo state lnvolvee the coercion of the alnorlty by the aajorlty. -B^»lnd the ballot thoro li the bullet." What la the good, ho argues, of talking about eelffJa govemaent aa an 1*M while denying it aa a faett The ooapalalos off tfco
ln*lvlA<nl toy rn external authority is unnecessary, inexpedient, and aorally »rong. {t) it is unnoceeaary, becsuee exnorlence shows that sea are never mora randy to obey ruloa of sonduot than when obedlonoe depends upon their Individual aansa of honor end their aooial rani tat Ion; no datot 19 raore scrupulously regarded than tha debt of honor} even today aoa obey the rules of the State lose through fear of the civic pon*lty than becojoe >f the fear of oublic oensure. U) It ia Inexpedient,
because It violates the fundnaentnl nrlnolple which requires tfwt the socirl system shoul* be subservient to tho develo-xaent of Individual character. snld ^eolus, "instead of «-ipeallng to iiin*e better
-r*rt, areata to his worst; it rules by fear. ("2"?) "As long ae a nan," says Godwin, "13 held in the tremmela of obedience, t.nd habituated to loos to some foreign guid- nca for tha direction of hlfl conduct, hie underat- ndlng rn1 the of his min* will aleei. no I desire to raise
hi a to tho energy of which he 13 c:"«ble? T must teach him to feel hlaaelf, to bjw to no authority, to examine the "rlnclolos he entertains, and render to his mind the reacon of his conduct." (23) '3) Finally, tho soanuialon of the individual by sn extern'-. 1 authority la aorally wrong, because it involves ir. Invasion of the rights of nnnhood; if one Jan has no right t> t';>: nether aan without his consent, then r. majority has no right to V x a minority without its consent. rfo a/n, no group of men, con la*?ose ?■ rule on another gelnst th5t other*3 will. The Inviolable 3nnjtity of the individual is, Jr. fact, the very heart and centre of -n-.rchlst teaching. Our suoroae law, says "°roudhon, ie Justice; and "Justice la re«~eot, spontaneously feit and mutuMly gjunnteed, for hua.n dignity. . . .1 o one Id oration of *h't do I o*e uy nel«ihbor thie rosiest? It la not tne gifts of nr.ture or the ^dvontagea of fortune that ja^e ae re3-»ect ni .; it i* not his o*, hia ana, or hla aaid-aerv nt, as the decalogue snysj it Is not even the welfc.ro th-.t he o»ee to me as I o*n .ilne to hla; it is hia nhood. *•( 24)
Ho count of anftrohy would be adequate unless it dealt with a 3'jentlon to whijh T ahall no* refer. That la to be done alth the srlainal in anarchist society" Though some crimes would disappear with the abolition of our system of irooerty, others are certain to" remain unless It be oasible, us Sgidy naively auggeota, "to leave the old Adam outside"? Ho* 1 o the criminal to be dealt eith? ifany iinurchlsta advocate the- ate™ aeasures ->f the Vigil- nee "oamlttee. But Tolstoi b-'ses his -nsaer, -a indeed his whole doctrine of >. n*rohy, uoon tho express commands of Christ, Those coaainds, he urges, lndioate that forgiveness, not violence, is the weanon by which wrong in the world Is to be overcome. No oart of anarchist teaching is more deserving of sympathetic examination. For, in the first nlace, although all men do not agree in regarding Christ ts dl?lne, all aoinoeledge his claims aa a proohet and teaahcr. And, in the second r>laee, no careful student of Tolstoi*o writings win *ony th--t this npo-^het of the latter days hia ahown a rare carucity for aoaidilating and expressing the spirit ov Chriat's teaohlng. He hr.s th-it thioh .vost uen find so difficult to gain-—Christ's senae of moral values. He does not out a chjroh first, or rellgloje ordAnanoee first. Hor is he enslaved by the traditional conceptions ehlch often load even good .aen to nl?oe an entirely wrong emnh.sl* u->on the relative value of different aor*l rules, Tor him, as for the Salter, Love is tHo supreme law. I reaenber, on ono occasion, being privileged to hoar a ■?a->er on the value of rellgloua ordinancee. The -w.oer eonoladed aith this remarkable admlealont "I do not wish to undereatl^:te tho lmportame of the duty of ohsrlty. If I met a beggar In neel of help, I should fool it my duty to saaiat hlm-.-srovldad. of oq^rot. ha mi baotiio^l* I quote these words, not booauso I am so foolish to sa^poso th^t they are typloal of the modern elerieel attitude, but booauso tlOey serve to
' f M.
illustrate in an extreae fora n failure In ioial pMPI-^llTt wnich la aore coaaon in the literature of orthodox Christianity «tv*n in tho writings of Tolstoi. I cannot doubt th«»t this excoaaunloated sinnor understands Christ batter, t.rfi 1s aore notivelt concerned to fulfil the law of ?hrlat, than the dignified ecolastlce who h;»ve denle" hla the rite- of the Cfeurch.
I h-ve snlef.vored to st?<te the case for the anarchist. A orltioal examination if thrt esse would ta'ce ae t*r beyond the Halts of a single nrtlJle; '-nd to .nost readers It w-vjld seen au^>erfiuous. ait nl though little is gained by dwelling u ^on the defects ->X u eoheae of eoelal regeneration which 1* In 'ibsolute 'lsnocord with the trend of aodorn life, T believe *e should do well to dwell for a aoaent u~on those truths which underlie w rchlst doctrine und give to it a -^resent ->oeer and value. At the ria' of aoaryin* the render by reiteration, I shall oonoludo thle article by a brief statement of these truths sb they an^ear to ae. their lanort-me, not their novelty, shall be ay excuse. In the first plaoo, although the vn« rchlst aay be wrong In his reaedy for existing social Ills, he is fundamentally right In Insisting u**on the reality and gravity of those ills. Our wars, our sraraents, the chfraoter of our foreign ->ollM«a, the inoeultles of our systen of ->ronorty, ^nfl the abiding tra^c'y of the •"•rcletrrir t---thfse are gr»ve an* significant f*cts whleh constitute the strongest of the <*n* rchlst'a weapons. They cannot be denied; r.«d they -re arable of arming a strong e-r?eal to the nooular Imagination. They need to be -aet by action rather than by arguaent. In the socon* >Uce, although the ?n*rchlst ar.y be wrong In thinking that ,ien cm affor! to dispense with the controllng Influence of the State, he 1 z fuadr-atmtstly right in insisting u.^on the laoortanoe of self-government. ?ol»tic?l institutions ;i«;y be necessary as a aeans to realizing the conditions through *?hich th* better self can becoae conscious and o^en.tlve caong aen; but thla err? can only be attained when the institutions sre so framed as to enr.ble and teach aen to govern thdaaalYes. when the »n rchlst bids us to resist all faraa of tyranny, snd to thin/. for ouraelvos instead of tiding our rule of life froa the St.-^te or -uiblic opinion, he is declaring i. message of #hich our generation stands aush in need. Finally, although the aatter concerns us aore a3 -rlvrte lnJlviluala than s.b citizens, w« alght borrow with advant ge something of the jmrchlet's faith In aun*a responsiveness to the call of the good. For It is this faith which underlies tl*t aspoot of Christ's teaching *hlch Tolstoi has -presented with the genius of an artiat ind the outlook of s SHlnt. While we recognise to the full the necessity for the stern discipline of civic Institutions in the lntoroata of good aft' bad alike, we can yet aa individuals realise far aore than wa do the spirit of the Christian ethic which bids aen return love for hate if they would overcome evil In the world. When, In the great story of Victor Hugo, Je*;n 7*<ljean steals the silver of the Bishop who had trusted his, the Blshon neks, "Why did you not take the silver canllestloksf Theae ;lso I hive given to you. Before this final oroof of goodwill tae e.<-canviat is over.fhel.jed. ?or long dari yeara of wavering struggle toward tae light, he hears still tae voice, sees still the faoe of the one who h::d tnsted -.nd loved ala. The Blahop hud given two oaitf leetlafco; he had reclaimed a hua?-n soul. If his example cannot be recoxaetvled for universal ind lrrH scrl aln*te ao30-*tmoe, It stands nevertheless for idaaa which heve their value for all ages oeooles—-for the -utrlot not leas thfin for the an."rchlst.
W. Jethro Brown.
'Inlverslty of Adel."de.
i. Of. Zenker, AauattUtt. 9* 2JI.
a. pUUm Jwtm. "
3. Tol«^l, J^l^dg, gf i? SOU. ** 3« ft sea.. 33M)
Of. jlitzbaoher, A-q.rqMa^. This Utter *or<, whloh consist* of oxoorpt* fro* anarchist literature and might ho etyled V Bible of Anax*hy,* »iU too found Invaluable to all students of the subJest.
4. Quoted, Sltzbncher, An^rohlss. -rp. 3. Oodeln, Po11tlonl Justice. 1. ??.
j. Quote'., Slt&baoher, Ar*;rohlsni. i. i;4. 7. pit t>f Art. 4P'.
o. EflCii* Cf. Anatole ^rwt's chapter on The origin of vrvxartj ii
.V Itg, Plnr.oaiM*
aLU-^nfrtrtt? of Tar* mi ,«aft.tt> *it. 10. jfrlfl.. aha*, xvll.
ti. *es*ly edition of the 2XSM August J'*,
Santejoorarj Peylfw. Jay 1^4, ^jr. 'J. Quoted, ZlUbaoher, Anawhlsn. \ 7<>.
»5. Quoted, 21tsb*ohsr, rchlpj. 7o.
»8„ The Kiiwdua af ia «flt>tl?»
5T-*-. Cf. Xaupassant, 3ur l'eaq.
or amok.
