Month: January 2007

individualist anarchism

1881 – the first three

January 29, 2007 Shawn P. Wilbur
[Ah, for the settled life of a scholar, where I could tackle my 1.104 issues of Liberty each day, and keep a regular schedule, rather than the constant fire-fighting and scrambling that goes with part-timing. But the show must go on, however fitfully.] So what actually appears in the pages of Liberty? The staple, stable source for Tucker’s opinions remained, from first to last, the “On Picket Duty” column. From the first issue, of August 6, through the remainder of 1881, this occupied the first two columns on the front page of nearly every issue, while a collection of clippings […]
Anarchism

Eliphalet Kimball on Anarchy, part 2

January 29, 2007 Shawn P. Wilbur
Here’s the second half of Eliphalet Kimball’s essay “Civilization–Anarchy,” from the August 26, 1863 Boston Investigator. There is a great deal here that may seem naive, and out of step with the anarchist movement generally. This shouldn’t surprise us. In 1863, it would be hard to say that there was an anarchist movement, particularly in America, where most of the strong proponents of libertarian thought still avoided the term anarchy. Ten years later, things would be different, but Kimball, writing in the period of the Civil War, is really pretty well out on his own in celebrating anarchy. Primitivists and […]
Anarchism

Eliphalet Kimball on Anarchy, 1863

January 27, 2007 Shawn P. Wilbur
Here’s another mid-19th-century anarchist, writing in the pages of the Boston Investigator (XXXIII, 15, Aug. 18, 1863, p. 114). I’ll post the second half soon, along with some additional material from Eliphalet Kimball. For the Boston Investigator Civilization—Anarchy. The word civilization from the Latin word civitas, “a city,”—or civis, a “citizen,” and signifies Government, and its effect on society. The effect of government is ignorance, falsehood, luxury, inequality, aristocracy, crime, and unhappiness. Such, then, is civilization. It is evil and progress in evil. Culture of science, enlightenment, and progress in agriculture and art, are not effects of made-Governments. They are […]
Anarchism

Anarchist Church, Anarchist State. . . Anarchist Inquisition?

January 25, 2007 Shawn P. Wilbur
Related links: The Pantarchy [main page] Constitutions and Organic Bases of the Pantarchy and New Catholic Church (1860) Stephen Pearl Andrews, “Andrusius,” The Pantarch — The history of radical reform in the United States is full of colorful characters and extravagant projects, but Andrews and his Pantarchy (complete with the philosophy of Universology, universal languages Alwato and Tīkīwā, and New Catholic Church) stands out, even in a crowd which includes Lewis Masquerier and his “compulsory homestead” scheme or Edgar Chambless’ Roadtown. In anarchist circles, Andrews is probably most respected and best remembered for his advocacy of Josiah Warren’s cost principle […]
Anarchism

Armies that Overlap – Tucker on Anarchism and Socialism

January 25, 2007 Shawn P. Wilbur
Here’s another statement from Liberty on the relationship between anarchism and socialism (the topic of this weekend’s Carnival of Anarchy), which originally appeared in the issue of March 8, 1890 (p.4). Armies that Overlap. Of late the “Twentieth Century ” has been doing a good deal in the way of definition. Now, definition is very particular business, and it seems to me that it is not always performed with due care in the “Twentieth Century” office. Take this, for instance: A Socialist is “one who believes that each industry should be coordinated for the mutual benefit of all concerned under […]
Uncategorized

Milo Hastings entry at Wikipedia

January 23, 2007 Shawn P. Wilbur
Congratulations are in order to the very busy editor who has been working on the Milo Hastings article on Wikipedia. I did a little work on it back in December, shortly after my post on Hastings here. The original editor, who has access to family pictures and other material, has now worked the page up into something very nice. Among the new details: Hastings was the grandson of abolitionist preacher Pardee Butler.
Anarchism

Ernest Lesigne on “The Two Socialisms”

January 23, 2007 Shawn P. Wilbur
The third Carnival of Anarchy, scheduled for the upcoming weekend, is on “Anarchism and Socialism.” I’ll probably be posted related items off and on all week. Here’s an important item from the pages of Liberty. Ernest Lesigne wrote a series of Socialistic letters for Le Radical, and Benjamin R. Tucker printed some in translation. This one is certainly on-topic this week. Socialistic Letter[Le Radical] There are two Socialisms. One is communistic, the other solidaritarian. One is dictatorial, the other libertarian. One is metaphysical, the other positive. One is dogmatic, the other scientific. One is emotional, the other reflective. One is […]
Anarchism

Josiah Warren – Letter to Louis Kossuth

January 17, 2007 Shawn P. Wilbur
[This is the first fruits of an expedition through the microfilm available to me of the Boston Investigator. I was particularly in search of the contributions of Lewis Masquerier, many of which ended up in his “instead of a book” compilation, Sociology. Working through an unfortunately fragmentary archive, I have indeed dug up some of those items—including the first two “Godology” essays—as well as quite a few uncollected pieces—such as an exchange on the merits of different phonotypic systems. But I also found several contributions by Josiah Warren, including this “open letter” to Kossuth, which is, in many ways, a […]