Month: May 2013

Contr'un

Welcome to the new Libertarian Labyrinth

May 18, 2013
It’s hard to believe, but I began to archive anarchist materials online almost twenty years ago. I was working with an established online archive, but I kept finding that the material that I was most interested in making available tended to sit right on the margins of what was considered appropriate for those collections. I was exploring mutualism, for example, at a time when none of us were quite sure how to think about that school of thought, primarily because we didn’t really know what it was. The first version of the Libertarian Labyrinth archive was essentially just a collection […]
Contr'un

Welcome to the new Libertarian Labyrinth

May 18, 2013
It’s hard to believe, but I began to archive anarchist materials online almost twenty years ago. I was working with an established online archive, but I kept finding that the material that I was most interested in making available tended to sit right on the margins of what was considered appropriate for those collections. I was exploring mutualism, for example, at a time when none of us were quite sure how to think about that school of thought, primarily because we didn’t really know what it was. The first version of the Libertarian Labyrinth archive was essentially just a collection […]
Contr'un

Proudhon on method, and the “system” of society

May 18, 2013 Shawn P. Wilbur
[The bolded section is a great bit of clarification by Proudhon.] Justice in the Revolution and in the Church from the Study on Ideas LVIII. — System of public reason, or social system.  How many times have I heard addressed this compliment that the jealous critic would undertake, for the honor of the century, to withdraw, if he comprehended its scope: You are an admirable destroyer, but you do not build anything. You throw people in the road, and you do not offer them the least assistance. What do you put in the place of religion? What do you put […]
Contr'un

“Ireland!” A serialized novel from Tucker’s “Liberty”

May 14, 2013 Shawn P. Wilbur
  I’ve finally posted the complete text of Georges Sauton’s novel, Ireland! Translated from the French by Sarah E. Holmes, it originally appeared serially in Liberty, but has not, as far as I can tell, been collected. It was one of the longest-running features in the paper, which often had several serials in progress, beginning November 14, 1885 and not ending until March 10, 1888. It is a rather typical political novel in the feuilleton style, with lots of characters and complications, and a substantial body count. Set during the Irish Rebellion of 1798, its English oppressors couldn’t be more […]
Contr'un

Everything in the Balance

May 12, 2013 Shawn P. Wilbur
I’ve had a chance recently to reread some old and in-progress translations from Proudhon’s writings about philosophy, and naturally the impact of those writings changes as my understanding of Proudhon’s larger project grows. But I’m honestly a little embarrassed that the material from the opening sections of Justice in the Revolution and in the Church hasn’t made a stronger impression on me before now. Those sections, which discuss the nature and purpose of philosophy, the role of metaphysics, the accessibility of philosophical thought to the masses, and the relation of philosophy to justice, make a fairly remarkable set of arguments, […]