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Jeanne Marie, “Revelation” (1849)

August 20, 2012 Shawn P. Wilbur

[“Jeanne Marie” (probably Jeanne-Marie Monniot) also contributed this poem to l’Opinion des Femmes. A literal translation follows.] Révelation. Mère, comme il fait froid! la terre est toute blanche; Le mont, déjà trois fois, a roulé l’avalanche; Un instant a suffi pour chasser les beaux jours Et dépouiller le val de verdure et d amours. Les oiseaux frissonnants désertent le bocage, La plaine est comme un lac immense et sans rivage, Les pauvres voyageurs errants sur les chemins. Qu’ils sont infortunés, mère, et que je les plains, Alors qu’auprès de l’âtre où la flamme pétille, Lisant à la lueur de la […]

Jeanne Marie, “On Woman” (1849)

August 19, 2012 Shawn P. Wilbur

[The articles by “Jeanne Marie” in l’Opinion des Femmes have been attributed to a number of people, including Jeanne Deroin and Jeanne-Marie-Fabienne Poinsard, aka Jenny d’Hericourt, but the most likely identification seems to be Jeanne-Marie Monniot.] On Woman In 1622, Marie Le Jars de Gournay, adoptive daughter of Montaigne, published a work entitled On the Equality of the Sexes, where by a tight reasoning, and an irresistible logic, she proved that at all times God had desired that equality. A bit later, around 1673, a learned doctor at the Sorbonne, Poulain de la Barre, also wrote a spiritual and victorious […]

Edouard Silberling, Entries from the Dictionary Of Phalansterian Sociology

August 9, 2012

[ezcol_2third] Entries from the DICTIONARY OF PHALANSTERIAN SOCIOLOGY ABANDONMENT.—The abandonment of the weak, of children and of the elderly is one of the characteristics that civilization has borrowedfrom savagery. New Industrial World.109, 407, 424.—The civilized order can only produce eviland hypocrisy. It is powerless to ensure the effective protection of the weak. Supportfor children quickly degenerates intoexploitation, under the mask of charity, and assistance for the infirmand elderly degenerates into abuse. BEE.—The beehive and the hornets’ nest depict the two political orders of harmony and civilization. Q. 429.—The hive depicts the three functions of unitary industry: production, distribution, consumption. III. […]

Contr'un

“We are in one sense, a poverty-stricken people”

August 4, 2012

If you look at the sidebar of the blog, you will find that I have added a section for “Mutualist Classics.” Eventually, there should be a pretty good little library linked there—mutualists are not, as it turns out, an impoverished people when it comes to literature—but I want to start with a few texts that may be unfamiliar to many readers, but which strike me as particularly useful. The first two texts I’ve linked are short works of fiction by Sidney H. Morse. Morse is one of the figures who seems to appear everywhere in the story of mutualist and […]

The Importance of Proudhon

August 3, 2012 anarchisms_w4l2ii

Anarchists can be touchy about any sort of authority, so we are frequently at pains to say that we are not followers of any particular leader or historical figure. That’s good. Among other things, the historical figures we’re most likely to follow were almost all pretty clear about how undesirable that would be. And there’s something a little disconcerting about anarchists when they do invest perhaps a bit too much of their identity in an identification with some one of those anarchist figure, whether historical or current.

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Mutualism and “Market Anarchism”

August 3, 2012 Shawn P. Wilbur

Let’s tackle a controversial question: Is mutualism a form of “market anarchism”? It’s a useful sort of question, even though the correct answer is probably “that depends….” Since mutualism has its roots in a world where the distinctions that make a label like “market anarchism” useful simply didn’t exist, distinctions which may themselves run counter to the “classical” mutualist project, it’s tempting to say “no.” But since we’re in the process of rediscovering and reimaging mutualism in a world where the question of “markets” is of real importance, we have to resist the temptation. For those mutualists who have […]

Jenny P. d’Hericourt (as Félix Lamb), “The Valain Family” (1847)

August 1, 2012

The Valain Family. It was January 7; the winter was cold and foggy; the icy north wind roared around the ancient buildings of old Paris blew off the snow, which, like a white shroud, covered their dome. The inhabitant of the sumptuous hotel, dressed in silk, cashmere andfur, stretched idly on the duvet, and a warm and fragrant atmosphere, watched the sparks that outlined the rich mantelpiece of his fireplace twinkle, all while savoring the exquisite wines and delicate dishes served in their fancy dishes. He waited in a sweet indolence for the night to bring his the pleasures of […]

Jeanne Deroin, “To the members of the commission of the banquet of socialist priests” (1849)

August 1, 2012

To the members of the commission of the banquet of socialist priests. Citizens, I come to your banquet because women are also priests, and they must have a place in the temple, as in the State and in the family. I come to ask to speak to you, because women are also apostles. Jesus Christ himself called them to apostleship, saying of Mary, who listened to his teaching, to Martha, who criticized her: Mary has chosen the better part. And if Christ, who did not want the light to be hidden under a bushel, allowed women to listen to his […]

Jenny d’Hericourt vs. the Double Standard

July 28, 2012 Shawn P. Wilbur

[Proudhon took a beating when he challenged her. What chance would a mere abstract inconsistency have against the power of Jenny P. d’Hericourt? This is enough fun to merit a full cross-post from Black and Red Feminist History. And d’Hericourt continues to rise in my list of sharp and entertaining radical writers.] MORALITY ACCORDING TO THE SEXES BY JENNY P. D’HERICOURT Dear reader, let us for a moment listen to a conversation between wife and husband: Wife—“Men continue to be absurd, and to affirm the contrary of facts. The New York Nation writes thus:” (She reads.) Society refuses to treat […]

Jenny P. d’Hericourt, “Morality According to the Sexes” (1869)

July 28, 2012

MORALITY ACCORDING TO THE SEXES BY JENNY P. D’HERICOURT Dear reader, let us for a moment listen to a conversation between wife and husband: Wife—“Men continue to be absurd, and to affirm the contrary of facts. The New York Nation writes thus:” (She reads.) Society refuses to treat men’s licentiousness with the same severity as women’s, because the consequences to the family, to children, and to property are less serious. Husband.—“But that is true, wife, and,” (He reads.) A woman must be taught to take care of her honor, and to bear unsupported the loss of it. Wife.—“Then, if I […]