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Blazing Star Library

William B. Greene on women’s suffrage

September 19, 2026 Shawn P. Wilbur
I maintain, first, that the people have a certain natural right, which, under special conditions of society, manifests itself in the form of a right to vote. I maintain, secondly, that the women of Massachusetts are people existing under those special conditions of society. I maintain, finally, and by necessary consequence, that the women of Massachusetts have a natural right to vote. I am but a recent convert to the doctrine of women’s rights, never having meditated upon the matter before the famous question was propounded by our good friend from Salem, (Mr. Lord,) “‘Who are the people?” I have been unable, therefore, to prepare myself with statistics. I know nothing of women’s wrongs, and, with the permission of the Committee, will argue the question solely upon abstract and general grounds.

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William Batchelder Greene pays a visit to P.-J. Proudhon

September 19, 2026 Shawn P. Wilbur
We know surprisingly little about the details of the life of William Batchelder Greene. We know that he was an impressive character: handsome, intelligent, but eccentric, a bit tragic. People noticed him and there are scattered recollections all over the place, dating back to his youth, but it has always looked like a big job to try to gather enough of them to produce a biographical account. One of the facts that seems well-established, however, is that he met Proudhon during his stay in France, where he had taken his family after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act. And we have some very general impressions, provided by Greene to The Word (2. no. 9, January, 1874):

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A New Proudhon Library: Next steps

July 8, 2026 Shawn P. Wilbur
After the month-long interruption in April, I’m finally settling down to work on the chronological review of Proudhon’s work that I have mentioned recently — which is also the process that will produce some print-on-demand volumes for A New Proudhon Library. I’ve been working without my usual daily quotas and deadlines, for the first time in over three years, and spending a lot of time thinking — no doubt sometimes over-thinking — about the translation strategies I began to develop a decade ago, while puttering away at Proudhon’s journalism and correspondence.

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A Schematic Anarchism: Anarchy and the Governmental Series

January 21, 2026 Shawn P. Wilbur
OUR LOST CONTINENT Related links: A New Proudhon Library [project page] Voline, “On Synthesis” (1924) Anarchy as a Beacon and as a Focus for Synthesis (2018) EXPLORATIONS: PHASE ONE: RELATED: “Our Lost Continent” (April 4, 2015) “The ‘Benthamite’ anarchism and the origins of anarchist history” (April 5, 1015) “New Uncertainties and Opportunities” (April 6, 2015) “Looking Forward—Mapping Our Lost Continent” (April, 2018) “What Mutualism Was: Coming to Terms with Our Anarchist Past” (January 4, 2019) “Our Lost Continent” [tag stream] “Extrications” [tag stream] — notes on synthesis, anarchist development, etc. SUMMARIES & RATIONALES: MAPPINGS: Notes for an Introduction GREAT DIVIDES: […]
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The Anarchists’ Noël: Christmas Tales from “Le Libertaire” (1899-1913)

December 26, 2025 Shawn P. Wilbur
Links: The Anarchists’ Noël (pdf) ‘Christmas’ [category feed] Posting anarchist Christmas stories has become something of a tradition here in recent years, with some of the best coming from the individualist press, such as the various pieces by E. Armand and Gigi Damiani’s “Jesus and Bonnot: A Christmas Tale.” So I had been intending right along to steal a bit of time before the holiday rolled around to seek out a few new tales to translate. And then a mix of other tasks — work on the “Encounters with Anarchist Individualism,” native seed stratification, etc. — just completely wiped it […]
Contr'un

Encounters with Anarchist Individualism: Bigger on the Inside

September 22, 2025 Shawn P. Wilbur
Links: E. Armand, What Is an Anarchist? (1908) E. Armand, The Anarchist Individualist Initiation (1923) Contr’un #3: The Anarchic Encounter (pdf) (2013) Anarchism, Plain and Simple / Propositions for Discussion (2015) Rambles in the Fields of Anarchist Individualism (2020) Constructing Anarchisms (2020) A Schematic Anarchism (2022) ENCOUNTERS: I am large, I contain multitudes. — Whitman, “Song of Myself” After a rather lengthy delay, I’m settling down to some projects that I had initially intended to begin back in January. As it happens, all three of the tasks at the top of the pile — work on Proudhon’s Justice, an edition […]
Contr'un

The Anarchism of the Encounter: A Distillation

July 28, 2025 Shawn P. Wilbur
Ultimately, the most robust forms of anarchist thought are likely to result from the connection — encounter, conjugation, etc. — of more detail-oriented sorts of synthesis with this kind of distillation in the context of ongoing practical application. In a book, the scope of application is obviously limited, but hopefully that can be one kind of strength.

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Contr'un

Revenge of the Return of Anarchy and Democracy (Revisited)

June 27, 2025 Shawn P. Wilbur
The most recent issue of Anarcho-Syndicalist Review includes an article by Wayne Price, “Do Anarchists Support Democracy? The Opinions of Errico Malatesta,” in which he once again takes up the defense of “democracy” as at least consistent with anarchist principles. A brief discussion of the article on the North American Anarchist Studies Association list picked up threads from the 2017 C4SS “Mutual Exchange” on anarchy and democracy.

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E. Armand, “A vous, les humbles” / “To you, the humble ones” (1917) (FR/EN)

June 23, 2025 Shawn P. Wilbur
O humble ones, we know your jealousies and your grudges. We know that in your morals, you ape the social exalted, when you do not surpass them in ridicule or narrowness. We are fully aware of your prejudices, your fear of what others will say, your servility, your flattening before anyone who exercises authority, wears fine clothes or clinks a purse full of coins.

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