Over at the Anarchist FAQ blog, Iain has a post recognizing the sesquicentennial of the term libertaire, used in 1858 by Joseph Déjacque as the title of his journal, La Libertaire, Journal du Mouvement Social. Déjacque is generally credited with the first use of the term “libertarian” as a synonym for “anarchist.” We’ve learned, as the digital archives grow, to be skeptical of first-use claims, but I’m happy to take a moment to recognize the importance of Déjacque’s contribution. His fascinating mix of anarchism, communism, egoism, and feminism, drawing on the thought of Fourier, Proudhon, Pierre Leroux and others, is deserving of much more attention that it has generally received.
Working Translations
Joseph Déjacque, Short prose works from “Le Libertaire” (1858)
Le Libertaire 1 no. 1 (June 9, 1858) Le Libertaire (1274 words)(signed) Beaucoup d’appelés et peu de venus (943 words) Le Père Enfantin et le Père Félix (136 words) Bourgeois contre Bourgeois (193 words) Un […]
Contr'un
Libertarian socialist historiography
Recently, I’ve been looking at some very interesting work by René Berthier and Gaston Leval, some of it relating to the familiar question of just how anarchists have used the language of anarchy (anarchist, anarchist, […]
Working Translations
Joseph Déjacque before the court, 1849
POSSESSION OF MILITARY ARMS AND MUNITIONS. — Joseph Dejacques, a paper-hanger, condemned to transportation for participation in the insurrection of June 1848, and pardoned last May, appeared today before the magistrates’ court (7th chambre), presided over by M. Jourdain, for possession of two cartridges, several flints and a dozen caps.