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.
From the Archives
Joseph Déjacque, “The Human Being” (1857)
I’ve been working to track down the various feminist critiques of Proudhon by his contemporaries, and translate those which have not been translated. I was actually about half-way through a translation of Déjacque’s “On the […]
Working Translations
Joseph Déjacque, “The Theory of Infinitesimal Humanities” (1859)
La Théorie des Humanités Infinitésimales, OU SYSTEME DES QUATRE GRADATIONS Si mon ignorance de bien des sciences n’est pas un insurmontable obstacle à ce que je médite, j’essayerai quelque jour de développer plus complètement une […]
Joseph Déjacque
Joseph Déjacque and the Humanisphere
COMMENTARY & LINKS: The Trial of Joseph Déjacque (1851) Excerpts from Pierre Leroux’s The Beach at Samarez (1863) Proudhon’s Critics Anarchist-communism, work, and the virtue of selfishness Déjacque and the First Emergence of “Anarchism” Joseph […]