Links:
Bibliography:
- Jean Marius, “Etre anarchiste,” L’En dehors 6 no. 108 (début Mai 1927): 3.
- Marius Jean, “Eux et nous,” L’En dehors 6 no. 113-114 (fin Juillet 1927): 2.
- Marius Jean, “Se réaliser,” L’En dehors 6 no. 125 (fin Décembre 1927): 3.
- Marius Jean, “Rêve d’avenir,” L’en dehors 7 no. 137 (début Juillet 1928): 7.
- Marius Jean, “Il ne faut pas abdiquer,” L’en dehors 7 no. 146 (mi-Novembre 1928): 3.
- Marius Jean, “L’idéal de l’anarchiste” L’en dehors No. 150 (January, 1929): 8.
- Marius Jean, “Une propagande qui ne plaît pas,” L’en dehors 8 no. 156 (début Avril 1929): 3.
- Marius Jean, “Volonté d’harmonie,” L’en dehors 8 no. 160 (début Juin 1929): 6.
- Marius Jean, “Vivre librement,” L’en dehors 8 no. 166-167 (mi-Septembre 1929): 3.
- Marius Jean, “Egoïsme et altruisme,” L’en dehors 9 no. 176-177 (mi-Février 1930): 6-7.
- Marius Jean, “Sincérité avec soi-même,” L’en dehors 10 no. 208-209 (15 Juin 1931): 7.
- Maurius Jean, “Ma conception du bonheur,” l’en dehors 12 no. 250-251 (mi-Mars 1933): 73.
- Marius Jean, “Comment je suis individualiste,” L’en dehors 16 no. 279 (mi-Février 1935): 233.
- Marius Jean, “La foule,” L’en dehors 16 no. 284-285 (Juillet-Août 1935): 13.
- Marius Jean, “à ceux qui se réclament de « notre monde »,” L’en dehors 17 no. 314-315 (janvier-février 1938): 1.
To Be Anarchist
Following a meeting in which the speaker reproached the anarchist individualists for promoting the crushing of the weak by the strong, for giving free rein to brutal instincts, I was led to clarify what I meant by “being anarchist.”
For me, to be anarchist is to reject all external authority. But that does not imply the absence of all ethics. While its sense differs from that of the masters and shepherds, we do, however, have our own ethics, since we desire that individuals mutually insure the greatest possible sum of pleasures and happiness without encroaching on the liberty of other; since, to constraint, we oppose liberty.
— JEAN Marius.
Them and Us
The ordinary individual, partisan and supporter of the present society, is hostile toward us: we are too different from them.
They fear us: their conformist spirit allows them to adapt to all situations and to submit to all forms of slavery. They want, above all, to live in peace. For them, we are trouble-makers, destroyers of quiet—and the more capable we are of revolt, the more they fear and hate us.
They do not understand us: men of the herd, their mentality — which accepts the ideas of exploitation and iniquity, which destroys in them all courage and renders impossible the least gesture of independence — is do deeply rooted that any burst of energy, any act of conscious rebellion is foreign to them.
They would like us to be like them, with the same listless spirit, the same resignation, dragging along the same lamentable existence, perpetuating as they do the suffering and sorrow of living.
But we will never accept such a fate. We have no wish to be the accomplices of those who, through lack of consciousness or consistency, maintain slavery in all its forms. Let us be outsiders, true « en-dehors », not only in dreams and in words, but in our acts each day, no matter the opinion of the admirers and supporters of society, no matter what they wish of us! — Marius JEAN.
To Fulfill Oneself
To be oneself, to give one’s effort, unresigned, misfit even, in all the sincerity of one’s deep convictions, with the most perfect disinterestedness, as if one was always certain that the effort will be crowed with success; that is, for me, what it means to fulfill oneself.
To decide for oneself, to act as freely as possible, to reject all preconceived morality, all the social prejudices and idols that the human herd and its shepherds cannot do without, that is what I call fulfilling oneself.
Despite the hardness of the fight, despite the painful failures, despite the tenacity of the adversary who multiplies the pitfalls on one’s way, to never admit defeat, to always find oneself resolute and ready for a new effort, that again is to fulfill oneself.
And although justice, liberty and humanity are often only considered as pompous words, not to conclude that it is necessary to resign oneself, to adapt oneself to the usual mediocrity and perjure oneself.
To interpret the acts of one’s own life and those of others with the greatest independence of spirit, to show oneself sympathetic and not resort to lies or slander, that is also to fulfill oneself.
To live one’s conception of life as logically as one can, without ever desiring to harm another in any manner whatsoever, without every exercising domination or exploitation; to no be satisfied with misleading words, but to strive to live straightaway, as genuinely as possible possible, with all the ardor of which one is capable, that is what, as an anarchist individualist, I mean by “fulfilling oneself.” — Marius Jean.
A Dream of the Future
I tasted, in this gloomy spring, the delights of one of the rare days when the sun had deigned to smile. Under its fiery rays the countryside felt revived. Trees and blades of grass were growing green again and in the proud clusters of lilacs, the humble flowers spread their exquisite scents. From the earth itself there escaped the odor of renewal. Everything breathed the joy of living, the delight of being enveloped in the caress of light and vibrant air. And what delicious chirping of birds! What amorous pursuits! What charming games! How far off winter seemed! Everything was only promises: green meadows, undulating wheat, fragrant flowers, the beginnings of nests.
I was entirely captivate by nature, which lavishes each spring its inexhaustible treasure of life.
And yet, I said to myself, in the heart of this admirable nature, where nothing artificial exists, where it seems that harmony and kindness should bud and blossom, we are still neither happier nor better than elsewhere. We lead the same painful, dull lives, devoid of wisdom. We are not more humane, not more human.
And I dreamed of an existence very different from our own, where, inspired by nature, we could develop harmoniously; where, more reasonable and less artificial, we could live more freely and more beautifully; where we would finally be “human.” — Jean Marius.
We Must Not Abdicate
We abdicate when, lacking resources, we hide behind the difficulties of the struggle and put of to a more or less distant future achievements that we could attempt right now.
Do we not also abdicate when we are content with more or less sincere lamentations regarding the evils that overwhelm us? Is moaning enough to change the state of things?
Having become aware of ourselves and our aspirations, having realized what we want and what we are capable of, let us strive to be someone, a unity truly itself, and not just one of the members of the human herd.
In all the circumstances of our lives, let us avoid diminishing ourselves, let us try never to renounce the principles of autonomy and individual liberty that we have made our own. Let us not abdicate. — Marius Jean.
The Anarchists’ Ideal
As a passionate lover of truth, beauty and liberty, the anarchist struggles for the establishment of an environment within which individuals would be free from all constraint and all authority outside of themselves, an environment in which each individual could rid themselves of all the metaphysical ideas to which, even today, they feel bound to sacrifice themselves. One puts her faith in law and justice and leaves to their representatives the trouble of regulating their affairs and guaranteeing her happiness. Another places all his confidence in a divine creator, for whom he is always ready to sacrifice himself. In both cases, the happiness of the individual depends on a power external to itself, whether than power is divine or human. This explains why human beings do not evolve; and it will be this way as long as they leave to others the task of thinking and acting for them. Thanks to their analytical mind, their breadth of vision, the anarchists develop an entirely different conception of life. And they denounce at every opportunity the malign nature of these mirages. They strive to reveal to others the true place that they should occupy in nature and in the present society; to make them conscious of their own worth, to create within them the need for individual liberation. That is the task to which the anarchists dedicate themselves, the ideal that they pursue.
— Marius JEAN.
To Live Freely
Living freely is not just about feeling no external constraints; it is also, and above all, about having become aware of oneself and knowing how to control one’s thoughts and actions.
What a mistake to claim to be free, free from any religious or statist morality, when one wants to subject others to one’s own will, hinder their desires and restrict their range of experiences, or even try to force their happiness! How can someone who remains domineering and tyrannical speak of liberation or revolution? And isn’t it obvious that they can only be considered inconsistent and illogical?
It is perfectly understandable that an anarchist should have an ideal other than these passive, amorphous beings (who certainly cannot call themselves free) and that they strive to share it with others, through persuasion. But the best way to achieve this is to lead by example: whoever claims to teach others liberty must be the first to respect it. Refuse to submit to authority, but also never exercise it yourself.
— Marius JEAN.
Egoism and Altruism
Can an anarchist call themselves both egoistic and altruistic? It is generally accepted in our circles that these two terms are mutually exclusive.
I think, after careful consideration, that the anarchist can perfectly well apply these two terms to themselves, which are not necessarily opposed — at least from my perspective.
Obliged to live in a hostile milieu, a constant obstacle to their own development, they are, so to speak, compelled by their personal determinism to fight against this milieu, to seek to rid it of their ignorance and prejudices. In doing so, are they not acting selfishly, seeking their own satisfaction, while trying to liberate others?
And yet too many of our comrades are inclined to believe they are being duped when they devote themselves to the propaganda of their ideas. The opposite is true. The more intensely an individual pursues his educational propaganda, the more he will have contributed to the diminution of authority in favor of liberty, a result that will be as valuable for himself as for others.
But we must not confuse egoism, as I understand it — free, anti-authoritarian, in constant reaction against the current social milieu where the individual is stifled —with the selfishness that dominates today’s society, the selfishness that creates individuals with the mentality of exploiters or resigned people.
The last fact disregards others; the selfishness I defend is intimately related, almost indistinguishable from, the feeling of altruism.
— Marius Jean.
Honesty with Oneself
The anarchist, in my view, must not limit themselves to going to war against bourgeois society — to making anti-statist proclamations. —
That would be useless verbiage. What is important is that in their acts, in their everyday life, they remain accord with their theories, conform to them.
And that they not prevent the same realization in others.
In fact, my anarchism is a philosophical conception that implies the most complete liberation of the individual and honesty with oneself.
— Marius Jean.
My Idea of Happiness
I perceive « my happiness » when my individuality has become fully aware of its own determinism and identifies with joy and beauty, on the fringes of all the prejudices of dogmatic and societal morality in which the ignorant and sheepish crowd revel.
I no longer wish to be a voluntary and unconscious victim, and, having become able to determine myself freely, I refuse from now on to play the game of my adversaries.
My conception of happiness also entails respecting the individual in all its manifestations and in taking care to cause it as little damage as possible. Happiness still resides, for me, in the harmony of my thoughts with my actions and in the final break with everything that hinders the development of my joy.
— Marius Jean.
How I Am Individualist
A man of heart, a modern thinker, honest, upright, and sincere, who truly desires the happiness of society and the individual, teaches the latter to respect in each of us our own liberty. Anything else is just verbiage, sophistry or impudent demagogy.
Because I abhor all forms of subjection, of intellectual, moral or physical enslavement of the individual; because life has, for me, value only to the extent that I am given the opportunity to live it freely, it is logical that I desire the same liberty for others.
However, my individualism, or respect for the freedom of each individual, does not oppose the principle of association. But I cannot conceive of it as anything other than voluntary, conscious and freely consented to. Before giving their consent, the individual should seriously study the terms of the contract of association, reflect on it and reason; but then, if he has accepted the clauses, let him faithfully keep his commitments. If he realizes that he is incapable of doing so, let him withdraw. Such is my way of considering association, a way quite different from that in which things happen in current society, in which, as a result of an imposed contract, the unique, the autonomous person that you are, that I am, is always sacrificed.
— Marius Jean.
The Crowd
The crowd is essentially sheep-like, following the shepherds it cannot do without, no matter what label they bestow upon themselves. Incapable of thinking for itself, it allows itself to be dazzled, dominated and led without realizing where it is being led, without noticing that it is being exploited. It does not recognize the beaten paths it is being led down; it mistakes them for new paths and, thus, believing it is making progress, it remains mired in routine.
When a free spirit appears, an independent with opinions that do not conform to its own, the crowd becomes hostile, ridicules them and the innovator is considered a madman, if not a criminal. Not that it is incapable of enthusiasm, but it will never be passionate about anything other than questions relating to the immediate satisfaction of its material needs.
Without a doubt, the crowd is a victim of its ignorance, its naive credulity, its inability to think. The day its members began to think for themselves, to direct themselves according to their own will, it is certain that the end would come for both the crowd and its bad shepherds.
— Marius JEAN.
to those who claim to be of « our world »
Yes, I know, you declare that my libertarian individualist ideas are also your own.
Just like me, you suffer inside from the present state of things, which sanctions all the iniquities, all the injustices that make our lives, yours as well as mine, unhappy and intolerable.
Just like me, you dream of a new humanity where the life of the individual would be something sacred and not a vain word, empty of meaning, as it is today. Just like me, you claim to loath all the turpitude, all the ugliness — lies, hypocrisy, domination, exploitation — wherever they come from and whomever they profit.
Your being, like mine, demands full liberty, liberty in its entirety. And that liberty is so important to you that without it, life, for you as for me, loses all its charm and is not worth the trouble of living.
That declaration that you are “one of us,” “a citizen of our world,” implies, in my opinion, a conscious and clearly defined line of conduct, influencing all your acts. That line of conduct entails, in the first place, that you live a life of camaraderie, that in each of your relations with those of your world you fulfill your designs as much as possible.
Otherwise, you would be wrong to claim to be a libertarian individualist. Otherwise, you would only be a pseudo-citizen, just one pseudo-citizen of my world.
— Marius Jean
