Albert R. Parsons

Anarchist Beginnings

Albert R. Parsons, “Parsons’ Plea for Anarchy” (1886)

August 29, 2016 Shawn P. Wilbur
“So much is written and said nowadays about socialism or anarchism, that a few words on this subject from one who holds to these doctrines may be of interest to the readers of your great newspaper. “Anarchy is the perfection of personal liberty or self-government. It is the free play of nature’s law, the abrogation of the statute. It is the negation of force or the domination of man by man. In the place of the law maker it puts the law discoverer and for the driver, or dictator, or ruler, it gives free play to the natural leader. It […]
Anarchist Beginnings

Albert R. Parsons on Anarchy (1887)

August 29, 2016 Shawn P. Wilbur
“In the effort of the prosecution to hold up our opinions to public execration they lost sight of the charge of murder. Disloyalty to their class, and their boasted civilization is in their eyes a far greater crime than murder. “Anarchy, in the language of Grinnell, is simply a compound of robbery, incendiarism and murder. This is the official statement of Mr. Grinnell, and against his definition of anarchy I would put that of Mr. Webster. I think that is pretty near as good authority as that gentleman’s. “What is anarchy? What is the nature of the dreadful thing-this anarchy, […]