The Anarchist Individualist Initiation
E. ARMAND
PREMIÈRE PARTIE
LES BASES THÉORIQUES DE L’INDIVIDUALISME ANARCHISTE
1. Esquisses du Milieu Social. L’Autorité néfaste.
1) Le milieu social.
Un chaos d’êtres, de faits et d’idées ; une lutte désordonnée, âpre, sans merci, un mensonge perpétuel ; une roue qui tourne aveuglément, juchant un jour celui-ci au pinacle et le lendemain l’écrasant sans pitié.
Une masse, riches et pauvres, esclaves de préjugés séculaires, héréditaires, les uns parce qu’ils y trouvent leur intérêt, les autres parce qu’ils sont plongés dans l’ignorance ou n’en veulent point sortir ; une multitude dont le culte est l’argent et l’aboutissant l’homme enrichi ; une foule abrutie par les préjugés, le système d’enseignement, une existence artificielle, l’abus de l’alcool ou l’usage des aliments falsifiés ; la cohue des dégénérés d’en haut et des dégénérés d’en bas, sans aspirations profondes, sans autre but que celui de « parvenir » ou de « se la couler douce ». Un provisoire qui menace sans cesse de se transformer en définitif et un définitif qui menace de n’être jamais qu’un provisoire. Des vies qui mentent aux convictions affichées et des convictions qui servent de tremplin aux ambitions louches. Des libres-penseurs qui se révèlent plus cléricaux que les cléricaux et des dévots qui se découvrent de grossiers matérialistes. Du superficiel qui voudrait passer pour du profond et du profond qui ne parvient pas à se faire prendre au sérieux.
Tableau vivant de la Société, cependant mille fois au-dessous de la réalité ! Pourquoi ? Parce que sur chaque visage un masque est plaqué ; parce que nul ne se préoccupe d’être, parce que tous aspirent uniquement à paraître. Paraître, voilà l’idéal suprême, et, si l’on désire si goulûment l’aisance ou la richesse, c’est afin de pouvoir paraître, puisqu’en les temps actuels, l’argent seul permet de faire figure !
PART ONE
THE THEORETICAL BASES OF ANARCHIST INDIVIDUALISM
1. Sketches of the Social Milieu. Harmful Authority.
1) The social milieu. [*]
A chaos of beings, facts and ideas; a harsh, disorderly struggle, without mercy; a perpetual lie; a wheel that turns blindly, one day lifting us to the pinnacle and the next crushing us ruthlessly.
A mass, both rich and poor, all slaves of age-old, inherited prejudices, the first because they find their interests there, and the others because they are immersed in an ignorance from which some does not want them to escape; a multitude whose religion is money and whose apotheosis is the rich man; a mob brutalized by prejudices, by the educational system, by a superficial existence and by the abuse of alcohol or the consumption of adulterated foods; a rabble of degenerates in high places and low, without deep aspirations, without any aim but that of “succeeding” or “taking it easy.” Something temporary that constantly threatens to transform itself into something permanent, and something permanent that threatens to never be anything but temporary. Some lives that belie their stated convictions, and some convictions that serve as springboards to dubious ambitions. Some free-thinkers who reveal themselves to be more clerical than the clergy, and some devout souls who show themselves to be crude materialists. Something superficial that wants to pass for profound, some profundity that cannot manage to be taken seriously.
A tableau vivant of Society, yet a thousand times short of the reality! Why? Because on each face a mask is placed; because no one is concerned with being; because they all only aspire to appear. To appear, that is the highest ideal, and if we are so greedy for ease or riches, it is in order to be able to appear, since in our times, money alone allows one to cut a real figure!
[*] In the interest of preserving E. Armand’s voice and avoiding possible confusions, a few terms—like milieu and camarade—that were used prominently and perhaps idiosyncratically by him or by his imediate circle have been left untranslated.
2) La course à l’apparence.
Cette manie, cette passion, cette course à l’apparence, à ce qui peut la procurer, elle dévore le plus riche comme le vagabond, le plus instruit comme l’illettré. L’ouvrier qui médit du contremaître souhaite de le devenir à son tour ; le négociant qui évalue si haut son honneur commercial ne regarde pas à passer des marchés fort peu honorables ; le petit boutiquier, membre des comités électoraux patriotes et nationalistes s’empresse de transmettre ses commandes aux fabricants étranger, dès qu’il y trouve son profit ; le député socialiste, avocat du prolétariat miséreux, entassé dans les parties empuanties de la ville, villégiature dans un château ou habite dans les quartiers aisés de la cité, où l’air s’épand, abondant et pur ; le révolutionnaire, qui criait à la persécution et qui s’efforçait d’émouvoir les cœurs sensibles quand la bourgeoisie, tenant en mains le timon de l’Etat, le traquait, l’emprisonnait, lui niait la liberté de parler et d’écrire, nous le retrouvons une fois qu’il s’est emparé du pouvoir et juché sur le siège dictatorial, aussi tracassier, aussi inquisiteur, aussi intolérant, aussi cruel — davantage parfois — que ceux dont il a pris la place. Le libre-penseur se marie encore volontiers à l’église et y fait souvent baptiser ses enfants. Ce n’est que quand le gouvernement est bien disposé que le religieux ose afficher ses idées et encore se tait-il là où il est bien porté de ridiculiser la religion. Où donc trouver la sincérité ? Partout s’étend la gangrène. Nous la rencontrons au sein de la famille où souvent père, mère, enfants se haïssent et se trompent tout en se disant qu’ils s’aiment, tout en faisant croire surtout qu’ils s’affectionnent. Nous la voyons à l’œuvre dans le couple où mari et femme, mal assortis, se trahissent sans oser rompre le lien qui les enchaîne, ou tout au moins sans s’expliquer franchement. Elle s’étale dans le groupement où chacun cherche à supplanter son voisin dans l’estime du président, du secrétaire ou du trésorier, en attendant de se hisser à leur place lorsqu’ils n’auront plus rien à en tirer. Elle abonde dans les actes de dévouement, les actions d’éclat, dans les conversations privées, dans les harangues officielles. Paraître ! paraître ! paraître : pur, désintéressé, généreux — quand on considère pureté, désintéressement, générosité comme de vaines sornettes ; — moral, honnête, vertueux, quand la probité, la vertu, la moralité sont le moindre souci de ceux qui les professent.
Où trouver quelqu’un qui échappe à la contagion ?
2) The rush for appearance. [*]
That mania, that passion, that rush for appearance, or for the things that can procure it, devours the richest and the vagabond, the best educated and the unlettered alike. The worker who bad-mouths the foreman wants to become him in his turn; the merchant who reckons his commercial honor so high does not consider passing up some rather dishonorable sales; the small shopkeeper, member of the patriotic and nationalist electoral committees, hastens to transmit his orders to foreign manufacturers, just as soon as he finds a profit there; the socialist deputy, advocate of the destitute proletariat that is packed into the foul-smelling parts of the town, vacations in a château or lives in the prosperous quarters of the city, where the air wafts abundant and pure; the revolutionaries, who cry against persecution and who strive to stir the tender hearts when the bourgeoisie, holding in its hands the helm of State, hounds them, imprisons them, denying them the liberty to speak and write, may be found, once they have seized power and perched on the dictatorial throne, to be as meddlesome, as nosy, as intolerant, as cruel — more sometimes — as those whose place they have taken. The free-thinker is still willingly married in the church and often has his children baptized there. It is only when the government is well disposed that the religious dare display their ideas, and are still silent where it is customary to ridicule religion. Where, then, is sincerity to be found? The gangrene spreads everywhere. We come across it in the heart of the family where father, mother, and children hate each other, and all deceive one another by saying that they love each other, while pretending that they are particularly fond of each other. We see it in the couple where husband and wife, poorly matched, betray one another without daring to break the link that enchains them, or at the very least without explaining themselves frankly. It spreads in the group where each seeks to supplant their neighbor in the esteem of the president, secretary, or treasurer, before pulling themselves up in their place when they no longer have anything gain from them. It abounds in the acts of devotion, in the brilliant actions, in the private conversations, in the official harangues. To appear! To appear! To appear pure, impartial, generous — when we consider purity, impartiality and generosity to be vain trumpery. To appear moral, honest, virtuous, when probity, virtue, and morality are the least concern of those who profess them.
Where will we find someone who escapes the contagion?
[*] This passage, which appeared in roughly this form in Qu’est-ce qu’un Anarchiste?, was perhaps one of the inspirations for the essay by “Le Rétif” (Victor Serge), “To Be and to Appear” (1909), which appeared in L’Anarchie during the discussions of E. Armand’s earlier text.
3) La complexité du problème humain.
On nous objectera que c’est traiter la question de trop haut, ou à un point de vue métaphysique, qu’il faut descendre sur le terrain des réalités ; que la réalité, la voici : c’est que la Société actuelle est le résultat humain d’un long processus historique, peut être à ses débuts, que l’humanité ou les différentes humanités en sont tout simplement à chercher ou à préparer leur voie, qu’elles tâtonnent, trébuchent, perdent leur chemin, le retrouvent, progressent, reculent, — qu’elles sont parfois secouées jusqu’à leur base par certaines crises, entraînées, lancées sur la route des destinées, pour ralentir ensuite leur marche ou battre la mesure sur place ; qu’en grattant un peu le poli, le vernis, la surface des civilisations contemporaines, on mettrait à nu les balbutiements, les enfantillages et les superstitions des préhistoriques, voire des anté-préhistoriques.
Se plaçant à un point de vue purement objectif, on nous dira : qu’ « actuelle » la « Société » englobe tous les êtres, toutes les aspirations, toutes les activités, — toutes les douleurs et toutes les souffrances aussi. Elle comprend les producteurs et les oisifs, les déshérités et les privilégiés, les sains et les mal portants, les sobres et les ivrognes, les croyants et les mécréants, les pires réactionnaires et les sectateurs des doctrines les plus invraisemblables. Elle se modifie, elle évolue, elle se transforme. Elle se détruit elle- même en de certains points, elle se régénère sur d’autres. Ici, elle est chaotique ; là, elle est ordonnée ; là-bas, elle est à la fois l’une et l’autre. Elle glorifie le dévouement, mais elle exalte l’intérêt, Elle est pour la paix, mais elle subit-la guerre. Elle est contre le désordre, mais elle accueille les révolutions. Elle s’en tient au fait établi, mais elle acquiert sans cesse de nouvelles connaissances. Elle hait tout ce qui dérange sa quiétude, mais elle suit volontiers ceux de ses enfants qui savent dissiper sa méfiance, ou éveiller sa curiosité par des promesses d’un genre ou d’un autre, ou endormir sa crainte du nouveau par l’appât d’un mirage. Elle maugrée contre les puissants, mais en fin de compte elle leur emboîte le pas, adopte leurs coutumes et règle ses opinions sur les leurs. Déchaînée par crise et portée aux pires excès, elle se retrouve naturellement vassale et serve dès que s’est dissipée la fumée des incendies. Elle est primesautière comme un enfant, sentimentale comme une jeune fille, hésitante comme un vieillard. Elle obéit aux instincts primordiaux, aux instincts qui guidaient les ancêtres lointains alors qu’il n’était pas de milieu social, — mais elle se plie à des disciplines rigoristes et à des règlements sévères. Elle exige que ceux qui la conduisent se sacrifient pour elle, mais elle ne regimbe pas quand ils l’exploitent. Elle est généreuse et avare. La rigidité des mœurs lui est insupportable, mais elle affiche la décence. Elle est pour le moindre effort, mais s’accommode du surmenage. Elle fuit la peine, mais danse sur les volcans. Elle est majoritaire, mais concède aux minorités. Elle se courbe devant les dictateurs, mais élève des statues à ceux qui les poignardent. Une mélodie mélancolique la jette dans les larmes, mais le battement d’un tambour réveille en le tréfonds de son être tout ce qui sommeillait, depuis des générations, de désirs de massacrer, de piller, de saccager en bande. Elle est cruelle et tendre, avare et prodigue, lâche et héroïque. Elle est un creuset où se rencontrent et fusionnent les éléments les plus disparates, les caractères les moins ressemblants, les énergies les plus contradictoires. Elle est une fournaise qui consume les activités corporelles et cérébrales de ses membres par pur plaisir de destruction. Elle est un champ toujours engraissé des acquis et des expériences des générations passées. Elle est comme une femme continuellement en état de grossesse et qui ignore de qui ou de quoi elle accouchera. Elle est la Société.
On nous concédera volontiers que tout n’est pas parfait dans la Société, mais n’est-ce pas le propre de ce qui est actuel d’être imparfait ? C’est par l’autorité qu’elle maintient les liens de solidarité qui unissent les hommes les uns aux autres — des liens parfois très lâches, mais on n’a point démontré encore que sans autorité il subsisterait de sociétés humaines. L’hypocrisie règne en maîtresse dans les rapports d’homme à homme, de milieu à milieu, de race à race ; mais on n’a point encore prouvé qu’elle ne constitue pas une nécessité voulue par la multiplicité des tempéraments humains, — un expédient instinctif destiné à amortir les chocs et à enlever un peu d’âpreté à la lutte pour la vie. Les conditions de la production et de la distribution des produits favorisent les privilégiés et maintiennent l’exploitation des non-privilégiés, mais il reste à examiner si dans les circonstances actuelles de la production industrielle, on pourrait, sans l’exploitation, obtenir du producteur le rendement nécessaire au fonctionnement économique des sociétés humaines ; — 2° si tout non-privilégié n’est pas en puissance un privilégié. c’est-à-dire n’aspire à supplanter ce dernier dans ses privilèges.
On nous objectera encore que c’est folie de chercher à découvrir, à établir la responsabilité de l’individu, qu’il est noyé, absorbé dans son environnement, que ces pensées reflètent les pensées et ses gestes les gestes de ceux qui l’entourent, — qu’il n’en peut être autrement et que si, du haut en bas de l’échelle sociale, l’aspiration c’est paraître et non être, la faute en est au stade actuel de l’évolution générale et non au constituant du milieu social, atome minuscule perdu, fondu, dans un agrégat formidable.
3) The complexity of the human problem.
It will be objected that we treat the question from too great a height, or from a metaphysical point of view, and that we must descend to the terrain of realities; that the reality is this: that the present Society is the human result of a long historical evolution, perhaps in its infancy, and that humanity or the different humanities are all simply seeking or preparing their way; that they grope, stumble, lose the path, find it again, progress, reverse, — that they are sometimes shaken to their roots by certain crises, carried away, launched on the road of destiny, to then slacken their advance or beat time in place; that by scraping a bit at the polish, the varnish, the surface of contemporary civilizations, we bare the stammering, the childishness, and the superstitions of prehistoric, even of pre-prehistoric, peoples.
From a purely objective point of view, it will be said that “actually” this “Society” encompasses all the beings, all the aspirations, all the activities, — all the pain and suffering as well. It includes the productive and the idle, the disinherited and the privileged, the healthy and the ailing, the sober and the drunk, the believers and the miscreants, the worst reactionaries and the sectarians of the most improbably doctrines. It modifies, evolves, and transforms itself. It destroys itself at certain points, and regenerates itself at others. Here, it is chaotic; there, it is orderly; over there, it is both at the same time. It glorifies self-sacrifice, but exalts self-interest. It is for peace, but it suffers war. It is against disorder, but welcomes revolutions. It clings to established facts, but constantly acquires new knowledge. It hates anything that disturbs its peace, but follows willingly those of its children who know how to dispel its mistrust, awaken its curiosity with promises of one sort or another, or allay its fears anew by means of some mirage. It grumbles about the powerful, but ultimately it falls in behind them, adopts their customs and governs its opinions in accordance with theirs. Roused by crisis and driven to the worst excesses, it naturally finds itself a vassal and serves as soon as the smoke of the fires is clear. It is impulsive as a child, sentimental as a young girl, hesitant as an old man. It obeys primordial instincts, instincts that guided our distant ancestors when there was no social milieu, — but it submits to strict disciplines and stern rules. It demands that those who lead it sacrifice themselves for it, but does not balk when they exploit it. It is generous and miserly. The rigidity of its manners is unbearable, but it displays decency. It favors the least effort, but adapts to overwork. It flees from suffering, but dances on volcanoes. It is majoritarian, but concedes to minorities. It bows before dictators, but raise statues to those who stab them to death. A sad song drives it to tears, but the beating of a drum awakens in the depths of its being all that has lain dormant for generations: desires to massacre, to pillage, to plunder in bands. It is cruel and tender, avaricious and prodigal, cowardly and heroic. It is a crucible in which the most disparate elements, the least similar characters, and the most conflicting energies meet and join together. It is a furnace that consumes the corporeal and cerebral activities of its members for the pure pleasure of destruction. It is a field always fertilized with the knowledge and experiences of past generations. It is like a woman continuously in a state of pregnancy, who does not know who or what she will deliver. It is Society.
It will be conceded willingly that all is not perfect in Society, but isn’t it proper for that which is actual to be imperfect? It is through authority that it maintains the links of solidarity which unite individuals to one another — links that are sometimes very loose, but it has still not been demonstrated that without authority human societies will remain. Hypocrisy reigns as mistress over the relations of person with person, milieu with milieu, race with race; but it has still not been proven that it does not constitute an inevitability desired by the multiplicity of human temperaments, — an instinctive expedient destined to absorb the shocks and to reduce somewhat the harshness of the struggle for life. The conditions of the production and distribution of products favor the privileged and maintain the exploitation of the unprivileged, but it remains to examine if, in the present circumstances of industrial production, we could, without exploitation, obtain from the producer the output necessary for the economic functioning of human societies; — 2° if all the unprivileged are not would-be privileged, who aspire to supplant the latter in their privileges.
It will still be objected that it is folly to seek to discover and establish the responsibility of the individual, that the individual is drowned, absorbed in its environment, that its thoughts reflect the thoughts, and its deeds the deeds of those who surround it, — that it cannot be otherwise and that if, from the top to the bottom of the social ladder, the aspiration is to appear and not to be, the fault is with the present phase of the general evolution and not with the individual element of the social environment, a tiny atom lost, dissolved, in an enormous aggregate.
4) A qui ce livre n’est pas destiné.
Nous ne le nions pas. Nous sommes disposés à convenir que ces constatations rendent le problème humain singulièrement complexe, étrangement compliqué. On peut fort bien conclure qu’il n’y a rien à faire qu’à laisser se poursuivre lentement « l’inévitable évolution », à se courber lâchement devant les circonstances, à assister, passif, au défilé des évènements et admettre qu’en attendant mieux, tout est bien dans la meilleure des sociétés. Nos thèses, nos opinions, nos propositions n’intéresseront point ceux qui partagent cette façon de voir.
4) For whom this book is not intended.
We do not deny it. We are willing to agree that these findings render the human problem singularly complex, strangely complicated. We could conclude that there is nothing to do but to let the “inevitable evolution” continue slowly, to bow tamely before circumstances, to witness, passively, the march of events and to accept that, until a better one comes along, all is good in the best of societies. Our theses, opinions and propositions will not interest those who see things in that way.
5) A qui s’adresse cet ouvrage.
Nous nous adressons donc ici à « ceux qui réfléchissent » ou sont « en voie de réfléchir ». — à ceux qui ne s’accommodent pas de l’apparence et que le stade actuel de l’évolution générale ne satisfait point. A ceux qui ont conscience de la domination qui les comprime, de l’exploitation qui les écrase. Nous écrivons aussi pour les curieux, les penseurs, les critiques, — ceux que ne contentent point les formules qui ne se laissent point discuter ou les solutions bouche-trous.
Nous ne nous adressons donc ni à ceux qui sont satisfaits ni à ceux qui ont là. foi. Nous nous adressons aux insatisfaits et à ceux qui doutent. Aux mécontents d’eux-mêmes, à ceux qui sentent que pèse sur eux le fardeau de centaines et de centaines de siècles de conventions et de préjugés ancestraux. A ceux qui ont soif de vie vraie, de liberté de gestes, d’activité réelle et qui ne rencontrent autour d’eux qu’insincérité, truquage, conformisme et servilité. A ceux qui voudraient se connaître davantage et plus intimement. Aux inquiets, aux tourmentés, aux chercheurs de sensations nouvelles, aux expérimentateurs de formules inédites de bonheur individuel. A ceux qui ne croient à rien de ce qui leur est démontré. Aux agités ; oui, aux agités, car je préfère l’onde qui bouillonne à l’eau stagnante. Les autres n’ont pas besoin de ce livre ; la Société les considère, tout le monde en dit du bien : ils sont les « satisfaits ». On pourrait nous faire remarquer que nous nous sommes laissés entraîner par notre indignation, que somme toute rien ne prouve que notre colère, nos invectives ne soient pas, elles aussi, une manière de paraître. Attention : ce qu’on trouvera dans ce livre, ce sont des observations, des opinions, des thèses, des indications, il restera au lecteur à déterminer ce qu’elles valent. Notre dessein est seulement d’amener ceux qui nous liront à penser plus profondément.
5) To whom this work is addressed.
Thus, we address ourselves here to “those who think” or are “on the road to thought” — to those who do not accommodate themselves to appearances and who are not satisfied by the present phase of general evolution. We address it to those who are conscious of the domination that suppresses them and the exploitation that crushes them. Thus, we write for the curious, the thinkers and the critics, — those not content with prescriptions that brook no debate or with stop-gap solutions.
Thus, we do not address ourselves to those who are satisfied, nor to those who have faith. We address the unsatisfied and those who doubt. To those who are dissatisfied with themselves, to those who feel the burden of hundreds and hundreds of centuries of conventions and ancestral prejudices weigh on them. To those who thirst for true life, for freedom of action and for real activity, and who encounter around them only insincerity, rubbish, conformity and servility. To those who want to know themselves more, and more intimately. To the uneasy, to the tormented, to the seekers of new sensations, to experimenters with unknown formulas for individual happiness. To those who believe nothing of what is shown to them. To the troubled, yes, to the troubled, for I prefer the seething waves to stagnant water. The others have no need of this book; Society has a high regard for them, everyone speaks well of them: they are the “satisfied.” It could be said that we let ourselves be carried away by our indignation, that in the end nothing proves that our anger and our invective are not also a means of appearing. Attention: what you will find in this book are observations, opinions, arguments and indications. It remains up to the reader to determine what they are worth. Our design is only to lead those who read it to think more deeply.
6) Notre position.
Toutes les objections entendues, nous posons en thèse, que quiconque réfléchit, et considère attentivement les hommes et les choses, rencontre dans l’ensemble des manifestations sociales réunies sous le nom de « Société », une barrière à peu près infranchissable à la vie vraie, libre, individuelle, une barrière fondée sur un fait patent, indéniable : l’exercice de l’autorité. Cela suffit pour qu’il qualifie de mauvaise la société actuelle et qu’il en souhaite la disparition.
6) Our position.
All the objections having been heard, we propose as a thesis that whoever reflects and attentively considers people and things, encounters, in the ensemble of social manifestations gathered under the name of “Society,” a nearly insurmountable barrier to the true, free, individual life, a barrier based on a patent, undeniable fact: the exercise of authority. That is enough to consider the present society defective and to wish for its disappearance.
[Working Translation by Shawn P. Wilbur; last revised July 17, 2019]
THE PRESENT SOCIETY
A picture of society. — The race for appearances. — Complexity of the “human problem.” — The two attitudes. — To whom this work is addressed.
A chaos of beings, facts, and ideas, a disordered, bitter, merciless struggle, a perpetual lie, a wheel that turns blindly, one day perching it on the pinnacle and the next day crushing it without pity, so many images that could depict what present-day society is, if indeed it could be depicted. The brush of the greatest of painters and the pen of the greatest of writers would shatter like glass if they were used to translate even a distant echo of the tumult and melee represented by the clash of appetites, aspirations, hatreds and devotions that clash and mix the different categories into which men are divided.
Who will ever express exactly the unfinished battle between particular interests and collective needs? The sentiments of individuals and the logic of generalities? All of that constitutes the present society and all that is not enough to describe it. A minority who possess the ability to produce and consume or the possibility of existing as a parasite, in a thousand different forms: landed or personal property, capital-tools and capital-money, capital instruction and capital-education.
In contrast, an immense majority, who possess nothing, except their arms or their brains or other productive organs, which they are forced to rent, lease or prostitute, not only to procure enough not to die of hunger, but also to allow a small number who hold the power of property or exchange value, to live, at their expense, more or less lavishly. A mass, rich and poor, slaves to age-old, hereditary prejudices, the former because they find it in their interest, the latter because they are plunged into ignorance or do not want to emerge from it; a multitude whose cult is money and whose prototype is the enriched man; a crowd stupefied by the abuse of alcohol or by that of debauchery; the rabble of degenerates from above and degenerates from below, without deep aspirations, without any other goal than that of reaching a situation of enjoyment and ease, even if it means crushing, if necessary, their friends of yesterday, who have become the trampled ones of today.
A provisional element that constantly threatens to transform itself into the definitive and a definitive element that threatens to be nothing more than provisional. Lives that belie the convictions displayed and convictions that serve as a springboard for shady ambitions. Free-thinkers who reveal themselves to be more clerical than the clericals and devotees who discover themselves to be crude materialists. Superficiality that would like to pass for profoundness and profoundness that fails to be taken seriously. To repeat that all this is the living picture of society, no one can contradict it. And yet there is no one who knows how to reflect who does not realize that the depiction is a thousand times below the reality. Why? Because on each face a mask is plastered; because no one is concerned with being, because all aspire only to appear. To appear, that is the supreme ideal, and if one so greedily desires ease or wealth, it is in order to be able to appear, since in the present times, money alone allows one to make an impression.
CHAPTER 1 TODAY’S SOCIETY
1. PICTURE OF SOCIETY
A chaos of beings, facts and ideas, a disorderly, violent and merciless struggle; a perpetual lie, by which some arbitrarily rise to the pinnacle and others are crushed mercilessly in the depths.
How many images would describe today’s society, if it could really be done!…
The brush of the most celebrated artists and the pen of the most notable writers would break like fragile glass, if they were used to depict even a distant echo of the tumult and the fray produced by the clash of aspirations, appetites, hatreds and self-denials in which the various categories that divide men meet and mix.
Who can explain exactly the endless battle waged between particular interests and collective needs; between the feelings of the individual and the pseudologic of human generality?
All that constitutes the disarray of present-day society is not enough to make people think and easily escapes the penetration of their knowledge.
A minority that has the ability to produce and consume, or the possibility of existing as a parasitic in various and numerous forms, and in front of it an immense majority that has nothing but its arms, or its brain, or other productive organs, which is forced to rent, or prostitute, not only to obtain what is indispensable in order not to die of hunger, but also to allow this small privileged number, holders of the power of property, or exchange value, to live at the expense of the effort of others, more or less beatifically.
A mass, rich and poor, slaves of hereditary secular prejudices: the former because in these atavisms they find their interest; the latter because, plunged into ignorance, they do not want to get out of it; a multitude whose cult is money and whose aspiration is the enriched man; a great majority brutalized by the abuse of stimulants or by vicious conduct; the plague of degenerates from above and below, without deep aspirations, with no other goal than to reach a situation of enjoyment and satiety, to be able to crush, if necessary, the friends of yesterday and rise above their ribs.
The provisional, which constantly threatens to become definitive, and the definitive, which never seems to cease being provisional.
Lives that lie to their apparent convictions and convictions that serve as a springboard to low ambitions.
Free thinkers who reveal themselves to be more clerical and devout than the same priests and devotees who let the crudest materialism show through.
The superficial, which wants to pass for profound, and the profound, which fails to assert itself as serious.
To repeat that all this is the living picture of society is to reveal a truth that no one will dare to contradict.
Anyone who is able to reflect will understand perfectly well that the painting is not exaggerated, but rather falls far short of reality.
PART ONE
THE THEORETICAL BASES OF ANARCHIST INDIVIDUALISM
1. Sketches of the Social Milieu. Harmful Authority.
1) The social milieu. [*]
A chaos of beings, facts and ideas; a harsh, disorderly struggle, without mercy; a perpetual lie; a wheel that turns blindly, one day lifting us to the pinnacle and the next crushing us ruthlessly.
A mass, both rich and poor, all slaves of age-old, inherited prejudices, the first because they find their interests there, and the others because they are immersed in an ignorance from which some does not want them to escape; a multitude whose religion is money and whose apotheosis is the rich man; a mob brutalized by prejudices, by the educational system, by a superficial existence and by the abuse of alcohol or the consumption of adulterated foods; a rabble of degenerates in high places and low, without deep aspirations, without any aim but that of “succeeding” or “taking it easy.” Something temporary that constantly threatens to transform itself into something permanent, and something permanent that threatens to never be anything but temporary. Some lives that belie their stated convictions, and some convictions that serve as springboards to dubious ambitions. Some free-thinkers who reveal themselves to be more clerical than the clergy, and some devout souls who show themselves to be crude materialists. Something superficial that wants to pass for profound, some profundity that cannot manage to be taken seriously.
A tableau vivant of Society, yet a thousand times short of the reality! Why? Because on each face a mask is placed; because no one is concerned with being; because they all only aspire to appear. To appear, that is the highest ideal, and if we are so greedy for ease or riches, it is in order to be able to appear, since in our times, money alone allows one to cut a real figure!
This mania, this passion, this race for appearance, for what can procure it, it devours the richest, as well as the vagabond, the most educated as well as the illiterate. The worker who speaks ill of the foreman wishes to become one in his turn; the merchant who estimates his commercial honor at an unequaled cost does not think about making very dishonorable deals; the small shopkeeper, member of the patriotic and nationalist electoral committees, hastens to transmit his orders to foreign manufacturers, as soon as he finds his profit there; the socialist deputy, advocate of the miserable proletariat, crammed into the stinking parts of the city, vacations in a castle or lives in the well-off districts of the city, where the air spreads, abundant and pure. The free-thinker still willingly marries in church and often has his children baptized there. The religious man does not dare to display his ideas because to ridicule religion is well-received. Where then can we find sincerity? Gangrene spreads everywhere. We encounter it in the family where often father, mother, children hate each other and deceive each other, while telling each other that they love each other, while making believe above all that they are affectionate. We see it at work in the couple where husband and wife, ill-matched, betray each other without daring to break the bond that binds them. It spreads in the group, where each seeks to supplant his neighbor in the esteem of the president, the secretary or the treasurer, while waiting to rise to their place when they have nothing more to gain from them. It abounds in acts of devotion, in brilliant actions, in private conversations, in official harangues. To appear! To appear! To appear: pure, disinterested, generous — when purity, disinterestedness, generosity are considered vain nonsense; — moral honest, virtuous — when probity, virtue, morality are the least concern of those who profess them. —
Where can one find someone who escapes corruption, who consents not to appear?
We do not claim never to have met such a one. We note that sincere, eminently sincere people are rare. We affirm that the number of human beings who work in a disinterested manner is very limited. Rightly or wrongly, I have more respect for the individual who cynically admits to me that he wants to enjoy life by taking advantage of others than for the liberal and philanthropic bourgeois, whose lips resound with grandiose words but whose fortune has been built on the hidden exploitation of the unfortunate.
2. THE DESIRE TO APPEAR
In our time, everyone wears a mask; no one cares about being, but only about appearing.
Appearance! This is the supreme ideal; and if we so ardently desire good position or wealth, it is because we know that only money allows us to appear.
This mania, this passion, this tendency to appearance and everything that provides it, devours the rich and the poor, the educated and the ignorant.
The worker who curses his boss, wants to occupy an equal place; the businessman who prides himself on being honest, does not pay attention to the dirty procedures of his profession, as long as they bring him advantages; the small merchant, member of the electoral committees, patriots and nationalists, rushes to export his articles to foreign manufacturers, because he sees profit in it; The socialist deputy, the advocate of the miserable proletarian who lives crowded in the worst parts of the city, spends his summers and rests in a palace or lives in the best districts of the capital, where the air is abundant and pure. The free thinker still voluntarily marries in church and baptizes his children. The religious man does not dare to flaunt his beliefs, because it is good form to ridicule religion.
So where can we find sincerity? Gangrene spreads to everything. We find it in the heart of the family, where parents and children often hate and deceive each other, saying that they love each other and above all making others believe it; we see it in couples who, ill-matched, betray each other, without daring, however, to break the ties that bind them; It is perceived in groups, where each individual seeks the way to supplant his neighbor in the estimation of the president, the secretary or the treasurer, always watching some, the most ambitious, for the opportune moment to snatch away their position, when they can no longer obtain other advantages; it abounds in acts of self-denial, in flashy actions, in official speeches. To appear, to appear!… To appear pure, disinterested, generous, when purity, disinterest and generosity are considered as vain mirages. Moral, honest, virtuous, when probity, virtue, morality, are the least concern of those who claim to profess them.
Where can we find someone who escapes corruption, who is content to not be noticed?…
However, we do not claim that there has not been and is not one, but we do state that eminently sincere people are extremely rare, and we affirm that the number of human beings who act selflessly is very small.
I have more respect for the individual who cynically declares that he wants to enjoy life by taking advantage of another than for the liberal bourgeois and philanthropist, whose lips utter words as beautiful as they are hypocritical, since he has made his fortune by secretly exploiting the unfortunate.
It will be objected that we are carried away by our indignation; that nothing proves, in principle, that our anger or our invectives are not also a way of appearing. Attention! What you will find in this book are observations, opinions, theses, the value of which is for the reader to determine, since we neither boast of infallibility in the pages that follow nor do we seek to have others fully agree with our point of view.
We have noted, noted, concluded, not always in a personal capacity and with all reservations. Our aim is to make those who read us reflect, without prejudice to accepting or rejecting what does not fit with their own conceptions.
2) The rush for appearance.
That mania, that passion, that rush for appearance, or for the things that can procure it, devours the richest and the vagabond, the best educated and the unlettered alike. The worker who bad-mouths the foreman wants to become him in his turn; the merchant who reckons his commercial honor so high does not consider passing up some rather dishonorable sales; the small shopkeeper, member of the patriotic and nationalist electoral committees, hastens to transmit his orders to foreign manufacturers, just as soon as he finds a profit there; the socialist deputy, advocate of the destitute proletariat that is packed into the foul-smelling parts of the town, vacations in a château or lives in the prosperous quarters of the city, where the air wafts abundant and pure; the revolutionaries, who cry against persecution and who strive to stir the tender hearts when the bourgeoisie, holding in its hands the helm of State, hounds them, imprisons them, denying them the liberty to speak and write, may be found, once they have seized power and perched on the dictatorial throne, to be as meddlesome, as nosy, as intolerant, as cruel — more sometimes — as those whose place they have taken. The free-thinker is still willingly married in the church and often has his children baptized there. It is only when the government is well disposed that the religious dare display their ideas, and are still silent where it is customary to ridicule religion. Where, then, is sincerity to be found? The gangrene spreads everywhere. We come across it in the heart of the family where father, mother, and children hate each other, and all deceive one another by saying that they love each other, while pretending that they are particularly fond of each other. We see it in the couple where husband and wife, poorly matched, betray one another without daring to break the link that enchains them, or at the very least without explaining themselves frankly. It spreads in the group where each seeks to supplant their neighbor in the esteem of the president, secretary, or treasurer, before pulling themselves up in their place when they no longer have anything gain from them. It abounds in the acts of devotion, in the brilliant actions, in the private conversations, in the official harangues. To appear! To appear! To appear pure, impartial, generous — when we consider purity, impartiality and generosity to be vain trumpery. To appear moral, honest, virtuous, when probity, virtue, and morality are the least concern of those who profess them.
Where will we find someone who escapes the contagion?
It will be objected to us that we let ourselves be carried away by our indignation; that nothing proves, first of all, that our anger or our invectives are not themselves a way of appearing. Caution: what one will find in this book are observations, opinions, theses, and it will remain for the reader to determine what they are worth. The pages that follow are not marked with the seal of infallibility. We do not seek to convert anyone to our point of view. We have noted, noted, concluded and not always yet. Our goal is to cause those who read us to reflect, subject to accepting or rejecting what does not fit with their own conceptions.
It will again be objected to us that this is treating the question from too high a vantage ppoint, or from a metaphysical point of view; that it is necessary to descend to the terrain of concrete realities; that the reality is this: that the present society is the result of a long historical process, perhaps in its early stages, that humanity or the different humanities are simply searching for or preparing their way, that they grope, stumble, lose their way, find it again, progress, retreat, — that they are sometimes shaken to their core by certain crises, carried along, launched on the road of destinies, to then slow down their march or beat time on the spot, — that by scratching a little of the polish, the varnish, the surface of contemporary civilizations, one would lay bare the stammerings, the childishness and the superstitions of the prehistoric. Who denies it? We even agree that all these things make the “human problem” singularly complex.
Finally, it will be objected that it is folly to seek to discover, to establish the responsibility of the individual, that he is drowned, absorbed in his environment, when his thoughts reflect the thoughts and his gestures, the gestures of those who surround him, — that it cannot be otherwise and that if, from the top to the bottom of the social ladder, the aspiration is to appear and not to be, the fault lies with the current stage of general evolution and not with the individual, the member of society, a tiny atom lost in a formidable aggregate.
3. COMPLEXITY OF THE HUMAN PROBLEM
We are not going to deal with this question from a very high point of view, or from a metaphysical point of view; we know that it is necessary to descend to the terrain of concrete realities. And the reality is this: Today’s society is the result of a long historical process, perhaps in its beginnings, and humanity in its different evolutionary stages is simply seeking or preparing its paths; it gropes, stumbles, loses its way, finds it again, progresses, goes backwards; it is sometimes shaken to its foundations by certain crises, dragged, thrown on the path of its destinies, to immediately shorten its course or follow it rhythmically. Scratching a little at the polish, the varnish, the surface of contemporary civilizations, the babbling, the childishness and superstitions of the ancestors are exposed. Who will deny this? For our part, we agree that all this contributes to making the “human problem” singularly complex.
4. THE TWO ATTITUDES
We will no doubt be told that it is madness to seek and establish the responsibility of the individual, since if he is absorbed by the environment, if his gestures and thoughts reflect those of his fellow-creatures, if necessarily at all levels of the social scale the aspiration is to appear and not to be, the fault corresponds to the current level of general evolution and not to the individual, a member of society, a tiny atom lost in a formidable conglomerate. We reply that, if it is true that the spirit that reasons and considers men and society in general finds an almost insurmountable barrier to a free, independent, individual life, in which all activities would have a real and natural expansion, it does not for that reason cease to desire the disappearance of the causes that enslave it to the current artifices in which it necessarily develops. There are two paths: one: either to bow to circumstances and cowardly and passively attend events, believing that by hoping for the best, everything is acceptable in our society, or, without exaggerated optimism, to deviate a little from the current to probe and ask the true cause of one’s own discomfort.
3) The complexity of the human problem.
It will be objected that we treat the question from too great a height, or from a metaphysical point of view, and that we must descend to the terrain of realities; that the reality is this: that the present Society is the human result of a long historical evolution, perhaps in its infancy, and that humanity or the different humanities are all simply seeking or preparing their way; that they grope, stumble, lose the path, find it again, progress, reverse, — that they are sometimes shaken to their roots by certain crises, carried away, launched on the road of destiny, to then slacken their advance or beat time in place; that by scraping a bit at the polish, the varnish, the surface of contemporary civilizations, we bare the stammering, the childishness, and the superstitions of prehistoric, even of pre-prehistoric, peoples.
From a purely objective point of view, it will be said that “actually” this “Society” encompasses all the beings, all the aspirations, all the activities, — all the pain and suffering as well. It includes the productive and the idle, the disinherited and the privileged, the healthy and the ailing, the sober and the drunk, the believers and the miscreants, the worst reactionaries and the sectarians of the most improbably doctrines. It modifies, evolves, and transforms itself. It destroys itself at certain points, and regenerates itself at others. Here, it is chaotic; there, it is orderly; over there, it is both at the same time. It glorifies self-sacrifice, but exalts self-interest. It is for peace, but it suffers war. It is against disorder, but welcomes revolutions. It clings to established facts, but constantly acquires new knowledge. It hates anything that disturbs its peace, but follows willingly those of its children who know how to dispel its mistrust, awaken its curiosity with promises of one sort or another, or allay its fears anew by means of some mirage. It grumbles about the powerful, but ultimately it falls in behind them, adopts their customs and governs its opinions in accordance with theirs. Roused by crisis and driven to the worst excesses, it naturally finds itself a vassal and serves as soon as the smoke of the fires is clear. It is impulsive as a child, sentimental as a young girl, hesitant as an old man. It obeys primordial instincts, instincts that guided our distant ancestors when there was no social milieu, — but it submits to strict disciplines and stern rules. It demands that those who lead it sacrifice themselves for it, but does not balk when they exploit it. It is generous and miserly. The rigidity of its manners is unbearable, but it displays decency. It favors the least effort, but adapts to overwork. It flees from suffering, but dances on volcanoes. It is majoritarian, but concedes to minorities. It bows before dictators, but raise statues to those who stab them to death. A sad song drives it to tears, but the beating of a drum awakens in the depths of its being all that has lain dormant for generations: desires to massacre, to pillage, to plunder in bands. It is cruel and tender, avaricious and prodigal, cowardly and heroic. It is a crucible in which the most disparate elements, the least similar characters, and the most conflicting energies meet and join together. It is a furnace that consumes the corporeal and cerebral activities of its members for the pure pleasure of destruction. It is a field always fertilized with the knowledge and experiences of past generations. It is like a woman continuously in a state of pregnancy, who does not know who or what she will deliver. It is Society.
It will be conceded willingly that all is not perfect in Society, but isn’t it proper for that which is actual to be imperfect? It is through authority that it maintains the links of solidarity which unite individuals to one another — links that are sometimes very loose, but it has still not been demonstrated that without authority human societies will remain. Hypocrisy reigns as mistress over the relations of person with person, milieu with milieu, race with race; but it has still not been proven that it does not constitute an inevitability desired by the multiplicity of human temperaments, — an instinctive expedient destined to absorb the shocks and to reduce somewhat the harshness of the struggle for life. The conditions of the production and distribution of products favor the privileged and maintain the exploitation of the unprivileged, but it remains to examine if, in the present circumstances of industrial production, we could, without exploitation, obtain from the producer the output necessary for the economic functioning of human societies; — 2° if all the unprivileged are not would-be privileged, who aspire to supplant the latter in their privileges.
It will still be objected that it is folly to seek to discover and establish the responsibility of the individual, that the individual is drowned, absorbed in its environment, that its thoughts reflect the thoughts, and its deeds the deeds of those who surround it, — that it cannot be otherwise and that if, from the top to the bottom of the social ladder, the aspiration is to appear and not to be, the fault is with the present phase of the general evolution and not with the individual element of the social environment, a tiny atom lost, dissolved, in an enormous aggregate.
We answer frankly that we do not intend to write for all the beings who constitute society. Let us repeat: we are addressing ourselves to “those who reflect” or are “in the process of reflecting,” — to those who are impatient at being forced to wait for the great number who cannot or will not reflect, — to those who are not satisfied with appearances and whom the current stage of general evolution does not satisfy. We write for the curious, for the thinkers, for the critics, — for those who are not satisfied by formulas that cannot be discussed or by stopgap solutions.
One of two things must be true: Either there is nothing to do but to let the inevitable evolution continue slowly, to bow like cowards before circumstances, to watch, passively, the parade of events and admit that, while waiting for better, all is well in the best of societies. — Our theses and our opinions will not interest those who share this way of seeing. — Or else, without arming ourselves with exaggerated optimism, we can deviate from the main road, retire for a moment to an eminence, question ourselves, probe the roots of our own malaise. We address ourselves to those whom the present society does not satisfy, — to those who thirst for real life, for real activity and who encounter around them only the artificial and unreal. There are those who are thirsty for harmony and wonder why disorder and fratricidal struggles abound around them. They will perhaps find in the course of these pages an answer to their anxieties.
Let us conclude: the mind that reflects and attentively considers men and things encounters in the set of facts that we call society, a barrier that is almost insurmountable to true, free, independent, individual life. This is enough for them to qualify it as bad and to wish for its disappearance. It only remains for us to examine whether this wish is feasible.
4) For whom this book is not intended.
We do not deny it. We are willing to agree that these findings render the human problem singularly complex, strangely complicated. We could conclude that there is nothing to do but to let the “inevitable evolution” continue slowly, to bow tamely before circumstances, to witness, passively, the march of events and to accept that, until a better one comes along, all is good in the best of societies. Our theses, opinions and propositions will not interest those who see things in that way.
5. TO WHOM THIS BOOK IS ADDRESSED
We frankly state that we do not write for society in general, but for the reflective or those capable of reflecting, for the curious, for the critical, for the dissatisfied, for everyone, in short, those who are not satisfied with the current formulas and solutions.
5) To whom this work is addressed.
Thus, we address ourselves here to “those who think” or are “on the road to thought” — to those who do not accommodate themselves to appearances and who are not satisfied by the present phase of general evolution. We address it to those who are conscious of the domination that suppresses them and the exploitation that crushes them. Thus, we write for the curious, the thinkers and the critics, — those not content with prescriptions that brook no debate or with stop-gap solutions.
Thus, we do not address ourselves to those who are satisfied, nor to those who have faith. We address the unsatisfied and those who doubt. To those who are dissatisfied with themselves, to those who feel the burden of hundreds and hundreds of centuries of conventions and ancestral prejudices weigh on them. To those who thirst for true life, for freedom of action and for real activity, and who encounter around them only insincerity, rubbish, conformity and servility. To those who want to know themselves more, and more intimately. To the uneasy, to the tormented, to the seekers of new sensations, to experimenters with unknown formulas for individual happiness. To those who believe nothing of what is shown to them. To the troubled, yes, to the troubled, for I prefer the seething waves to stagnant water. The others have no need of this book; Society has a high regard for them, everyone speaks well of them: they are the “satisfied.” It could be said that we let ourselves be carried away by our indignation, that in the end nothing proves that our anger and our invective are not also a means of appearing. Attention: what you will find in this book are observations, opinions, arguments and indications. It remains up to the reader to determine what they are worth. Our design is only to lead those who read it to think more deeply.
6) Our position.
All the objections having been heard, we propose as a thesis that whoever reflects and attentively considers people and things, encounters, in the ensemble of social manifestations gathered under the name of “Society,” a nearly insurmountable barrier to the true, free, individual life, a barrier based on a patent, undeniable fact: the exercise of authority. That is enough to consider the present society defective and to wish for its disappearance.
