Graham R (Ed.) - Anarchism - A Documentary History of Libertarian Ideas Volume One - From Anarchy to Anarchism (300 CE to 1939)

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ANARCHISM
wife, teacher and student, professionals and workers, or leaders and led, throughout
society and even within their own organizations. They emphasized the importance of
maintaining consistency between means and ends, and in acting in accordance with
their ideals now, in the process of transforming society, not in the distant future.
They opposed war and militarism in the face of widespread repression, and did not
hesitate to criticize the orthodox Left for its authoritarianism and opportunism. They
developed an original conception of an all-encompassing social revolution, rejecting
state terrorism and seeking to reduce violence to a minimum.
And they paid dearly for it. Several of the contributors to this volume were executed,
murdered or killed fighting for their ideals (pisacane, Landauer, the Haymarket
Martyrs, Ferrer, Guerrero, Kotoku Shusui, Osugi Sakae, Ito Noe, Arshinov,
Isaac Puente), as were cOllntless of their comrades. Others died in prison or prematurely
as a result of imprisonment (Bakunin, Most, Wilde, Flores Magon, Makhno,
Shin Chaeho). Others were the objects of attempted assassinations (Michel, de
Cleyre, Malatesta). Still others died in tragic circumstances (Dejacque, Gross,
Berkman). Virtually every one of them was imprisoned at various times for advocating
anarchy. Anyone honestly assessing the impact of anarchist ideas, or the lack
thereof, cannot fail to take this pervasive repression into account. The "competition
of ideas" has never been a fair one.