We Anarchists Do Not Want To Emancipate

If You Say That You Reject Violence When It Exceeds The Limits Imposed By The Needs Of Defense, They Accuse You Of Pacifism, Without Understanding That Violence Is The Whole Essence Of Authoritarianism, Just As The Repudiation Of Violence Is The Whole Essence Of Anarchism.

While Preaching Against Every Kind Of Government, And Demanding Complete Freedom, We Must Support All Struggles For Partial Freedom, Because We Are Convinced That One Learns Through Struggle.

Anarchy Is A Word That Comes From The Greek, And Signifies, Strictly Speaking, "without Government": The State Of A People Without Any Constituted Authority. Before Such An Organization Had Begun To Be Considered Possible And Desirable By A Whole Class Of Thinkers, So As To Be Taken As The Aim Of A Movement (which Has Now Become One Of The Most Important Factors In Modern Social Warfare), The Word "anarchy" Was Used Universally In The Sense Of Disorder And Confusion, And It Is Still Adopted In That Sense By The Ignorant And By Adversaries Interested In Distorting The Truth.

The Question May Seem Embarrassing, But It Can Be Answered In A Few Words. For Two People To Live In Peace They Must Both Want Peace; If One Of Them Insists On Using Force To Oblige The Other To Work For Him And Serve Him, Then The Other, If He Wishes To Retain His Dignity As A Man And Not Be Reduced To Abject Slavery, Will Be Obliged In Spite Of His Love Of Peace, To Resist Force With Adequate Means.

Intolerance Of Oppression, The Desire To Be Free And Develop One Personality To Its Full Limits, Is Not Enough To Make One An Anarchist. That Aspiration Towards Unlimited Freedom, If Not Tempered By A Love For Mankind And By The Desire That All Should Enjoy Equal Freedom, May Well Create Rebels Who Soon Become Exploiters And Tyrants.