An Appeal to the Young

by Pyotr Kropotkin

Prince Peter Kropotkin (1842-1921) was a famous Russian anarchist revolutionary. He was a renowned geologist and geographer, but he renounced everything to join the revolutionary movement. He was arrested but he escaped abroad and settled in England in 1866. His article ‘An Appeal to the Young’ was addressed to the younger generation that was about to enter their professions. This article first appeared in his paper ‘La Révolte’ in 1880. It has been republished several times in the form of a pamphlet all over the world and its appeal remains effective and motivating even today.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Theory, Russia, Classics, Essays

28 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1880

About the author

Pyotr Alekseyevich Kropotkin, prince, Russian anarchist, and political philosopher, greatly influenced movements throughout the world and maintained that cooperation, not competition, the means, bettered the human condition.

Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (Пётр Алексеевич Кропоткин, other spelling: Pëtr Kropotkin, Pierre Kropotkine), who described him as "a man with a soul of that beautiful white Christ, which seems coming." He wrote many books, pamphlets and articles, the most prominent being The Conquest of Bread and Fields, Factories and Workshops , and his principal scientific offering, Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution . He also contributed to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition .

Reviews

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kropotkin never fails to inspire action with his prophetic style. Despite being written a century ago his words still ring true and should be read by anyone who considers themselves on the political left. This short pamphlet is a great place to start learning about anarchism as Kropotkin saw it.e

[Nishant · Rating 5 out of 5]

"...when one is speaking to those who have suffered from the effects of bourgeois surroundings, how many sophisms must be combated, how many prejudices overcome, how many interested objections put aside!"

Anarchism necessitates action. Radical thinking is not enough, one who claims to be an anarchist has also to act radically. But those who have ever entered in a situation which demanded to make choices about the course of action must appreciate the difficulty that those who act face in such situation. Such are the situation when the fundamental convictions are either strengthened or revised. This pamphlet must be read for strengthening one's basic beliefs of socialism.

Kropotkin starts with defining the young whom he is talking to. The young, according to Kropotkin, "have a mind free from the superstition which teachers have sought to force upon (them); ... (they) are not one of the fops, sad products of the society in decay, who display their well-cut trousers and their monkey faces in the park." And then he throws the basic question which grapples every young person- "What am I going to be?" Thus the appeal is made to those who want to apply the knowledge and expertise that they acquire in the discipline of their choice towards addressing 'disenfranchisement of the people living in misery and ignorance'.

As the appeal builds up with examples and cases of dilemma which is faced by "the young" in different professions, the appeal gets stronger and strengthens the radical attitude and the urges of the young reader. This is a pamphlet to be kept in the study, always reminding of what needs to be done.

P.S. It was after reading Kropotkin's works that Oscar Wilde had declared himself an anarchist and wrote the famous essay 'The Soul of Man Under Socialism'. Following quote from the same essay reflects the anarchist socialist tendencies of Wilde-
"Socialism itself will be of value simply because it will lead to Individualism".

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very quick read and one that surprised me very much. Kropotkin makes great poetic arguments to young workers in different trades about why they should fight on the side of socialism. I might recommend this book to my liberal friends who are on the fence about socialism. This fired me up and was a reminder of the reasons I fight

[Devon Giguere · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Appeal to the Young is a very inspiring work that demonstrates the passionate writing that embodies Kropotkin's works. If you desire to gain an understanding of anarchism, then this may not be the best thing to read. I would recommend his Mutual Aid and The Conquest of Beard. However, this work is really inspiring and should be read by the youth. He talks about how we should do something of value by helping the revolution. I would recommend it to anyone that is a teenager or young adult. Especially those who really don't know what to do with their life.

[for-much-deliberation ... · Rating 5 out of 5]

Introduction to Kropotkin's 1880 pamphlet, "It is to the young that I wish to address myself today. Let the old — I mean of course the old in heart and mind — lay the pamphlet down therefore without tiring their eyes in reading what will tell them nothing..."
This can be read online at the Anarchist Library: http://theanarchistlibrary.org/librar...

[Christopher Trader · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant and stirring essay on the reality of experienced oppression.

[athena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beyond what Conquest of Bread has been, this work spoke to me. Kropotkin does not wax on and on about the intricacies of anarchic communism, which, while useful, is an argument which will always fail to the mind already biased against it. With this short volume, originally written as a pamphlet for young people to "appeal" to them the Socialist movement, Kropotkin impels young people with aspirations of serving the world in science, medicine, engineering, and the arts and shows them the futility of their ambitions under capitalism. The Socialist movement of the late nineteenth century is of course sharply different from what it is now, but the principles which draw the young to Marx have not changed. Our conditions are no different, at their most basic level. As long as capitalism lives, Kropotkin's Appeal will speak to the starry-eyed, soon to be disillusioned, young people.

[Talia_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nécessaire 😗

[Martyna · Rating 5 out of 5]

choć książka była wydana 140 lat temu to jest nadal aktualna. napisana z pasją i w bardzo inspirujący sposób. (plus, RCIN wrzucił pdf tego za darmo, więc jeśli ktoś chce linka to piszcie)

[Katerina Alexandraki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Accessible, inspiring, wonderful!

[Alexander]

Im not sure how to review this, or even rate it. If you’re a young socialist and want to be reaffirmed you’ll dig this. It’s propaganda, not theory, so don’t expect anything profound, although his language is quite passionate, so theres some points there…

[Sumit Ghosh · Rating 2 out of 5]

It doesn't have much rigor to it, but that's not what it was going for anyway. So in a way it's kind of a propagandist—without any bad connotation of the word—pamphlet, nevertheless I liked it.

[Remy G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Kropotkin's An Appeal to the Young is a brief leaflet where he asks youth what they will be, and asks theoretical questions about sickness and seeing doctors, mentioning things like that a lack of food and good nutrition can harm health--which modern doctors obsessed with pharmaceutical kickbacks seem to forget, and can be corrupt--and how youngsters should understand socialism. He says that landlords need rent because they tend to waste their money on pleasure, and that the domain of production would be transformed instead of going to exploiters. Most countries have oppressed and privileged classes, with artists using ideas to start revolutions--which I attempt to do passively. Masters can reduce wages, telling them to substitute other things in place, Kropotkin concluding that every tyrant on earth shall bite the dust. Overall, a great manifesto for its time that can still apply today.

[whoami · Rating 5 out of 5]

This pamphlet was written 140 years ago. Pytor Kropotkin appeals to the young who are just finishing their apprenticeships and diplomas, heading to the professional world. He urges them to look deeper into the orderings of the society, to be emphatic about the working class and be aware of the exploitation by the bourgeois class. He also offers solutions to solving the problems through revolutions which demands the participation of all youth irrespective of their professional mastery. I found this work, word-to-word, to be exactly relevant especially today.

[Mary L · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think Kropotkin's real strength lays in imbuing hope, wonder, and vigor in his readers through his writing. I don't think this piece is helpful for understanding the basics of anarcho-communism/anarchism, but it's a perfect for keeping hope in the day to day struggle against capitalism and all oppression.

[Aleix Juárez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Llibre massa curt pel meu gust. Preciós en quant a les paraules que adreça als joves, molt idealista i utòpic com li passa amb altres llibres seus. Si més no, la meva puntuació ve degut a l’edició que vaig llegir, la qual adaptava als temps actuals moltes coses escrites en la versió original i sobretot pel llenguatge inclusiu de l’edició que em va fer difícil la lectura de manera constant.

[Derek Kreider · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic work. It was concise and offered powerful examples of intuitive dissonance and injustice. I still feel the solutions offered are unclear and tenuous, but the assessment is spot on.

[Brendan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting historical document that is still relevant today.

[Jairo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written and inspiring work.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

The reformed princes call to action

Full of brief allegorical calls to action for justice rather than manipulative laws. For the people, by the people. anarcho-communism

[Imtiaz Memon]

It's a great document of humanity. How every professional person act in a capitalist system.

[Facundo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book.

[Gabe · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Pyotr Kropotkin has 1000 fans I'm one of them. If he has 1 fan its me. If he has no fans I'm dead.

[Grace Gibbs]

Funny.

[Ems · Rating 4 out of 5]

title self explanatory. with some examples kropotkin shows why young people should get closer to socialism

[Michael Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

While clearly intended for younger readers, I still think there’s enough worthwhile info and stories here to recommend it.

[Sarbajit Ghosh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice pamphlet, very standard

[☆ Nathaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Merci Monsieur Barres !! Un court livre qui m'a bien réconforté dans des réflexions que je m'étais déjà faite.

[Paul Bond · Rating 3 out of 5]

How do you get people to dedicate their lives to Big Issues? By demonstrating that unless society is fixed, each person's day-to-day is doomed to failure. That's certainly Kropotkin's approach here. He asks the would-be doctor what drug can be prescribed for workers ground down by poverty; the scientist how his discoveries will ever be applied except in service of luxury; the lawyer how he can defend the poor, who really do (and should) break property laws (that are unjust). Instead, Kropotkin urges, all should capital-S Socialists! It's addressed to the young, so perhaps fittingly the argument is a bit juvenile. It is the rhetoric of someone who has learned one very effective rhetorical trick, and intends to show it off. Strangely evocative of ATLAS SHRUGGED, which also sought to demonstrate that no individual, however noble and valiant, can flourish in a hopelessly compromised society. I hope the parallels would give Rand and Kropotkin equal pause.

[Tammam Aloudat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike Anarchist Morality which I have read not long ago, this one is neither a book intended by the author nor is it an analytical philosophical argument. This is rather a collection of articles written over several decades and published in newspapers and pamphlets and are mainly a tool for propaganda rather than of thought.

That doesn't discredit them in anyway though as the exercise in convincing the skeptics can be as well done and well crafted as that of much other types of writing.

The collection ranges from a few short articles that talk about the reasoning of Anarcho-Communism to a very brilliantly written prediction of the coming tyranny of the Soviet state done with a great foresight in 1919 to the longer article which is the appeal to the young which is very well done and which still applies in part today.