Bakunin: Philosophy of Freedom

by Brian Morris

The life and thought of Bakunin has contemporary relevance, particularly for his definitions of freedom. This book confirms that his holistic thinking was dominated by a desire to achieve a unity of theory and practice. "Everything about him is colossalhe is full of a primitive exuberance and strength."--Richard Wagner

Genres: Philosophy, History, Biography, Politics, Nonfiction

172 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1996

About the author

Brian Morris (born 1936) is emeritus professor of anthropology at Goldsmiths College at the University of London. He is a specialist on folk taxonomy, ethnobotany and ethnozoology, and on religion and symbolism.

He has carried out fieldwork among South Asian hunter-gatherers and in Malawi. Groups that he has studied include the Ojibwa.

Leaving school at the age of fifteen, Brian Morris had a varied career: foundry worker, seaman, and tea-planter in Malawi, before becoming a university teacher. Now Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at Goldsmiths College, University of London, he is the author of numerous articles and books on ethnobotany, religion and symbolism, hunter-gatherer societies and concepts of the individual.

His books include Richard Jefferies and the Ecological Vision (2006), Religion and Anthropology: A Critical Introduction(2006), Insects and Human Life (2004) and Kropotkin: The Politics of Community (2004). Black Rose Books is also the publisher of hisBakunin: The Philosophy of Freedom (1993) and the forthcoming Anarchist Miscellany.

Reviews

[Furbjr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew a little bit about Bakunin when I picked this up as it was selected by freedombookclub.com as their book of the month in September 2011. A great deal of this book debunks previous scholarly works done by historians with a bias, either in favor or against Bakunin. I feel that this represents a cogent, honest assessment of who Bakunin was, how he evolved as a thinker, and his profound influence on socialism, libertarianism, and Anarchy.

Though this is not supposed to be a scholarly work, it has many annotations which will help the reader that is interested in exploring Bakunin further.

A very minor quibble from me is that Mr. Morris uses an excessive amount of quotations around phrases containing only two or three words, which I found alternately mildly amusing, and then mildly irritating.

I highly recommend this book as an introduction to Bakunin or libertarian socialism. Bakunin's thoughts, as explained by Mr. Morris, show a linear train of thought emanating from the mind of a true free radical.

[Sean Bradford · Rating 5 out of 5]

in depth portrait of a man ahead of his time, who correctly forcasted the despotic tendencies that would arise from State communism. his solution: no State. Only a federation of self organizing collectives.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome. This really opened up Socialist thinking for me.

[Pablo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book if you want to read about one of the "fathers of anarchism" or whatever. Bakunin was a rival of Marx during the rise of communist ideology out of the late-19th century. Morris mentions Bakunin's history with Marx around this time, which was shady at best. Unlike communism and industrial-era capitalism, Bakunin's alternative was a stateless society. This book covers patches of his writings but includes some of his best quotes such as: "The passion for destruction is a creative passion!" and "No book that has ever been written will save the world." He was also present around the Parisian uprising of the 1850's and during the First International in Geneva.

[Sokuntheary Kernick · Rating 4 out of 5]

It' brilliant reading for me!