Selected Writings from Mikhail Bakunin

by Mikhail Bakunin

A collection of writings from the champion of Anarchism, Mikhail Bakunin. Includes "God and the State", "Marxism, Freedom and the State", "The Policy of the International", and "The Paris Commune and the Idea of the State". Preface gives a brief biography.

Genres: Politics

149 pages, Paperback

Published March 25, 2010

About the author

Russian anarchist and political theorist Mikhail Aleksandrovich Bakunin, imprisoned and later exiled to Siberia for his considered revolutionary activities, escaped to London in 1861, opposed Communism of Karl Marx.

People often called Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin (Russian: Михаи́л Алекса́ндрович Баку́нин), a philosopher, the father of collectivism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail...

Reviews

[Liam Boulanger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid read of left-libertarian materialist thought. I look forward to reading more of Bakunin’s work. Particularly because I hope to acquire more insight on the specifics of what anarchism is to Bakunin. We get broad concepts throughout his writings here; a federation of communes/workers collectives. What are the specifics of this system? What is the organization of a commune? How’s it made up and how does it operate within a broader federation? Bakunin is particularly opposed to the concentration of political power at any level. All power must be shared/distributed equally and freely. But how do varying levels of communes organize themselves into a federation without the concentration of power occurring at certain levels? Liberal-capitalist federations have constitutions in place to keep concentrated power in check (to varying degrees of success). Bakunin, at least here, makes no specific claim as to what would play that role in a federation of communes. Best guess would be that he believes class consciousness would bring people together in a harmony that allows this federation to exist without the corrupting effects of concentrated power.
Nonetheless, a worthwhile and enjoyable read. These are, after all, responses to various theories and events. Rarely is the anarchist perspective offered on political economy or philosophy. It’s nice to have that captured here in the writings of Bakunin.

[palig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bakunin is the goat

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

AN EXCELLENT AND DIVERSE SELECTION OF HIS WRITINGS ON ANARCHISM, GOD, ETC.

Editor Arthur Lehning wrote in the Introduction to this 1973 collection, “Michael Bakunin, the greatest of the Russian revolutionaries of the nineteenth centuries, played an important role in the democratic movements and revolutions of Western Europe. He began to formulate his anarchist and atheist ideas in 1864, and propagated them from 1868 onwards… Bakunin’s main historical achievement lies in his having linked the libertarian ideas of anarchism with the movement for the emancipation of the working classes, and in his having sown seeds of anti-authoritarian socialism and of the theory and practice of anarcho-syndicalism… Bakunin, being primarily a man of action, ALWAYS wrote for man and women whom he was trying to trigger into acting, or else to guide while they were acting.” (Pg. 9-10)

In 1866, Bakunin wrote, “In replacing the worship of God by RESPECT and LOVE FOR HUMANITY, we assert HUMAN REASON as the one criterion of truth; human conscience as the basis for justice; individual and collective liberty as the only creator of order for mankind.” (Pg. 64) Later, he adds, “School must take the place of church, with the immense difference that the religious education provided by the latter has no other purpose than to perpetuate the rule of human ignorance or so-called divine authority, whereas school upbringing and education will have no other purpose than the true emancipation of the children upon reaching the age of majority, and will consist of nothing less than their progressive initiation into liberty by the threefold development of their physical and mental powers and their will.” (Pg. 84)

In another essay, Bakunin stated, “the right of inheritance can and should be abolished by liberty within the State---which amounts to saying that the State itself must dissolve into a society freely organized on the basis of justice. We claim that this right will necessarily have to be abolished because as long as INHERITANCE lasts, there will be HEREDITARY economic inequality---not the natural inequality of individuals, but the artificial inequality of classes…” (Pg. 109)

In ‘God and the State,’ he asserted, “whoever says ‘revelation’ says revealers… prophets, priests… inspired by God himself; and these, once recognized as the representatives of divinity on earth… necessarily exercise absolute power. All men owe them passive and unlimited obedience; for against the divine reason there is no human reason… Slaves of God, men must also be slaves of Church and State, in so far as the State is consecrated by the Church… If God is, man is a slave; now, man can and must be free; then, God does not exist. I defy anyone whomsoever to avoid this circle;’ now, therefore, let all choose.” (Pg. 125) He adds, “His existence necessarily implies the slavery of all that is beneath him. Therefore, if God existed, only in one way could he serve human liberty---by ceasing to exist… I reverse the saying of Voltaire, and say that ‘if God really existed, it would be necessary to abolish him.’” (Pg. 128)

He clarifies, “Does it follow that I reject all authority? Far from me such a thought… But I recognize no infallible authority, even in special questions; consequently, whatever respect I may have for the honesty and the sincerity of such or such an individual, I have no absolute faith in any person. Such a faith would be fatal to my reason, to my liberty, and even to the success of my undertakings; it would immediately transform me into a stupid slave, an instrument of the will and interests of others.” (Pg. 132)

In another essay, he states, “I am only properly free with all the men and women about men are equally free. Far from being a limitation or denial of my liberty, the liberty of another is its necessary condition and confirmation. I only become truly free through the liberty of others, so that the more I am surrounded by free men, and the deeper and wider this freedom grows, the further my own extends. It is the servitude of men which erects a barrier against my liberty, or rather… it is their bestiality which is a denial of my liberty because once again I cannot truly call myself free until my liberty… my dignity as a man, and my human right, which consists in not obeying any other man and behaving only in accordance with my own convictions, are reflected in the equally free awareness of all men and return to me confirmed by the assent of all the world. When my personal liberty is thus confirmed by the liberty of all, it extends to infinity.” (Pg. 148)

He summarizes, “I shall attempt to prove: 1. That had there been a creator God, the world could never have existed. 2. That id God had made the laws of the natural world… what we call the natural physical and social laws could likewise never have existed… 3. That the MORAL LAW whose existence we materialists and atheists acknowledge much more thoroughly than is possible for the idealists of any school… 4. That the idea of a God, far from being essential to the establishment of that law, has never done anything but disturb and distort it. 5. That al Gods… have owed their original existence to the fantasies of men barely out of the cradle of primitive bestiality… 6. That divinity, once established on its heavenly throne, has become the scourge of humanity and the ally of every tyrant… 7. Lastly, that the disappearance of the divine phantoms, a necessary precondition of the triumph of humanity, will be one of the inevitable consequences of the emancipation of the proletariat.” (Pg. 221-222)

He says of Marx and Marxism, “This is the real contradiction. If their State is really going to be a people’s government, then why should it abolish itself, and if its abolition is essential for real emancipation of the people, then how dare they call it a people’s government?” (Pg. 269)

This is an excellent selection of Bakunin’s writings, and will be of great interest to anyone studying him.

[Matthew Ciaramella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good on the whole, but some of these letters seemed unnecessary and repetitive.

[Eduardo · Rating 3 out of 5]

La libertad de Mikhail Bakunin es una obra que expone la visión anarquista del autor sobre la libertad individual y colectiva. Bakunin sostiene que la verdadera libertad solo puede alcanzarse mediante la abolición del Estado y de las instituciones que limitan la autonomía humana, tales como la religión, el capitalismo y las estructuras autoritarias. Para él, el Estado representa la opresión y la imposición de un orden artificial que niega la libertad natural de los individuos, y solo mediante una revolución social que elimine estas estructuras jerárquicas se podrá alcanzar una sociedad verdaderamente libre.

Aunque la propuesta de Bakunin sobre la libertad resulta atractiva desde la perspectiva de quienes valoran la autonomía individual, su crítica radical al Estado y a la propiedad privada entra en conflicto con las visiones que defienden la necesidad de un orden estable y organizado para garantizar la seguridad, el respeto a los derechos y la soberanía nacional. La concepción de Bakunin de una libertad absoluta, desprovista de cualquier autoridad, es difícil de conciliar con los sistemas que priorizan el mantenimiento del orden, la cohesión social y la defensa de la propiedad privada como elementos fundamentales de una sociedad estable y justa.

[Scott Would · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading to understand the frequently misunderstood (and misrepresented) Bakunin. The introduction is an excellent encapsulation of Bakunin's political philosophy and ideas about strategy and organization. The selections are great, drawing significantly on Bakunin's major but incompletely published work The Knouto-Germanic Empire and the Social Revolution. The translation is, reportedly, more reliable than the more widely available collection edited and translated by Sam Dolgoff as well. The main problem with the book is how hard it is to find a physical copy. So if you don't mind reading pdfs, find one online and read up.

[Rodrigo · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡MUERTE AL ESTADO!

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

While dense, his ideas are presented well and he does a great job clearing up the differences in his theories and others that are often lumped together in leftist thought. My only complaints are that it does get very repetitive after a couple days of reading and because it's so old, the context of the essays and letters is often lost to someone who isn't well-versed in political history (me). It was interesting, but if you're someone who's not familiar with his ideas, a day spent on Wikipedia articles will probably fill you in as much as you'd like.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

De hartstocht van revolte is grotendeels overgenomen van Anarchisme, Staat en Dictatuur (Arthur Lehning)