Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism

Peter Marshall

1992

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements vii
Introduction ix

Part One: Anarchism in Theory

  1. The River of Anarchy 3
  2. Society and the State 12
  3. Freedom and Equality 36

    Part Two: Forerunners of Anarchism

  4. Taoism and Budddhism 53
  5. The Greeks 66
  6. Christianity 74
  7. The Middle Ages 86
  8. The English Revolution 96
  9. The French Renaissance and Enlightenment 108
  10. The British Enlightenment 129

    Part Three: Great Libertarians

  11. French Libertarians 143
  12. German Libertarians 153
  13. British Libertarians 163
  14. American Libertarians 181

Part Four: Classic Anarchist Thinkers

  1. William Godwin: The Lover of Order 191
  2. Max Stirner: The Conscious Egoist 220
  3. Pierre-Joseph Proudhon: The Philosopher of Poverty 234
  4. Michael Bakunin: The Fanatic of Freedom 263
  5. Peter Kropotkin: The Revolutionary Evolutionist 309
  6. Elisee Reclus: The Geographer of Liberty 339
  7. Errico Malatesta: The Electrician of Revolution 345
  8. Leo Tolstoy: The Count of Peace 362
  9. American Individualists and Communists 384
  10. Emma Goldman: The Most Dangerous Woman 396
  11. German Communists 410
  12. Mohandas Gandhi: The Gentle Revolutionary 422

Part Five: Anarchism in Action

  1. France 431
  2. Italy 446
  3. Spain 453
  4. Russia and the Ukraine 469
  5. Northern Europe 479
  6. United States 496
  7. Latin America 504
  8. Asia 519

    Part Six: Modern Anarchism

  9. The New Left and the Counter-culture 539
  10. The New Right and Anarcho-capitalism 559
  11. Modern Libertarians 566
  12. Modern Anarchists 587
  13. Murray Bookchin and the Ecology of Freedom 602

    Part Seven: The Legacy of Anarchism

  14. Ends and Means 625
  15. The Relevance of Anarchism 639

Reference Notes 667
Select Bibliography 715
Index 745