Basic Bakunin

Anarchist Communist Editions

Pamphlet from the Anarchist Federation, 2002 edition. NOTE: It's best to read newer 2007 edition of Basic Bakunin

http://www.afed.org.uk

Basic Bakunin front cover

"The star of revolution will rise high above the streets of Moscow,

from a sea of blood and fire,

and turn into a lodestar to lead a liberated humanity"
-Mikhail Bakunin

Preface

The aim of this pamphlet is to do nothing more than present an outline of what the

author thinks are the key features of Mikhail Bakunin's anarchist ideas.

Bakunin was extremely influential in the 19th century socialist movement, yet his

ideas for decades have been reviled, distorted or ignored. On reading this pamphlet,

it will become apparent that Bakunin has a lot to offer and that his ideas are

not at all confused (as some writers would have us think) but make up a full coherent

and well argued body of thought. For a detailed but difficult analysis of

Bakunin's revolutionary ideas, Richard B. Saltman's book, The Social and Political

Thought of Michael Bakunin is strongly recommended. Ask your local library to

obtain a copy.

Class

Bakunin saw revolution in terms of the overthrow of one oppressing class by another

oppressed class and the destruction of political power as expressed as the state

and social hierarchy. According to Bakunin, society is divided into two main classes

which are fundamentally opposed to each other. The oppressed class, he variously

described as commoners, the people, the masses or the workers, makes up a great

majority of the population. It is in 'normal' time not conscious of itself as a class,

though it has an 'instinct' for revolt and whilst unorganised, is full of vitality. The

numerically much smaller oppressing class, however is conscious of its role and

maintains its ascendancy by acting in a purposeful, concerted and united manner.

The basic differences between the two classes, Bakunin maintained, rests upon the

ownership and control of property, which is disproportionately in the hands of the

minority class of capitalists. The masses, on the other hand, have little to call their

own beyond their ability to work.

Bakunin was astute enough to understand that the differences between the two

main classes is not always clear cut. He pointed out that it is not possible to draw a

hard line between the two classes, though as in most things, the differences are

most apparent at the extremes. Between these extremes of wealth and power

there is a hierarchy of social strata which can be assessed according to the degree

to which they exploit each other or are exploited themselves. The further away a

given group is from the workers, the more likely it is to be part of the exploiting

category and the less it suffers from exploitation. Between the two major classes

there is a middle class or middle classes which are both exploiting and exploited,

depending on their position of social hierarchy.

The masses who are the most exploited form, in Bakunin's view, the great revolutionary

class which alone can sweep away the present economic system. Unfortunately,

the fact of exploitation and its resultant poverty are in themselves no guarantee

of revolution. Extreme poverty is, Bakunin thought, likely to lead to resignation

if the people can see no possible alternative to the existing order. Perhaps, if driven

to great depths of despair, the poor will rise up in revolt. Revolts however tend to

be local and therefore, easy to put down. In Bakunin's view, three conditions are

necessary to bring about popular revolution.

They are:

sheer hatred for the conditions in which the masses find themselves
the belief the change is a possible alternative
a clear vision of the society that has to be made to bring about human emancipation

Without these three factors being present, plus a united and efficient selforganisation,

no liberatory revolution can possibly succeed.

Bakunin had no doubts that revolution must necessarily involve destruction to

create the basis of the new society. He stated that, quite simply, revolution means

nothing less than war, that is the physical destruction of people and property.

Spontaneous revolutions involve, often, the vast destruction of property. Bakunin

noted that when circumstances demanded it, the workers would destroy even their

own houses, which more often than not, do not belong to them. The negative,

destructive urge is absolutely necessary, he argued, to sweep away the past.

Destruction is closely linked with construction, since the "more vividly the future is

visualized, the more powerful is the force of destruction."

Given the close relationship between the concentration of wealth and power in

capitalist societies, it is not surprising that Bakunin considered economic questions to

be of paramount importance. It is in the context of the struggle between labour

and capital that Bakunin gave great significance of strikes by workers. Strikes, he

believed, have a number of important functions in the struggle against capitalism.

They are necessary as catalysts to wrench the workers away from their ready

acceptance of capitalism; they jolt them out of their condition of resignation.

Strikes, as a form of economic and political warfare, require unity to succeed, thus

welding the workers together. During strikes, there is a polarization between

employers and workers. This makes the latter more receptive to the revolutionary

propaganda and destroys the urge to compromise and seek deals. Bakunin

thought that as the struggle between labour and capital increases, so will the

intensity and number of strikes. The ultimate strike is the general strike. A

revolutionary general strike, in which class conscious workers are infused with

anarchist ideas will lead, Bakunin thought, to the final explosion which will bring

about anarchist society.

Bakunin's ideas are revolutionary in a very full sense, being concerned with the

destruction of economic exploitation and social/political domination and their

replacement by a system of social organisation which is in harmony with human

nature. Bakunin offered a critique of capitalism, in which authority and economic

inequality went hand in hand, and state socialism, (e.g. Marxism) which is one sided

in its concentration on economic factors whilst, grossly underestimating the dangers

of social authority.

State

Bakunin based his consistent and unified theory upon three interdependent platforms, namely:

human beings are naturally social (and therefore they desire social solidarity)
are more or less equal and,
want to be free

His anarchism is consequently concerned with the problem of creating a society of

freedom within the context of an egalitarian system of mutual interaction. The

problem with existing societies, he argued, is that they are dominated by states that

are necessarily violent, anti-social, and artificial constructs which deny the fulfilment

of humanity.

Whilst there are, in Bakunin's view, many objectionable features within capitalism,

apart from the state (e.g. the oppression of women, wage slavery), it is the state

which nurtures, maintains and protects the oppressive system as a whole. The state

is defined as an anti-social machine which controls society for the benefit of an

oppressing class or elite. It is essentially an institution based upon violence and is

concerned with its maintenance of inequality through political repression. In addition

the state relies upon a permanent bureaucracy to help carry out its aims. The

bureaucratic element, incidentally, is not simply a tool which it promotes. All states,

Bakunin believed, have internal tendencies toward self-perpetuation, whether they

be capitalist or socialist and are thus to be opposed as obstacles to human freedom.

It might be objected that states are not primarily concerned with political repression

and violence and that liberal democratic states, in particular, are much

interested in social welfare. Bakunin argues that such aspects are only a disguise,

and that when threatened, all states reveal their essentially violent natures. In

Britain and Northern Ireland this repressive feature of state activity has come

increasingly to the fore, when the state has been challenged to any significant

degree, it has responded with brutal firmness.

And developments within Britain over the last couple decades tend to substantiate

another feature of the state which Bakunin drew attention to, the tendency toward

over increasing authoritarianism and absolutism. He believed that there were

strong pressures in all states, whether they are liberal, socialist, capitalist, or whatever,

toward military dictatorship but that the rate of such development will vary

according to factors such as demography, culture and politics.

Finally, Bakunin noted that states tend toward warfare against other states. Since

there is no internationally accepted moral code between states, then rivalries

between them will be expressed in terms of military conflict. " So long as there's

government, there will be no peace. There will only be more or less prolonged

respites, armistices concluded by the perpetually belligerent states; but as soon as

a state feels sufficiently strong to destroy this equilibrium to its advantage, it will

never fail to do so."

Religion

God as an idea was deeply repulsive to Bakunin, it flew in the face of reason and

rational thought. God is very much a human creation, an "absolute abstraction

without reality, content and determination", in other words it is absolute nothingness.

God and religion are both human fantasies projected through a "crooked

mirror", in fact a distortion of life on earth. The belief in God destroys human "solidarity,

liberty, co-operation and community". Human love becomes transferred to

the nonsense of love for something which does not exist and into religious charity.

For Bakunin, God and religion were the enemies of all oppressed classes and

indeed their role was to contribute to exploitation and oppression in concert with

the ruling class. The acceptance of the idea of God was for Bakunin the denial of

humanity, freedom and justice. He argued that if God is truth, justice and infinite life

then humanity must be "falsehood, gross injustice and death". Furthermore, by

accepting the existence of God, humanity becomes enslaved but since humanity

is capable of intelligence, justice and freedom, then God does necessarily not exist.

Religions for Bakunin are the result of human fantasy in which heaven is a "mirage".

Once installed, God naturally becomes the master in which people bow down

before him and submit to obedience and slavery. Of course Bakunin recognized

that God does not exist and that religion is a human form of organising and controlling

the masses. He proposed that whoever takes it upon themselves to become

prophet, revealer or priest (God's representative on earth) becomes the teacher

and leader. From that role religious leaders end up "commanding, directing and

governing over earthly existence". So, slaves of God become slaves of the Church

and State insofar as the latter is given the blessing of organised religion.

The organised religions of the world, particularly Christianity, have always allied

themselves with domination and even persecuted religions discipline their followers,

laying the ground for a new tyranny. All religions but again especially Christianity

were, states Bakunin, "founded on blood". How many innocent victims have

been tortured and murdered in the name of the religion of love and forgiveness.

How many clerics, even today, asks Bakunin, support capital punishment.

God does not exist. That is good enough reason for opposing religion. However,

religions also must be combated, says Bakunin, because they create an intellectual

slavery which in alliance with the state results in political and social slavery. Religions

demoralise and corrupt people. They destroy reason and "fill people's minds

with absurdities". Religion is an ancient form of ideology which, in alliance with the

state can be reduced to a simple statement - We fool you, we rule you.

Bourgeois Democracy

Political commentators and the media are constantly singing the praises of the

system of representative democracy in which every few years or so the electorate

is asked to put a cross on a piece of paper to determine who will control them. This

system works good insofar as the capitalist system has found a way of gaining

legitimacy through the illusion that some how the voters are in charge of running

the system. Bakunin's writings on the issue are of representative democracy were

made at the time when it barely existed in the world. Yet he could see on the basis

of a couple of examples (the United States and Switzerland) that the widening of

the franchise does little to improve the lot of the great mass of the population. True,

as Bakunin noted, middle class politicians are prepared to humble themselves

before the electorate issuing all sorts of promises. But this levelling of candidates

before the populace disappears the day after the election, once they are transformed

into members of the Parliament. The workers continue to go to work and

the bourgeoisie takes up once again the problems of business and political intrigue.

Today, in the United States and Western Europe, the predominant political system is

that of liberal democracy. In Britain the electoral system is patently unfair in its

distribution of parliamentary seats, insofar as some parties with substantial support

get negligible representation. However, even where strict proportional representation

applies, the Bakuninist critique remains scathing. For the representative system

requires that only a small section of the population concern itself directly with

legislation and governing (in Britain a majority out of 650 MP's (Members of Parliament)).

Bakunin's objections to representative democracy rests basically on the fact that it

is an expression of the inequality of power which exists in society. Despite constitutions

guaranteeing the rights of citizens and equality before the law, the reality is

that the capitalist class is in permanent control. So long as the great mass of the

population has to sell its labour power in order to survive, there can not be democratic

government. So long as people are economically exploited by capitalism

and there are gross inequalities of wealth, there can not be real democracy. As

Bakunin made clear, economic facts are much stronger than political rights. So

long as there is economic privilege there will be political domination by the rich

over the poor. The result of this relationship is that representatives of capitalism

(bourgeois democracy) "possesses in fact, if not by right, the exclusive privilege of

governing."

A common fiction that is expounded in liberal democracies is that the people rule.

However the reality is that minorities necessarily do the governing. A privileged few

who have access to wealth, education and leisure time, clearly are better

equipped to govern than ordinary working people, who generally have little free

time and only a basic education.

But as Bakunin made clear, if by some quirk, a socialist government were elected,

in real terms, things would not improve much. When people gain power and place

themselves 'above' society, he argued, their way of looking at the world changes.

From their exalted position of high office the perspective on life becomes distorted

and seems very different to those on the bottom. The history of socialist representation

in parliament is primarily that of reneging on promises and becoming absorbed

into the manners, morality and attitudes of the ruling class. Bakunin suggests that

such backsliding from socialist ideas is not due to treachery, but because participation

in parliament makes representatives see the world through a distorted mirror. A

workers parliament, engaged in the tasks of governing would, said Bakunin, end up

a chamber of " determined aristocrats, bold or timid worshipers of the principle of

authority who will also become exploiters and oppressors."

The point that Bakunin makes time and time again in his writings is that no one can

govern for the people in their interests. Only personal and direct control over our

lives will ensure that justice and freedom will prevail. To abdicate direct control is to

deny freedom. To grant political sovereignty to others, whether under the mantle of

democracy, republicanism, the people's state, or whatever, is to give others

control and therefore domination over our lives.

It might be thought that the referendum, in which people directly make laws,

would be an advance upon the idea of representative democracy. This is not the

case according to Bakunin, for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the people are not in a

position to make decisions on the basis of full knowledge of all the issues involved.

Also, laws may be a complex, abstract, and specialized nature and that in order to

vote for them in a serious way, the people need to be fully educated and have

available the time and facilities to reflect upon and discuss the implications involved.

The reality of referenda is that they are used by full-time politicians to gain

legitimacy for essentially bourgeois issues. It is no coincidence that Switzerland,

which has used the referendum frequently, remains one of the most conservative

countries in Europe. With referenda, the people are guided by politicians, who set

the terms of the debate. Thus despite popular input, the people still remain under

bourgeois control.

Finally, on the whole concept of the possibility of the democratic state: Bakunin

thought that the democratic state is a contradiction in terms since the state is

essentially about force, authority and domination and is necessarily based upon an

inequality of wealth and power. Democracy, in the sense of self-rule for all, means

that no one is ruled. If no one rules, there can be no state. If there is a state, there

can be no self-rule.

Marx

Bakunin's opposition to Marxism involves several separate but related criticisms.

Though he thought Marx was a sincere revolutionary, Bakunin believed that the

application of the Marxist system would necessarily lead to the replacement of one

repression (capitalist) by another (state socialist).

Firstly, Bakunin opposed what he considered to be the economic determinist

element in Marx's thought, most simply stated that " Being determines consciousness."

Put in another way, Bakunin was against the idea that the whole range of

'super structural' factors of society, its laws, moralities, science, religion, etc. were

" but the necessary after effects of the development of economic facts." Rather

than history or science being primarily determined by economic factors (e.g. the

'mode of production'), Bakunin allowed much more for the active intervention of

human beings in the realization of their destiny.

More fundamental was Bakunin's opposition to the Marxist idea of dictatorship of

the proletariat which was, in effect, a transitional state on the way to stateless

communism. Marx and Engles, in the Communist Manifesto of 1848, had written of

the need for labour armies under state supervision, the backwardness of the rural

workers, the need for centralised and directed economy, and for wide spread

nationalisation. Later, Marx also made clear that a workers' government could

come into being through universal franchise. Bakunin questioned each of these

propositions.

The state, whatever its basis, whether it be proletarian or bourgeois, inevitably

contains several objectionable features. States are based upon coercion and

domination. This domination would, Bakunin stated, very soon cease to be that of

the proletariat over its enemies but would become a state over the proletariat. This

would arise, Bakunin believed, because of the impossibility of a whole class, numbering

millions of people, governing on its own behalf. Necessarily, the workers

would have to wield power by proxy by entrusting the tasks of government to a

small group of politicians.

Once the role of government was taken out of the hands of the masses, a new

class of experts, scientists and professional politicians would arise. This new elite

would, Bakunin believed, be far more secure in its domination over the workers by

means of the mystification and legitimacy granted by the claim to acting in accordance

with scientific laws (a major claim by Marxists). Furthermore, given that

the new state could masquerade as the true expression of the people's will. The

institutionalising of political power gives rise to a new group of governors with the

same self-seeking interests and the same cover-ups of its dubious dealings.

Another problem posed by the statist system, that of centralised statist government

would, argued Bakunin, further strengthen the process of domination. The state as

owner, organiser, director, financier, and distributor of labour and economy would

necessarily have to act in an authoritarian manner in its operations. As can be seen

by the Soviet system, a command economy must act with decision flowing from

top to bottom; it cannot meet the complex and various needs of individuals and, in

the final analysis, is a hopeless, inefficient giant. Marx believed that centralism, from

whatever quarter, was a move toward the final, statist solution of revolution.

Bakunin, in contrast opposed centralism by federalism.

Bakunin's predictions as to the operation of Marxist states have been borne out of

reality. The Bolsheviks seized power in 1917, talked incessantly of proletarian dictatorship

and soviet power, yet inevitably, with or without wanting to, created a vast

bureaucratic police state.

Unions

Most of the left in Britain view the present structures of trade unions in a positive

light. This is true for members of the Labour Party, both left and right, and many

Marxist organisations. These bodies wish to capture or retain control of the unions,

pretty much as they stand, in order to use them for their own purposes. As a result,

there are frequently bitter conflicts and manoeuvrings within the unions for control.

This trend is most apparent in the C.P.S.A. where a vicious anti-Communist right wing

group alternates with the Militant Tendency and its supporters for control of the

union executive and full time posts. The major exception to this is the Socialist

Workers Party which advocates rank and file organisation, so long as the S.W.P. can

control it.

Bakunin laid the foundations of the anarchist approach to union organization and

the general tendency of non-anarchist unions to decay into personal fiefdoms and

bureaucracy over a century ago. Arguing in the context of union organisation

within the International Working Mens Association, he gave examples of how unions

can be stolen from the membership whose will they are supposed to be an expression

of. He identified several interrelated features which lead to the usurpation of

power by union leaders.

Firstly, he indicated a psychological factor which plays a key part. Honest,

hardworking, intelligent and well meaning militants win through hard work the

respect and admiration of their fellow members and are elected to union office.

They display self-sacrifice, initiative and ability. Unfortunately, once in positions of

leadership, these people soon imagine themselves to be indispensable and their

focus of attention centers more and more on the machinations within the various

union committees.

The one time militant thus becomes removed from the every day problems of the

rank and file members and assumes the self-delusion which afflicts all leaders,

namely a sense of superiority.

Given the existence of union bureaucracies and secret debating chambers in

which leaders decide union actions and policies, a 'governmental aristocracy'

arises within the union structures, no matter how democratic those structures may

formally be. With the growing authority of the union committees etc., the workers

become indifferent to union affairs with the exception, Bakunin asserts, of issues

which directly affect them e.g. dues payment, strikes etc. Unions have always had

great problems in getting subscriptions from alienated memberships, a solution

which has been found in the 'check off' system by which unions and employers

collaborate to remove the required sum at source, i.e. from the pay packet.

Where workers do not directly control their union and delegate authority to committees

and full-time agents, several things happen. Firstly, so long as union subscriptions

are not too high, and back dues are not pressed too hard for, the substituting

bodies can act with virtual impunity. This is good for the committees but

brings almost to an end the democratic life of the union. Power gravitates increasingly

to the committees and these bodies, like all governments, substitute their will

for that of the membership. This in turn allows expression for personal intrigues,

vanity, ambition and self-interest. Many intra-union battles, which are ostensibly

fought on ideological grounds, are in fact merely struggles for control by ambitious

self-seekers who have chosen the union for their career structure. This careerism

occasionally surfaces in battles between rival leftists, for example where no political

reasons for conflict exist. In the past the Communist Party offered a union career

route within certain unions and such conflicts constantly arose.

Within the various union committees, which are arranged on a hierarchical basis

(mirroring capitalism), one or two individuals come to dominate on the basis of

superior intelligence or aggressiveness. Ultimately, the unions become dominated

by bosses who hold great power in their organisations, despite the safeguards of

democratic procedures and constitutions. Over the last few decades, many such

union bosses have become national figures, especially in periods of Labour government.

Bakunin was aware that such union degeneration was inevitable but only arises in

the absence of rank and file control, lack of opposition to undemocratic trends

and the accession to union power to those who allow themselves to be corrupted.

Those individuals who genuinely wish to safeguard their personal integrity should,

Bakunin argued, not stay in office too long and should encourage strong rank and

file opposition. Union militants have a duty to remain faithful to their revolutionary

ideals.

Personal integrity, however, is an insufficient safeguard. Other, institutional and

organisational factors must also be brought into play. These include regular reporting

to the proposals made by the officials and how they voted, in other words

frequent and direct accountability. Secondly, such union delegates must draw their

mandates from the membership being subject to rank and file instructions. Thirdly,

Bakunin suggests the instant recall of unsatisfactory delegates. Finally, and most

importantly, he urged the calling of mass meetings and other expressions of grass

roots activity to circumvent those leaders who acted in undemocratic ways. Mass

meetings inspire passive members to action, creating a camaraderie which would

tend to repudiate the so-called leaders.

Revolutionary Organisation

Above all else, Bakunin the revolutionary, believed in the necessity of collective

action to achieve anarchy. After his death there was a strong tendency within the

anarchist movement towards the abandonment of organisation in favour of small

group and individual activity. This development, which culminated in individual

acts of terror in the late nineteenth century France, isolating anarchism from the

very source of the revolution, namely the workers.

Bakunin, being consistent with other aspects of his thought, saw organisation not in

terms of a centralised and disciplined army (though he thought self discipline was

vital), but as the result of decentralised federalism in which revolutionaries could

channel their energies through mutual agreement within a collective. It is necessary,

Bakunin argued, to have a coordinated revolutionary movement for a

number of reasons. If anarchists acted alone, without direction they would inevitably

end up moving in different directions and would, as a result, tend to neutralise

each other. Organisation is not necessary for its own sake, but is necessary to

maximise strength of the revolutionary classes, in the face of the great resources

commanded by the capitalist state.

However, from Bakunin's standpoint, it was the spontaneous revolt against authority

by the people which is of the greatest importance. The nature of purely spontaneous

uprisings is that they are uneven and vary in intensity from time to time and

place to place. The anarchist revolutionary organization must not attempt to take

over and lead the uprising but has the responsibility of clarifying goals, putting

forward revolutionary propaganda, and working out ideas in correspondence with

the revolutionary instincts of the masses. To go beyond this would undermine the

whole self-liberatory purpose of the revolution. Putchism has no place in Bakunin's

thought.

Bakunin then, saw revolutionary organization in terms of offering assistance to the

revolution, not as a substitute. It is in this context that we should interpret Bakunin's

call for a " secret revolutionary vanguard" and " invisible dictatorship" of that

vanguard. The vanguard it should be said, has nothing in common with that of the

Leninist model which seeks actual, direct leadership over the working class. Bakunin

was strongly opposed to such approaches and informed his followers that " no

member... is permitted, even in the midst of full revolution, to take public office of

any kind, nor is the (revolutionary) organization permitted to do so... it will at all

times be on the alert, making it impossible for authorities, governments and states

to be established." The vanguard was, however, to influence the revolutionary

movement on an informal basis, relying on the talents of its members to achieve

results. Bakunin thought that it was the institutionalisation of authority, not natural

inequalities that posed a threat to the revolution. The vanguard would act as a

catalyst to the working classes' own revolutionary activity and was expected to

fully immerse itself in the movement. Bakunin's vanguard then, was concerned with

education and propaganda, and unlike the Leninist vanguard party, was not to be

a body separate from the class, but an active agent within it.

The other major task of the Bakuninist organization was that it would act as the

watchdog for the working class. Then, as now, authoritarian groupings posed as

leaders of the revolution and supplied their own members as " governments in

waiting." The anarchist vanguard has to expose such movements in order that the

revolution should not replace one representative state by another 'revolutionary'

one. After the initial victory, the political revolutionaries, those advocates of socalled

workers' governments and the dictatorship of the proletariat, would according

to Bakunin try " to squelch the popular passions. They appeal for order, for trust

in, for submission to those who, in the course and the name of the revolution, seized

and legalised their own dictatorial powers; this is how such political revolutionaries

reconstitute the state. We on the other hand, must awaken and foment

all the dynamic passions of the people."

Anarchy

Throughout Bakunin's criticisms of capitalism and state socialism he constantly

argues for freedom. It is not surprising, then, to find that in his sketches of future

anarchist society that the principle of freedom takes precedence. In a number of

revolutionary programs he outlined which he considered to be the essential features

of societies which would promote the maximum possible individual and

collective freedom. The societies envisioned in Bakunin's programs are not Utopias,

in the sense of being detailed fictional communities, free of troubles, but rather

suggest the basic minimum skeletal structures which would guarantee freedom.

The character of future anarchist societies will vary, said Bakunin depending on a

whole range of historical, cultural, economic and geographical factors.

The basic problem was to lay down the minimum necessary conditions which

would bring about a society based upon justice and social welfare for all and

would also generate freedom. The negative destructive features of the programs

are all concerned with the abolition of those institutions which lead to domination

and exploitation. The state, including the established church, the judiciary, state

banks and bureaucracy, the armed forces and the police are all to be swept

away. Also, all ranks, privileges, classes and the monarchy are to be abolished.

The positive, constructive features of the new society all interlink to promote freedom

and justice. For a society to be free, Bakunin argued, it is not sufficient to simply

impose equality. No, freedom can only be achieved and maintained through the

full participation in society of a highly educated and healthy population, free from

social and economic worries. Such an enlightened population, can then be truly

free and able to act rationally on the basis of a popularly controlled science and a

thorough knowledge of the issues involved.

Bakunin advocated complete freedom of movement, opinion, morality where

people would not be accountable to anyone for their beliefs and acts. This must

be, he argued, complete and unlimited freedom of speech, press and assembly.

Freedom, he believed, must be defended by freedom, for to " advocate the

restriction of freedom on the pretext that it is being defended is a dangerous

delusion." A truly free and enlightened society, Bakunin said, would adequately

preserve liberty. An ordered society, he thought, stems not from suppression of

ideas, which only breeds opposition and factionalism, but from the fullest freedom

for all.

This is not to say that Bakunin did not think that a society has the right to protect

itself. He firmly believed that freedom was to be found within society, not through its

destruction. Those people who acted in ways that lessen freedom for others have

no place; these include all parasites that live off the labour of others. Work, the

contribution of one's labour for the creation of wealth, forms the basis of political

rights in the proposed anarchist society. Those who live by exploiting others do not

deserve political rights. Others, who steal, violate voluntary agreements within and

by society, inflict bodily harm etc. can expect to be punished by the laws which

have been created by that society. The condemned criminal, on the other hand,

can escape punishment by society by removing himself/herself from society and

the benefits it confers. Society can also expel the criminal if it so wishes. Basically

Bakunin set great store on the power of enlightened public opinion to minimise antisocial

activity.

Bakunin proposed the equalisation of wealth, though natural inequalities which are

reflected in different levels of skill, energy and thrift, should he argued be tolerated.

The purpose of equality is to allow individuals to find full expression of their humanity

within society. Bakunin was strongly opposed to the idea of hired labour which if

introduced into an anarchist society, would lead to the reintroduction of inequality

and wage slavery. He proposed instead collective effort because it would, he

thought, tend to be more efficient. However, so long as individuals did not employ

others, he had no objection to them working alone.

Through the creation of associations of labour which could coordinate worker's

activities, Bakunin proposed the setting up of an industrial assembly in order to

harmonise production with the demand for products. Such an assembly would be

necessary in the absence of the market. Supplied with statistical information from

the various voluntary organisations, who would be federated, production could be

specialised on an international basis so that those countries with in built economic

advantages would produce most efficiently for the general good. Then, according

to Bakunin, waste, economic crisis and stagnation " will no longer plague mankind;

the emancipation of human labour will regenerate the world."

Turning to the question of the political organisation of society, Bakunin stressed that

society should be built in such a way as to achieve order through the realisation of

freedom on the basis of the federation of voluntary organisations. In all such political

bodies power is to flow " from the base to the summit" and from " the circumference

to the centre" In other words, such organizations should be the expressions of

individual and group opinions, not directing centers which control people.

On the basis of federalism, Bakunin proposed a multi-tier system of responsibility for

decision making which would be binding on all participants, so long as they supported

the system. Those individuals, groups or political institutions which made up

the total structure would have the right to secede. Each participating unit would

have an absolute right to self-determination, to associate with the larger bodies, or

not. Starting at the local level, Bakunin suggested as the basic political unit, the

completely autonomous commune. The commune, on the basis of universal

suffrage, would elect all of its functionaries, law makers, judges, and administrators

of communal property.

The commune would decide its own affairs but, if voluntarily federated to the next

tier of administration, the provincial assembly, its constitution must conform to the

provincial assembly. Similarly, the constitution of the province must be accepted by

the participating communes. The provincial assembly would define the rights and

obligations existing between communes and pass laws affecting the province as a

whole. The composition of the provincial assembly would be decided on the basis

of universal suffrage.

Further levels of political organisation would be the national body, and, ultimately,

the international assembly. As regards international organisation, Bakunin proposed

that there should be no permanent armed forces, preferring instead, the creation

of local citizens' defence militias. Disputes between nations and their provinces

would be settled by an international assembly. This assembly, if required, could

wage war against outside aggressors but should a member nation of the international

federation attack another member, then it faces expulsion and the opposition

of the federation as a whole.

Thus, from root to branch, Bakunin's outline for anarchy is based upon the free

federation of participants in order to maximise individual and collective well being.

Bakunin’s relevance today

Throughout most of this pamphlet Bakunin has been allowed to speak for himself

and any views by the writer of the pamphlet are obvious. In this final section it might

be valuable to make an assessment of Bakunin's ideas and actions.

With the dominance of Marxism in the world labour and revolutionary movements

in the twentieth century, it became the norm to dismiss Bakunin as muddle-headed

or irrelevant. However, during his lifetime he was a major figure who gained much

serious support. Marx was so pressured by Bakunin and his supporters that he had to

destroy the First International by dispatching it to New York. In order that it should

not succumb to Anarchism, Marx killed it off through a bureaucratic maneuver.

Now that Marxism has been seriously weakened following the collapse of the USSR

and the ever increasingly obvious corruption in China, Bakunin's ideas and revolutionary

Anarchism have new possibilities. If authoritarian, state socialism has proved

to be a child-devouring monster, then libertarian communist ideas once again offer

a credible alternative.

The enduring qualities of Bakunin and his successors are many, but serious commitment

to the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism and the state must rank high.

Bakunin was much more of a doer than a writer, he threw himself into actual

insurrections, much to the trepidation of European heads of state. This militant

tradition was continued by Malatesta, Makhno, Durruti, and many other anonymous

militants. Those so-called anarchists who adopt a gradualist approach are an

insult to Anarchism. Either we are revolutionaries or we degenerate into ineffective

passivism.

Bakunin forecast the dangers of statist socialism. His predictions of a militarised,

enslaved society dominated by a Marxist ruling class came to pass in a way that

even Bakunin could not have fully envisaged. Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin outstripped

even the Tsars in their arrogance and brutality. And, after decades of reformist

socialism which have frequently formed governments, Bakunin's evaluations have

been proved correct. In Britain we have the ultimate insult to working people in the

form of "socialist Lords". For services to capitalism, Labour MP's are ultimately

granted promotion to the aristocracy.

Bakunin fought for a society based upon justice, equality and freedom. Unlike

political leaders of the left he had great faith in the spontaneous, creative and

revolutionary potential of working people. His beliefs and actions reflect this approach.

So, revolutionaries can learn much of value from his federalism, his militancy

and his contempt for the state, which in the twenty first century has assumed

gigantic and dangerous proportions. Bakunin has much to teach us, but we too

must develop our ideas in the face of new challenges and opportunities. We must

retain the revolutionary core of his thought yet move forward. Such is the legacy of

Bakunin.

With this in mind, the Anarchist Federation is developing a revolutionary anarchist

doctrine, which whilst being ultimately based on Bakunin's ideas, goes much further

to suit the demands of present-day capitalism. Ecological issues, questions of

imperialist domination of the world, the massive oppression of women, the automation

of industry, computerised technology, capitalist globalisation etc. are all issues

that have to be tackled. We welcome the challenge!