Bakunin on anarchy: selected works by the activist-founder of world anarchism

Abstract

The centralized state constitutes an inherently oppressive apparatus that inhibits social development and ensures the exploitation of the populace by a privileged minority. Genuine social emancipation requires the radical dissolution of all political, juridical, and religious institutions, rather than their capture or reform. While authoritarian models of socialism prioritize the conquest of state power as a necessary transitional phase, such centralization inevitably facilitates the rise of a new governing elite—specifically a bureaucratic and technocratic class that manages production through state-directed coercion. A viable alternative resides in the bottom-up organization of society through the free federation of autonomous communes and productive associations based on collective ownership. This model identifies the primary revolutionary force not in a disciplined vanguard or a privileged labor aristocracy, but in the instinctive aspirations for liberty found among the most marginalized strata of the proletariat and the peasantry. Human freedom is defined not as an individualistic abstraction but as a social reality achieved through collective labor and the mutual recognition of rights within an egalitarian framework. Consequently, representative democracy and universal suffrage are rejected as mechanisms that validate state sovereignty and mask the reality of minoritarian rule. The success of the social revolution thus depends upon maintaining the direct, spontaneous action of the masses to ensure that the emerging social order reflects the diverse needs and autonomy of its constituent members. – AI-generated abstract.