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Quote by Alexander Berkman

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The ABC of Anarchism

This book provides an in-depth exploration of anarchism, covering its core ideas, history, and impact on society. more

Author

Alexander Berkman
Alexander Berkman

Alexander Berkman, born on November 21, 1870, in Lithuania, and died on June 28, 1936, in the United States, was a Russian anarchist, social revolutionary, writer, and journalist. He was a prominent figure in the anarchist movement and his ideas and actions had a profound impact on the political and social movements of the early 20th century. more

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“Labourism was to be the bete noire of the Party, hated as much as the capitalist system itself. Its growth was to lead to the hardening of Party attitudes almost to the point where even the wish to improve everyday conditions was considered iniquitous. The resentment was heated by the fact that many of the rising Labour leaders had been fellow members of the Social Democratic Federation and once professed the revolution.No words were strong enough for the Party's contempt. In the the Socialist Standard they were 'fakirs', a strong allusion to self-seeking piety, and on the platforms 'Labour bleeders',...”

“Fourier's scheme of changing, by means of phalansteries, the water of all the seas into tasty lemonade was surely a phantastic idea. But Bernstein, proposing to change the sea of capitalist bitterness into a sea of socialist sweetness, by progressively pouring into it bottles of social reformist lemonade, presents an idea that is merely more insipid but no less phantastic.”

“Furthermore, the managerial ethos of parliamentary reformism is in direct tension with important values associated with the dialogue that attends our system of checks and balances. The term "parliamentary reform" should not be allowed to cloud the fact that the critics advance a highly pro-executive position that would seek a strong government primarily by undercutting the independence of Congress.”