By the time Freedom‘s September issue hit the streets in 1914 the disaster that was to become known as World War One was already underway, and anarchists found themselves shouting sanity into a world that no longer wanted to listen

~ Rob Ray ~

The edition is a curious beast, mixing a thunderous front page article denouncing the war (today’s reprint) with an otherwise very standard series of essays talking about anarchist literature, a bombing in New York and an appreciation of Edward Carpenter.

Most notorious are the articles by Freedom’s famed social commentator Peter Kropotkin, neither of which talk about the war at all with one analysing monopoly in the modern State, and a second musing over communist kitchens. This was in fact the public manifestation of a huge argument going on behind the scenes, in which the influential Russian was calling to aid the French against Germany, in the belief a victory for Prussian ideology would stifle the chances for social revolution. On the other side editor Tom Keell was firmly in the anti-war camp, calling for the public to reject the war and turn their ire on the ruling classes.

In the event, Keell won out, at least initially, with RR’s anti-war article taking prime position and Kropotkin filling in with something less controversial. The truce would last only until October, however, at which point the cracks in the Freedom Group would become a gaping chasm.

As for who RR was, the most famous figure and one whose views would fit with the article’s tone would be anarcho-syndicalist organiser and Arbeter Fraint editor Rudolf Rocker, who would have just had time to write it before his internment as an enemy alien in December 1914, but this would merely be speculation.

Blood and Iron

Who is responsible?, Now, when the red deluge has so suddenly and unexpectedly surprised the whole of Europe, we hear on every hand the same question: Who is responsible?

Evidently, each country has its own particular answer to the query. The rulers of every land throw the blame on their rivals, and the Press, whose special concern it is to manufacture “public opinion,” makes the necessary observations and comments. The Kaiser declares that it was the enemies of Germany who compelled him to wage war, and that he was the sole person in Europe who continually strove to maintain peace among the European nations. In England and France,on the other hand, the Kaiser is the “mad dog” of Europe, the only one who continually hindered and disturbed the peaceful relations of its peoples. And the Tsar, the red-handed executioner of Russian freedom, who converted Russia into a huge cemetery, and endeavoured to stifle the last hope of his oppressed subjects in a sea of blood — he talks of a holy war, a just war, in order to ensure the happiness and well-being of Europe!

And in all lands the sounding church-bells are calling the pious Christians to come and unite their prayers that the Lord should destroy the enemy, and bless “their banners.” The same God! the same Christians! the same Gospel, whose founder said, “ Love thy neighbour as thyself”!

What scandalous comedy! And how deep the ignorance and deception of the people who neither will nor can see this colossal and fraud, and the unscrupulous intrigue of their oppressors.

Who is responsible? you ask. Do not look for the responsibility in others. Look for it in yourselves. Seek it in the cursed system whose victims we all are; in the State capitalistic civilisation which is based on organised violence, on the shameful exploitation of all the nations!

You do not know, it seems, that we have been living in a state of war for many, many years past; you have ignored the war that is being waged daily in our beautiful society, therefore you now have a real war. You were silent when men, women, and children fell in great numbers upon the industrial field, therefore you now see your sons falling on the battlefield. For the same powers that deprived you of the fruits of your labour, and compelled you by hunger and starvation to create, riches for a minority of privileged thieves and idlers — the same powers will now take away the lives of your sons and brothers, and force you with their guns to die for their interests.

In a word, you did not want the revolution, so you now have war — the wholesale murder of the nations. The revolutionaries only appeared to you as Utopians, dreamers, unpractical men. Your rulers were more practical, and the thunder of cannon, lacerated human bodies, and rivers of blood now speak to you of the results of their practicability.

Who is to blame? Capitalism and its twin brother, the modern State! You yourselves are to blame, because you ignored the great doctrine of a new social culture, because you would not prevent the catastrophe while there was yet time to do so.

No-one knows what the future has in store for us. One thing, however, is certain: Capitalism is war — Socialism means peace among the nations. So long as the producing classes will allow a minority of privileged robbers to monopolise the fruit of their labour, and to condemn millions of human beings to a state of eternal misery, just-so long will you have war among the different races and nationalities. The immense fortunes that are today accumulating within the hands of a few do not arise merely from the usual exploitation of the workman by the master or — manufacturer, but are the result of international speculations in the great hunt for the domination of the world’s markets. That is why Capitalism in every country was obliged to increase the power of the modern State, and to develop militarism to such mad proportions. For a strong military and centralised State is the only guarantee for the realisation of the modern Imperialistic tendencies of Capitalism everywhere. Bat Imperialism means nothing else but the economic exploitation of other nations upon the basis of the exploitation of its own people. In other words, militarism is the inevitable result of the capitalistic regime, and therefore the cause of ceaseless strife.

The great misfortune is that the majority of people cannot see this connection, and many will gauge the culture of a nation by the strength of its armies and its external technical improvements. But this is one of the greatest mistakes ever made. Germany offers us the best instance for this. The national unity of that country, under the supreme rule of Prussia, upon a basis of, extreme militarism and an all-powerful bureaucracy, has certainly not produced what we call German culture. On the contrary, that unity has proved the greatest hindrance to the development of a true popular culture, and has always endeavoured to force the spiritual powers of the German people down to the level of the barracks.

The finest examples of German culture were produced before the military system and the renowned unity came into being. The classical philosophy of Germany, her wonderful art and literature — all that developed when the country consisted of separate little kingdoms, and had not yet come under the influence and domination of Prussian culture-hating militarism.

The so-called national unity and the conversion of Germany into a military State have no doubt been a great gain for German capitalism, but by no means for the culture of the German people. Under the rule of militarism, Germany has become a peril to the intellectual development of Europe/and a German victory in this war would be a great blow to every libertarian movement in Europe, a blow to the German people themselves.

The violation of France in 1870, and the annexation of Alsace- Lorraine, were the real causes of the crazy development of militarism in Europe. It is also known that Bismarck and the Prussian Junker class intended to make of France what has been made of Poland. To this end Bismarck carried on secret negotiations with England, and France was obliged to throw herself into the bloody arms of the Tsar in order to maintain her existence as an independent State. As a result of this we have witnessed the frightful development of Chauvinism all over Europe, the weakening of revolutionary and libertarian Socialism, and the triumph of the dread reaction under which the European peoples are groaning to this day.

The present war, the most outrageous crime mankind has ever seen, is but the last word of this reaction, tie last-word of Imperial, capitalist and the military State.

And not only in Germany, but wherever this system exists, the same results will follow. The best Constitutions and most glorious traditions of liberty will not prevent these evil consequences.

“You cannot combat militarism by means of Parliament.” This sentence was already pronounced as far back as forty years ago by the old democrat Johan Jakobi. A new revolutionary renaissance of the European people is the only means against this deadly enemy of mankind.

And it is not unlikely that the present bloody catastrophe will at last awaken the people from their indifference. The bitter pain and fearful suffering will perhaps make a deeper impression than the words of the revolutionaries. It is possible that the Social Revolution will be the last act in the present tragedy; possible that murderous, militarism will be drowned in the blood of its numberless victims; that the people of the different countries will unite against the bloody regime of modern Capitalism and its institutions, and finally produce a new social culture upon the basis of free Socialism. At the same time, the progressive elements must not lose courage, however great the disaster that has befallen us. We must be on our guard, and, if necessary, risk our lives for the triumph of a new social order.

~RR