First published in 1979. Elisée Reclus was an important anarchist theorist whose contribution to the radical direction which the European anarchist movement assumed in the late nineteenth century, has been largely neglected by scholars. This study of his thought provides a basis for a general re-assessment of European anarchism, by contributing to an understanding of important dimensions of theory and practice, which previously have not been well understood. Amongst the aspects examined are the anarchist conception of the state, the nature of oppression and revolution and the role of violence and terrorism. One of the revealing and fundamental themes of this examination, is that the social and political theory of Elisée Reclus was the product of interaction of utopianism and science, two strands of thought frequently taken to be mutually exclusive. For Reclus the use of the scientific method served to strengthen his concept of Utopia, rendering it part of the real world. Within this context of utopianism and science, it can be seen that Reclus’ legendary benevolence, and his justification of violence are logically consistent, both deriving from his all-embracing social and political theory. This work presents a challenging approach to many widely held views about the nature of anarchism, particularly regarding its relationship to socialism.

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“Anarchy, in common with socialism, has as its basis, its point of departure, its essential environment, equality of conditions; its beacon is solidarity and freedom is its method.”—Errico Malatesta The most distinctive and universal anarchist principle is the principle of coherence between ends and means: human emancipation cannot be achieved by authoritarian means. However, the same principle could also be read in the opposite direction: our ends should not be disconnected from our action; our ideals should not be so lofty as to make no difference to what we do here and now. The anarchist whose deeds and words have best illustrated both sides of that principle—the “idealist” and the “pragmatist”—is Errico Malatesta. Never one to divorce thought from action, or retreat into dogmatism, his life and ideals remain an inspiration the world over. The Method of Freedom is the first collection to capture the full range of Malatesta’s thought over sixty years as an anarchist propagandist. The Method of Freedom collects Malatesta's most enduring long-form essays--including "Anarchy" and "Our Program"--together with previously untranslated articles from the numerous journals he edited over his long newspaper career. In fact, nearly two-thirds of the collected texts have been newly translated into English. Written in Malatesta's clear, accessible style, these essays are sure to excite a new generation of radicals.

THE attempt to conceive imaginatively a better ordering of human society than the destructive and cruel chaos in which mankind has hitherto existed is by no means modern: it is at least as old as Plato, whose "Republic" set the model for the Utopias of subsequent philosophers. Whoever contemplates the world in the light of an ideal - whether what he seeks be intellect, or art, or love, or simple happiness, or all together - must feel a great sorrow in the evils that men needlessly allow to continue, and - if he be a man of force and vital energy - an urgent desire to lead men to the realization of the good which inspires his creative vision. It is this desire which has been the primary force moving the pioneers of Socialism and Anarchism, as it moved the inventors of ideal commonwealths in the past. In this there is nothing new. What is new in Socialism and Anarchism, is that close relation of the ideal to the present sufferings of men, which has enabled powerful political movements to grow out of the hopes of solitary thinkers. It is this that makes Socialism and Anarchism important, and it is this that makes them dangerous to those who batten, consciously or unconsciously upon the evils of our present order of society. [...]