Anarchism and Other Essays
Emma Goldman's 1910 collection of essays on anarchism, women, prisons, political violence and art.
At a glance
Key ideas
Anarchism: What It Really Stands For, The Traffic in Women, Prisons: A Social Crime and Failure …
See all 5Reception
Early reviews, International Socialist Review
See all 2Connections
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- The essays set out Goldman's anarchist views, most notably on the oppression of women and the shortcomings of first-wave feminism.
- They also cover prisons, political violence, sexuality, religion, nationalism and drama.
- They were adapted from lectures she gave on fundraising tours for her journal Mother Earth.
- When publishers showed no interest, it was printed by Mother Earth's printers on credit.
Why it matters
- It was Goldman's first published book, and its essay "The Traffic in Women" has been cited in feminist discussions of marriage, sexuality and prostitution for a century.
Key facts
- Author
- Emma Goldman1
- Published
- 1910, Mother Earth Publishing Association, New York1
- Biographic sketch
- By Hippolyte Havel1
- Proofs edited by
- Alexander Berkman1
- Essays
- Twelve, from "Anarchism: What It Really Stands For" to "The Drama: A Powerful Disseminator of Radical Thought"1
Key ideas
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Anarchism: What It Really Stands For2
Anarchism liberates the mind from religion, the body from property and people from government.
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The Traffic in Women1
An earlier version, "The White Slave Traffic", appeared in Mother Earth in January 1910.
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Prisons: A Social Crime and Failure2
Crime as an outgrowth of an unjust economic system; quotes Dostoevsky and Oscar Wilde.
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Woman Suffrage2
Women are men's equals, but their vote will not purify the state.
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Property and power2
Property recognises only "its own gluttonous appetite for greater wealth, because wealth means power".
Reception
Connections
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