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Contents : The Anarchist Library Anti-Copyright May 21 2012 Michail Bakunin The Reaction in Germany From the Notebooks of a Frenchman Michail Bakunin The Reaction in Germany From the Notebooks of a Frenchman 1842 From Bakunin on Anarchy translated and edited by Sam Dolgo 1971 Retrieved on February 23 rd 2009 from www.marxists.org 1842 2 This essay marks Bakunin s emergence from purely philosophical studies to active participation in revolutionary sociopolitical movements. Criticized by his friends as being too abstract the essay employs Hegelian philosophic language to justify a concept of permanent social and political revolution tailored to Bakunin s temperament. Its polemics are aimed at the compromisers who Bakunin called positivists as opposed to the radical negativists with regard of course to the status quo or establishment and the radicals. The religious tone of some passages mark the essay as belonging to the period before his study of socialist ideas a study which led to his public advocacy of atheism in 1860. Despite its vagueness and philosophic phrasing the essay is a call for social revolution for the realization of human freedom as the supreme end of history and an assertion of faith in the revolutionary capabilities of the lowest classes in society the poor. *** Freedom the realization of freedom: who can deny that this is what today heads the agenda of history . . . Revolutionary propaganda is in its deepest sense the negation of the existing conditions of the State. for with respect to its innermost nature it has no other program than the destruction of whatever order prevails at the time . . . We must not only act politically but in our politics act religiously religiously in the sense of freedom of which the one true expression is justice and love. Indeed for us alone who are called the enemies of the Christian religion for us alone it is reserved and even made the highest duty . . . really to exercise love this highest commandment of Christ and this only way to true Christianity. To the compromisers we can apply what was said in a French journal: The Left says two times two are four the Right two times two are six and the middle-of-the-road compromisers say two times two are ve. They never answer yes or no they say: To a certain extent you are right but on the other hand . . . And if they have nothing left to say they say: Yes it is a curious thing. . . . And as it is said of the Polish Jews that in the last Polish war they wanted to serve both warring parties 3 simultaneously the Poles as well as the Russians and consequently were hanged by both sides impartially so these poor souls vex themselves with the impossible business of the outward reconciliation of opposites and are despised by both parties for their pains. No the spirit of revolution is not subdued it has only sunk into itself in order soon to reveal itself again as an a rmative creative principle and right now it is burrowing if I may avail myself of this expression of Hegel s like a mole under the earth. Nevertheless visible manifestations are stirring around us hinting that the spirit that old mole has brought its underground work to completion and that it will soon come again to pass judgment. Everywhere especially in France and England social and religious societies are being formed which are wholly alien to the world of present-day politics societies that derive their life from new sources quite unknown to us and that grow and di use themselves without fanfare. The people the poor class which without doubt constitutes the greatest part of humanity the class whose rights have already been recognized in theory but which is nevertheless still despised for its birth for its ties with poverty and ignorance as well as indeed with actual slavery this class which constitutes the true people is everywhere assuming a threatening attitude and is beginning to count the ranks of its enemy far weaker in numbers than itself and to demand the actualization of the right already conceded to it by everyone. All people and all men are lled with a kind of premonition and everyone whose vital organs are not paralyzed faces with shuddering expectation the approaching future which will utter the redeeming word. Even in Russia the boundless snow-covered kingdom so little known and which perhaps also has a great future in store even in Russia dark clouds are gathering heralding storm. Oh the air is sultry and pregnant with lightning. And therefore we call to our deluded brothers: Repent repent the Kingdom of the Lord is at hand! To the Positivists we say: Open the eyes of your mind let the dead bury the dead and convince yourselves at last that the Spirit ever young ever newborn is not to be sought in fallen ruins! And we exhort the compromisers to open their hearts to truth to free themselves

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