Can anyone point me to a history of 19th and 20th century individualists/insurrectionists?

Question

Or any documents, etc. of relevance?

Comments

I know nothing about 'Anarchism' (neither do I want to). However, I do wish to shed some light on 'insurrectionist'...

The earliest reference to the word 'insurrectionist' comes from the Holy Gospels... "[Jesus] Barabbas... was a notorious robber, murderer and insurrectionist (Matthew 27:17).

Actually, it was Judas the Galilean, a descendant of David and Jewish mashiach... come to overthrow the secular Herodian regime and re-establish the theocracy of David and Solomon. he (Judas the Galilean... known to us later-day people as "Jesus Christ") was crucified.

[Jesus] Barabbas was incongruously 'released from prison'.

Roland, -a reluctant iconoclast.

---

Waiter, there's some Messianic Judaism in my Anarchy 101.

I wish this was an answer -- I would downvote it so hard!

Answer 1

Be more specific. "Insurrectionist" is a very recent term and even if it isn't -really- recent in usage it is recent in its adaptation to the description of particular anarchists. Insurrectionist is not synonymous with, or even necessarily related to, "individualism" either.

I really wish I knew what an insurrectionist was, tbh. But as far as individualists go, that could describe anyone from Benjamin Tucker to Renzo Novatore but neither of them had very much in common, I would think. If one takes insurrectionist as a colloquial mutation of "insurrectionary anarchist", then I would say that I've seen specific groups of anarchist-communists described as insurrectionary anarchists (e.g., the Galleanist militants among the larger European immigration to America in the 20th century). Anarchist-communists in Russia also arguably had, at times, more in common with the individualist anarchists than other sects. So, there's a lot of gray area left untouched by the simplicity of your question.

Renzo Novatore's take on individualism: http://theanarchistlibrary.org/HTML/Renzo_Novatore__My_Iconoclastic_Individualism.html (Pretty much everything he wrote was a "take on individualism", but that's where he explicitly goes about taking it back and setting the terms of discourse).

Errico Malatesta reconciling egoist/individualist anarchism with communist-anarchism: http://theanarchistlibrary.org/HTML/Errico_Malatesta__Note_to_the_article__Individualism_and_Anarchism__by_Adamas.html

Also, there is "The Rebel's Dark Laughter" by Bruno Filippi: http://theanarchistlibrary.org/HTML/Bruno_Filippi__The_rebel_s_dark_laughter__the_writings_of_Bruno_Filippi.html

I'm offering this small portion of texts because they were either written by actual and committed individualist anarchists or, in the case of Malatesta's short notation, they demonstrate the resonance and effects of individualist anarchism within the larger milieu. This isn't even the tip of the iceberg, I'm sure.

Comments

Yes certainly and I have enjoyed the writings of Filippi & particularly Novatore before (Stirner even more). I was more looking for stuff about the (obviously diverse individuals, practices, movements, circles etc) currents like european non-mutualist individualists, Italian insurrectionists in Argentina & America, attentats and the propaganda by the deed period, and so on...

---

Then that makes you and me both. But I'm not really sure where to look.

Unfortunately, pro-revolutionary egoism and the like among anarchists has been momentarily lost through obscurity and intolerance, I believe.

Answer 2

authors to check out S.E. Parker, E. Armand, E. Bertran, John Henry Mackay, John Beverley Robinson, Dora Marsden.



(ps: there is a book about to be published called enemies of society. it's about the development of individualism and egoism--mostly it's historic documents and articles by the theorists.
i'm sure parts of it will be available online too.)

edit for punctuation and to add that the book is supposed to be out by early/mid april.

Comments

When is this Enemies of the State coming out, eh? This sounds too good to be true...

---

it is out now. it's available through little black cart.

---

regarding "Enemies": On LBC for 'Enemies of Society" as opposed to "of the State." - I'm working through it, and I recommend it.

Answer 3

the wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individualist_anarchism is a good start. There you will find aboput people as diverse as the free love/polyamory french individualist Emile Armand, the founder of french individualist journa Lánarchie Albert Libertad; the early german LGBT rights stirnerist Adolf Brand, the voluntary simplicity and ecologist american Henry David Thoueau, the vagabond nietzschetian-stirnerist colombian individualist Biofilo Panclasta, the italian-american  insurrectionary stirnerian adveturist Errico Arrigoni,  the spanish stirnerist exilee Miguel Gimenez Igualada, the anarchist-vegetarian bandits Bonnot Gang, the french and spanish individualist anarcho-naturists nudists, anarcho-futurist poets like Renzo Novatore, Dante Carnesecchi, Leda Rafanelli, Auro d'Arcola, and Giovanni Governato; epicurean-stoic french Han Ryner; french "social individualist" Charles-Auguste Bontemps; anti-bolchevik russian individualists like Alexei Borovoi and Lev Chernyi; the brazilian anarchoindividualist feminist Maria Lacerda de Moura; the american James L. Walker who wrote the extensive treatise called "the philosophy of egoism; and the germans Anselm Ruest (pseud. for Ernst Samuel) and Mynona (pseud. for Salomo Friedlaender) who were connected to the local expressionist artistic current and the transition from it towards dada.

Also in the wikipedia article "egoist anarchism" you will find about japanese sympathisers of Stirner such as Jun Tsuji who was a "japanese anarchist, epicurean and dadaist shakuhachi musician, actor, and bohemian."