• Anarchism, individualism and communism: William Morris's critique of anarcho-communism

    Author(s):
    Ruth Kinna (see profile)
    Date:
    2020
    Group(s):
    Anarchism, Victorian Studies
    Subject(s):
    Socialism, Idea (Philosophy), History, Communism
    Item Type:
    Book chapter
    Tag(s):
    William Morris, individualism, anti-statism, History of ideas
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/pe32-yj83
    Abstract:
    This chapter discusses William Morris's rejection of anarchist communism as individualistic. The first discusses his treatment of anarchist communism as a generic form. It examines his motivations for advancing the critique and sets out the key concepts on which he later relied to develop his analysis of decision-making. The relationship between anarchism and individualism is discussed in the middle section, both in order to contextualise Morris’s understanding of these terms and to demonstrate how his awareness of anarchist and individualist politics gave way to the narrower system of ideological classification. His attempt to demonstrate how the inherent individualism of anarcho-communism ruled against collective agreement is the subject of the concluding part. It should become clear that the conjunction of anarchism and individualism that Morris sought to cement is dubious and that the boundaries between socialist traditions are more porous than he wanted to admit.
    Metadata:
    Published as:
    Book chapter    
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    3 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved
    Share this:

    Downloads

    Item Name: pdf lnsm_ch03_le_rk-changes-accepted.pdf
      Download View in browser
    Activity: Downloads: 468