Emma Goldman’s Anarchism
“If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal.” — Emma Goldman
Emma Goldman (1869-1940) was a remarkable woman who dedicated her life to the cause of anarchism, a political philosophy that rejects all forms of authority and advocates for a society based on voluntary cooperation and free association of individuals and groups.
She was born in 1869 in Lithuania, then part of the Russian Empire, and grew up in a Jewish family that faced poverty and oppression. She immigrated to the United States in 1885, where she encountered the harsh realities of industrial capitalism and the struggles of the working class. She became involved in the anarchist movement after the Haymarket affair, a violent confrontation between workers and police in Chicago that sparked a wave of repression and the execution of anarchist activists.
Goldman was a prolific writer, speaker, and organiser who traveled across the United States and Europe, spreading the anarchist message and supporting various social causes, such as workers’ rights, women’s emancipation, birth control, free speech, anti-militarism, and anti-racism.
She founded and edited the anarchist journal Mother Earth, and published several books and essays, such as Anarchism and Other Essays, The Social Significance of the Modern Drama, and My Disillusionment in Russia. She also had a close relationship with Alexander Berkman, another prominent anarchist who attempted to assassinate the industrialist Henry Clay Frick in 1892 as an act of propaganda, the intention being a strategy of using direct action to inspire revolutionary change.
Goldman faced many challenges and hardships in her life, such as imprisonment, deportation, censorship, and persecution. She was arrested several times for inciting riots, distributing birth control information, and opposing the draft during World War I.
She was stripped of her US citizenship and deported to Russia in 1919, along with hundreds of other radicals, in the aftermath of the Bolshevik Revolution. She initially supported the revolution, but soon became disillusioned with the authoritarian and violent policies of the Soviet regime.
She left Russia in 1921 and spent the rest of her life in exile, living in England, Canada, and France. She continued to write and speak about anarchism and other topics, and participated in the Spanish Civil War in 1936-37, where she witnessed the achievements and challenges of the anarchist movement in Spain. She died in 1940 in Toronto, at the age of 70.
Emma Goldman was a passionate and courageous anarchist who lived her beliefs and inspired generations of activists and thinkers. She challenged the dominant ideologies and institutions of her time, and advocated for a radical vision of a free and egalitarian society.
She once said, "The most violent element in society is ignorance." She devoted her life to fighting ignorance and injustice, and to educating and empowering people to create a better world. She is a role model for anyone who values freedom, equality, and solidarity.
