The category of truth in Bakunin's political and legal theory

The subject of the study is the problem of truth in the political and legal theory of Mikhail Bakunin. The object of the study is the social relations that form different interpretations of the concept of truth in the teachings of M. Bakunin. The author examines in detail the correlation of truth in the works of the anarchist theorist from both a philosophical and a dogmatic point of view. It is analyzed in detail in the doctrine of interspersed jurisprudence from an economic point of view, as well as the theory of knowledge, which was understood by M.Bakunin as phenomena in their pure completeness without any admixture of fantasies, assumptions or other attachments of human consciousness, in which the difference between epistemology and law is manifested. Special attention is paid to M. Bakunin's reflection on the laws of nature and lawmaking. The main conclusions of the study are: - the reason for the utopianism of Bakunin's teaching, in our opinion, is his rejection of the legislative consolidation of the fundamental principles of law, which in turn replaces law with morality. A special contribution of the author to the study of the topic is the conclusion that the most developed economic liberalism in the middle of the 19th century in Russia was in Siberia, which was facilitated by the patronage of the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia Muravyov. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that for the first time M. Bakin's ideas about truth are analyzed not from the point of view of criticism of Marxism-Leninism, but from the philosophical and legal-dogmatic side.

RUSSIAN CHARACTERS IN THE WORKS OF RAMÓN DEL VALLE-INCLÁN

In 1929 and 1932, Valle-Inclán published two versions of a fragment from his novel Advantage of Swords. A Russian character is at the center of the plot: the narrative revolves around him, his appearance and personality are described in detail, he talks a lots and delivers speeches, while his name goes through a change. He is called Petr Kropotkin in the fi rst version and Mikhail Bakunin in the second one. The writer wanted to describe a Russian revolutionary, an anarchist, well-known in Spain — and for him it hardly mattered which one he would take: both persons were equally suitable for the role.

Introduction

This introductory chapter provides a brief background of anarchism. The competing varieties of anarchism endeavor to reconcile the seemingly conflicting claims of individual autonomy and collective struggle. Despite significant differences between the classical anarchists, the term “communal individuality” allows one to recognize affinities between the evolving connotations of anarchy embedded in the works — and deeds — of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Mikhail Bakunin, and Peter Kropotkin. In addition, a productive tension between individuality and communal solidarity fuels the fascinatingly contradictory work of two thinkers sometimes not considered part of mainstream anarchism — William Godwin and Max Stirner. In the years since the first edition of this book was published in 1999, the so-called “post-anarchist” turn has posed a challenge, in both activist and academic circles, to the canonical anarchism of Proudhon, Bakunin, and Kropotkin. The book focuses on links between anarchist self-activity and films that not only reflect, but often actively promote, workplace resistance, anarchist pedagogy, and anti-statist insurrections. It also broadens the definition of “anarchist cinema” to include discussion of films not made and produced by anarchists.

Making Terrorism Thinkable: The Philosophy of the Act and Its European Reception

This chapter challenges the widespread assumption that terrorist ideology was invented in the mid-nineteenth century by such figures as Pierre-Joseph Proudhon and Mikhail Bakunin. Instead, the chapter argues, the foundations of terrorism were laid at the end of the eighteenth century by the Enlightenment philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte and his disciples, who in turn exerted a strong influence on later radical thinkers. In showing how the intellectual reverberations of the French Revolution gave rise to anarchist ideology as well as acts of terrorism in Germany, the chapter traces a link between the state terror of the French Revolution and the emergence of insurgent terrorism.

Freedom from God: Periyar and Religion

This paper looks at South Indian rationalist and anti-caste leader Periyar EV Ramasamy’s approach to religion. Periyar saw Hinduism as a fundamental degradation of the non-Brahmin community in general, the Dalits in particular. Here, I draw parallels between Periyar and Russian anarchist Mikhail Bakunin, especially with regards to their radical readings of religion and social power. Similar to Bakunin who inverts Christianity to look at Satan as the original free thinker, Periyar inverts Ramayana to consider the asura Ravana as a Dravidian hero and a victim of Brahminical supremacy. A militant atheist and an avowed enemy of God, Periyar was nevertheless aware of the importance of religion in social life, and I briefly explore his qualified support for Islam and Buddhism and his rationale for urging the lower castes to convert to these religions. I conclude that reading Periyar in the anarchist tradition might open up new ways of understanding his political thought.

Associação Internacional dos Trabalhadores em Portugal (1871–1873)

A Associação Internacional dos Trabalhadores surge tardiamente em Portugal. É somente em 1871 que ela contacta com os socialistas portugueses, portanto, num momento em que suas lutas internas eram intensas. As lutas políticas sentidas na Primeira Internacional estarão constantemente presentes na construção da Internacional em Portugal. Este artigo propõe deixar claro como um país periférico, como Portugal, desempenhou um papel importante nas batalhas internas da Primeira Internacional, e explorar os contatos feitos pela Aliança de Democracia Socialista de Mikhail Bakunin, bem como pelo Conselho Geral da Internacional através de Karl Marx e Friedrich Engels. Estas sensibilidades pretendiam conquistar o controle do socialismo português e, de fato, os socialistas portugueses estavam receptivos aos dois campos políticos do internacionalismo.

The Initial Reception of the French Revolution

Practically from its inception, the French Revolution prompted educated Russians, regardless of their politics, to form an opinion of it. As the revolution progressed, instead of changing minds, it froze them, turning assumptions into beliefs and beliefs into dogma. Chapter 1 shows this to be true especially for Russians on opposite ends of the political spectrum. This was not true, however, of liberals such as Pushkin whose politics, by contrast, fluctuated greatly. The chapter concludes with analysis of ‘gentry-revolutionaries’ such as Mikhail Bakunin and Alexander Herzen, who applied to the actors in the French Revolution the same requirement of ‘moral wholeness’ that was an essential aspect of the Russian revolutionary movement as a whole.