The sun., 1906-12-31
The Hyphenated Anarchists.

II is now announced that ALEXANDER
BERKMAN, who was recently liberated
from prison after serving a sentence for
an attempt upon the life OF HENRY G.
FRIcK, has opened printing shop in this
city. Furthermore, and that is impor-
tant to his welfare, BERKMAN no longer
calls himself an anarchist, but an an
archist-communist. The harnessing Of
these two titles, titles that separately
have won dubious notoriety, is not with
out meaning; it means that by his own
admission BKRKMAN is no olonger member
of the propaganda by force a section
Of the anarchistic party at whose doors
has been laid much evildoing. Whether
BERKMAN is sincere in his determination
TO avoid a harmful life we cannot say.
However, he has made the statement,
and as he seems TO be man of will there
is no reason why his word should be
doubted. He has elected to practise an
honorable profession. He is a master
printer. But printer may also propa-
gate pernicious literature that urges to
crime. Then the printer assumes the
role Of a firebrand. II BERKMAN plays
honest in the game he will dissociate
himself from the practices Of Russian
nihilism and stick to the printing press
and to his communistic anarchism. BERK-
MAN the anarchist sounds less attractive
than BERKMAN the printer.
What is this hybrid? Simply a graft
OF German Social Democracy upon
anarchy; PRoUDHoN and KARL MARX.
Modern anarchy-for the ancient variety
dates back to the willy serpent Of Eden
begins with PRoUDHoN and his once
famous work, What Is Property"
Appropriating a phrase Of BRIssoN's,
PIERRE JOSEPH PRoUDHoN developed it
into a system. This phrase was Prop
erty is theft" The French social revo-
lutionist boasted as his masters the Bible,
ADAM SMITH and HEoEL. Curiously
enough, KARL MARX, called the Father
of Socialism, was also proud Of being
q Hegelian. Yet he abused PRoUDHoN
for q very charlatan.
In its strictest Interpretation anarchy
t perfect, unfettered self-government,'
from an-drche, without government.
This Ia its ideal connotation. Commun-
ism, PRoUDHoN declared, is %the first
form and the final destiny of society; is
the first terminus Of social development;
property is the contradictory opposite
TO communism: il forms the second
terminus" He then, in a truly Hegelian
formula, deduces his thesis, antithesis
- IL kn hak
KARL MARX played hob with this thin
metaphysics. PRoUDHoN was nearer to
his own original ideal when he. said
property is liberty Yet he proclaimed
that property is the suicide of society,
q proposition that has become rather
stale with the years, though it has bobbed
.n with the usual serenity Of antique
tsllacies, its face nicely scrubbed by the
merry socialistic blades who give demo-
lition dinner parties, and resolve them
selves into socialistic groups, known on
che East Side as white mice" because
OF their propensity TO meddle and rush
In where honest rats fear to tread.
But we are not concerned with PROUD
HON and his theory that nothing is in
reality iess democratic than the people,
who display "a slavish love for author
ity'; II is with the evolution of the
revolutionary idea through the arid field
Of MAX sTIRNER's egoism-"My truth is
the truth he proclaimed-down the
swelling, turbid stream Of the Russians,
BAKUNIN at their head, the enigmatic
and theatric MICHAEL BAKUNIN, the
bosom friend of RICHARD WAGNER, and
10 this day regarded by many as a saint
and martyr, by others as an acute and
honorable minority an a humbug, a
marplot, q shallow, crackbrained dis