You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Italian. (April 2023)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
View a machine-translated version of the Italian article.
Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 704 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Italian Wikipedia article at [[:it:Illegalismo]]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template {{Translated|it|Illegalismo}} to the talk page.
Illegalism is a tendency of anarchism that developed primarily in France, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland during the late 1890s and early 1900s as an outgrowth of individualist anarchism.[1][2] Illegalists embrace criminality either openly or secretly as a lifestyle. Illegalism does not specify the type of crime, though it is associated with theft and shoplifting.
Influenced by theorist Max Stirner'segoism,[3] some illegalists in France broke from anarchists. They argued that their actions required no moral basis and illegal acts were taken not in the name of a higher ideal, but in pursuit of one's own desires. In Paris, this milieu was centered on the weekly papers L'Anarchie and the Causeries Populaires (regular discussion groups meeting in several different locations in and around the capital each week), both of which were founded by Albert Libertad and his associates.[4]
Theoretical premise
Illegalism's premise is the rejection of law and the moral standards reflected by law. Illegalists contend that both written law and standards of morality perpetuate and reproduce capitalist thought, which they find oppressive and exploitative. The movement resists the order upheld by social institutions which emerge from this mode of production and its praxis thus reflects their vision for an individualist, yet cooperative, world beyond this order.[5] Illegalism is distinct from many leftist ideologies and movements in its diversion from certain thought on morality and visions for economic organization. A number of them are also unique in their embrace of individualist thought, which is not widely reflected in the anarchist tendency towards collectivism.[5] The revolutionary nature of the work did, however, necessitate a distinct social organization which promoted close communicative bonds between illegalists.[5] Their expression through individualist practice was also complementary to more cooperative movements of resistance.[6]
Its praxis largely involves direct intervention in economic affairs and seeks to subvert authoritarian, capitalist structures by reappropriating wealth through illegal acts such as theft, counterfeiting, swindling, and robbery. Many individualist anarchists already engaged in these practices out of necessity, since many of them were in positions of financial precarity. They attributed their financial status to the nature of capitalism, so these actions still had a distinct revolutionary component in these cases.[6] Burglary, bombing, and assassination were included in illegalist tactics and they were seen as acts of "individual reappropriation" or "propaganda by the deed." These actions were simultaneously seen as manifestations of and direct resistance to a desperate condition and their practice was meant to motivate revolutionary action by others (at least by those who maintained these moral premises for their work).[6]
Though both self-interest and political organizing played a role in the ideology of all illegalists, they were motivated by these respective factors to varying degrees. Participants viewed the movement differently, roughly along the lines of the distinction between those who ascribed to notions of "individual reappropriation" and "propaganda by the deed" and those who did not. Illegalists such as Clément Duval and Marius Jacob, who can be deemed proto-illegalists, aligned themselves with and were motivated by these ideological justifications. They committed crimes in hopes that they would be exemplary of revolutionary tactics and serve as educational tools in organizing a broader resistance movement. They saw their crime as influential in the way that it might subvert moral codes enforced by an unjust system and participated in illegalism in hopes of generating tangible structural change. In this way, they were not as closely affiliated with the individualist milieu than other illegalists.[5]
Other illegalists, such as Jules Bonnot, were less concerned with the propagandist component of praxis, but rather saw the crime itself as the insurrection. They valued life in a state of rebellion to their society over the promotion of social revolution.[5]
Clément Duval
Clément Duval
Clément Duval was considered the first illegalist and helped construct the theoretical basis for anarchist criminal activity. He was a line soldier in the Franco-Prussian war, during which he suffered injuries that would debilitate him for a decade. He then joined the Panther of the Batignolles, a radical Parisian affinity group oriented towards violating laws and menacing law enforcement. Shortly after joining the group, he spent a year incarcerated for stealing 80 francs. In 1886, he broke into a socialite's house to steal 15,000 francs and set the house on fire. His confession regarding the intentionality of the arson remains ambiguous. When apprehended by law enforcement two weeks later, he stabbed the officer repeatedly. He spoke to this action in an article in anarchist paper La Révolte, maintaining that "theft exists only though the exploitation of man by man... when society refuses you the right to exist, you must take it... the police-man arrested me in the name of Law, I struck him in the name of Liberty." In 1901, he was sent to the Devil's Island penal colony, colloquially known as the "dry guillotine." He escaped after about 20 failed attempts and moved to New York City, never renouncing his criminality or anarchism.[5]
Marius Jacob and the "Workers of the Night"
Marius Jacob
Marius Jacob was another prominent illegalist in pre-war France. He engaged in only minor theft as a new anarchist. He was then imprisoned for six months at age 17 for being caught with explosives, as a result of being set up by an agent provocateur. Following his release, his professional opportunities were sabotaged by law enforcement officers who communicated with all of his employers and promoted his termination. With the help of a couple anarchist affiliates, Jacob then impersonated a senior police officer in a staged pawnshop raid in Marseilles in May 1899. He spent some time traveling around Europe and was arrested in Toulon once he went back to France, to then be incarcerated in Aix-en-Provence.[6]
Like Duval, Jacob escaped prison. He was essentially unfazed by his imprisonment and returned to political resistance and illegal activity on a full-time basis. During the onset of the 20th century, he organized a group of anarchist illegalists who shared his experience of alienation from the world of traditional work. Named the "Workers of the Night,"[5] they dedicated their time to committing burglaries and dealing stolen goods. He was successful in his organization of a highly professional band of revolutionaries. They were centrally located in Paris but their practice was internationally expansive, operating throughout France, Italy, and Belgium. Individuals in the group assumed different roles which would work together cooperatively to effectively and efficiently carry out crime: the scouts, the burglars, and the fencers. This way, there were people responsible for observing and documenting potential sites for seamless crime, others who executed the robbery swiftly with the adequate tools at their disposal, and more who managed the resale of acquired goods, respectively.[6]
This band's work was employed such that it was consistent with the ideological values of the illegalist movement. They sought to directly threaten the material wealth of members of the ruling class, who they saw as perpetrators of an unjust system. Victims included the wealthy, priests, and military officials, who the band considered "social parasites." Likewise, impoverished people and those who they deemed socially useful (e.g., doctors, architects, and writers) were never targeted. Members were armed, but murder was only condoned in the event of necessary self defense and they prioritized escape tactics to reduce the potential for such interpersonal conflict.[6] Their avoidance of violent activity was distinct from the work of many illegalists and Jacob used the term "pacifistic illegalism" to distinguish them accordingly.[5]
According to Jacob, he was involved in a total of 106 burglaries. He generously estimated that this amounted to 5 million francs worth of goods. Most of the members of the band were arrested towards the end of 1903, after two of them were caught in a trap set up for them in Paris. Jacob was sentenced to lifelong manual labor in the penal colonies, alongside his affiliate Bour, who killed the police officer who caught them in Abbeville. In January 1906, Jacob was moved to a facility in the lies du Saint, where he spent nearly 9 years in chains. His incarceration was limited to 20 years because his mother organized a campaign for his release. He spent the rest of his life as a traveling salesman and committed suicide by morphine overdose in August 1954. He claimed that his suicide was simply an attempt to dodge the elderly experience.[6]
France's Bonnot Gang was the most famous group to embrace illegalism. The Bonnot Gang (La Bande à Bonnot) was a French criminal anarchist group that operated in France and Belgium during the Belle Époque from 1911 to 1912. Composed of individuals who identified with the emerging illegalist milieu, the gang utilized cutting-edge technology (including automobiles and repeating rifles) not yet available to the French police.
Octave Garnier and Jules Bonnot cofounded the Bonnot Gang. Originally referred to by the press as simply "The Auto Bandits," the gang was dubbed "The Bonnot Gang" after Jules Bonnot gave an interview at the office of Petit Parisien, a popular daily paper.
The group originated in Belgium, a location conducive to the congregation of political exiles and young men who wanted to escape obligation to serve in the French military. They fraternized over shared ideological values and began to organize in Brussels.
Garnier was incarcerated at the age of 17, yet found the world of work more alienating than that of crime or prison. During his time in the workforce, he was increasingly disillusioned to the practicality of radical economic change, dissatisfied even by the work of union leaders, who he considered as exploitative as the capitalists. In his biography, he identifies this period as the point at which he "became an anarchist. [He] was about 18 and no longer wanted to go back to work, so once again [he] began la reprise individuelle."[5] He was among those who found refuge from compulsory French military service in Belgium. This is where he encountered the editor of Le Révolte, a prominent anarchist paper in Brussels which upheld anarchist, individualist thought and activity.[5]
Literature such as this served as a catalyst for the expansion of illegalist thought. Another paper, l'Anarchie, included an article by Victor Kibalchich, which expressed the following sentiment: "In the ordinary sense of the word we cannot and will not be honest. By definition, the anarchist lives by expediency; work for him, is a deplorable expedient, like stealing... He takes no account of any conventions which safeguard property; for him, force alone counts. Thus we have neither to approve nor disapprove of illegal actions. We say: they are logical. The anarchist is always illegal - theoretically. The sole word 'anarchist' means rebellion in every sense." The paper was eventually controlled entirely by illegalists, with Kibalchich assuming a role as editor. This production of illegalist thought was opportune for the education and organizing behind the formation of the Bonnot Gang.[5]
Jules Bonnot differed from the other members of his gang in the sense that he did serve in the military. He used the experience as an opportunity to refine technical skills which would help him in his life of crime. He was also roughly 10 years older than the rest of the group, which was advantageous in that it gave him a distinct confidence and infectious measured recklessness. His first significant robbery was in July 1910, when he stole 36,000 francs from the home of a wealthy lawyer in Vienne. Garnier was on a panel of illegalists which gathered to hear Bonnot's account of a supposed homicide and recognized Bonnot as the right candidate to form an illegalist action group with.[5]
The Bonnot Gang committed its first robbery at a bank in Paris in December 1911, during which they shot a collection clerk, stole over 5,000 francs, and escaped in a stolen vehicle. They broke into a gun store a week later. A few days after this, in January 1912, they stole 30,000 francs from the home of M. Moreau and murdered him, along with his maid. They quickly became a target for law enforcement and did not hesitate to kill police officers who pursued them. They continued with patterns of robbery throughout the next couple of months, losing some members to arrest along the way. Garnier and Bonnet were among members who persisted in their resistance throughout this time. The prominence of both figures within the group was later reinforced by their high-profile deaths during separate shootouts with French police. In February of 1913, remaining members were tried and received their respective sentences to imprisonment and death.[5]
Suppression
Since their praxis was quite literally a resistance to legal order, it was almost inevitable that it would be suppressed by law enforcement. While some illegalists were able to spare themselves through arrangements with police officers that were sacrificial to others in the movement, hundreds of them were imprisoned long term. Draconian French laws of the time meant that prisoners such as Clément Duval (for the time that he was there) suffered conditions in penal colonies comparable to those of death camps.[6]
Unlike Duval, who remained staunch in his politics after escaping from prison,[5] incarceration motivated a number of illegalists to neglect the cause. They were effectively suppressed to the extent where their actions were mercenary and contradictory to the premise of their former ideology. In this way, the movement was directly silenced by state force and transformed into an economic cycle in which repression and "crime" were perpetuated.[6]
For example, following his arrest for harboring members of the Bonnot Gang, Victor Serge, once a forceful defender of illegalism, became a sharp critic. In Memoirs of a Revolutionary, he describes illegalism as "a collective suicide".[7]
Similarly, Marius Jacob reflected in 1948: "I don't think that illegalism can free the individual in present-day society. If he manages to free himself of a few constraints using this means, the unequal nature of the struggle will create others that are even worse and, in the end, will lead to the loss of his freedom, the little freedom he had, and sometimes his life. Basically, illegalism, considered as an act of revolt, is more a matter of temperament than of doctrine. This is why it cannot have an educational effect on the working masses as a whole. By this, I mean a worthwhile educational effect."[6] Ultimately, experience with and attitudes towards imprisonment worked to reconstruct some illegalists' perception of their practice. The legal consequences of their actions prompted a sense that their work was not worthwhile, as attempts towards self liberation and political influence involved the risk of being denied all freedom and capacity to organize meaningfully. This speaks to the efficacy of the state's use of force to suppress the political movement.[6]
Individualist anarchism is the branch of anarchism that emphasizes the individual and their will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions, and ideological systems. Although usually contrasted with social anarchism, both individualist and social anarchism have influenced each other. Mutualism, an economic theory sometimes considered a synthesis of communism, market economy and property, has been considered individualist anarchism and other times part of social anarchism. Many anarcho-communists regard themselves as radical individualists, seeing anarcho-communism as the best social system for the realization of individual freedom. Some anarcho-capitalists claim anarcho-capitalism is part of the individualist anarchist tradition, while others disagree and claim individualist anarchism is only part of the socialist movement and part of the libertarian socialist tradition. Economically, while European individualist anarchists are pluralists who advocate anarchism without adjectives and synthesis anarchism, ranging from anarcho-communist to mutualist economic types, most American individualist anarchists of the 19th century advocated mutualism, a libertarian socialist form of market socialism, or a free-market socialist form of classical economics. Individualist anarchists are opposed to property that violates the entitlement theory of justice, that is, gives privilege due to unjust acquisition or exchange, and thus is exploitative, seeking to "destroy the tyranny of capital,—that is, of property" by mutual credit.
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote realizing one's goals and desires, valuing independence and self-reliance, and advocating that the interests of the individual should gain precedence over the state or a social group, while opposing external interference upon one's own interests by society or institutions such as the government. Individualism makes the individual its focus, and so starts "with the fundamental premise that the human individual is of primary importance in the struggle for liberation".
Johann Kaspar Schmidt, known professionally as Max Stirner, was a German post-Hegelian philosopher, dealing mainly with the Hegelian notion of social alienation and self-consciousness. Stirner is often seen as one of the forerunners of nihilism, existentialism, psychoanalytic theory, postmodernism and individualist anarchism.
Jules Joseph Bonnot was a French soldier, anarchist, bank robber, and murderer. He is notorious for his role in the French anarchist band "The Bonnot Gang" that committed many crimes in early 20th century Paris, France.
The Bonnot Gang or The Tragic Bandits was a French criminal anarchist group that operated in France and Belgium during the late Belle Époque, from 1911 to 1912. Composed of individuals who identified with the emerging illegalist milieu, the gang used new technology, such as cars and repeating rifles not then available to the police.
According to different scholars, the history of anarchism either goes back to ancient and prehistoric ideologies and social structures, or begins in the 19th century as a formal movement. As scholars and anarchist philosophers have held a range of views on what anarchism means, it is difficult to outline its history unambiguously. Some feel anarchism is a distinct, well-defined movement stemming from 19th-century class conflict, while others identify anarchist traits long before the earliest civilisations existed.
Clément Duval was a famous French anarchist and criminal. His ideas concerning individual reclamation were greatly influential in later shaping illegalism. According to Paul Albert, "The story of Clement Duval was lifted and, shorn of all politics, turned into the bestseller Papillon."
Abele Rizieri Ferrari, better known by the pen name Renzo Novatore, was an Italian individualist anarchist, illegalist and anti-fascist poet, philosopher and militant, now mostly known for his posthumously published book Toward the Creative Nothing and associated with ultra-modernist trends of futurism. His thought was influenced by Max Stirner, Friedrich Nietzsche, Georges Palante, Oscar Wilde, Henrik Ibsen, Arthur Schopenhauer and Charles Baudelaire.
Octave Garnier was a French anarchist and founding member of the infamous Bonnot Gang.
Anarchism in France can trace its roots to thinker Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, who grew up during the Restoration and was the first self-described anarchist. French anarchists fought in the Spanish Civil War as volunteers in the International Brigades. According to journalist Brian Doherty, "The number of people who subscribed to the anarchist movement's many publications was in the tens of thousands in France alone."
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to anarchism:
Alphonse Gallaud de la Pérouse, better known as Zo d'Axa, was a French adventurer, anti-militarist, satirist, journalist, and founder of two of the most legendary French magazines, L'EnDehors and La Feuille. A descendant of the famous French navigator Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse, he was one of the most prominent French individualist anarchists at the turn of the 20th century.
The following is a list of terms specific to anarchists. Anarchism is a political and social movement which advocates voluntary association in opposition to authoritarianism and hierarchy.
Egoist anarchism or anarcho-egoism, often shortened as simply egoism, is a school of anarchist thought that originated in the philosophy of Max Stirner, a 19th-century philosopher whose "name appears with familiar regularity in historically orientated surveys of anarchist thought as one of the earliest and best known exponents of individualist anarchism". Egoist anarchism places the individual at the forefront, crafting ethical standards and actions based on this premise. It advocates personal liberation and rejects subordination, emphasizing the absolute priority of self-interest.
Henrirette Maîtrejean, known as "Rirette", was the pseudonym of Anna Estorges. She was a French individualist anarchist born in Tulle who collaborated on the French individualist anarchism magazine L'Anarchie along with Émile Armand and Albert Libertad. While participating in the journal she gave talks on anarcha-feminist and free love subjects. The first issue to bear her name as editor was published on 13 July 1911.
Individualist anarchism in Europe proceeded from the roots laid by William Godwin and soon expanded and diversified through Europe, incorporating influences from individualist anarchism in the United States. Individualist anarchism is a tradition of thought within the anarchist movement that emphasize the individual and his or her will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions, and ideological systems. While most American individualist anarchists advocate mutualism, a libertarian socialist form of market socialism, or a free-market socialist form of classical economics, European individualist anarchists are pluralists who advocate anarchism without adjectives and synthesis anarchism, ranging from anarcho-communist to mutualist economic types.
German individualist philosopher Max Stirner became an important early influence in anarchism. Afterwards Johann Most became an important anarchist propagandist in both Germany and in the United States. In the late 19th century and early 20th century there appeared individualist anarchists influenced by Stirner such as John Henry Mackay, Adolf Brand and Anselm Ruest and Mynona.
Insurrectionary anarchism is a revolutionary theory and tendency within the anarchist movement that emphasizes insurrection as a revolutionary practice. It is critical of formal organizations such as labor unions and federations that are based on a political program and periodic congresses. Instead, insurrectionary anarchists advocate informal organization and small affinity group based organization. Insurrectionary anarchists put value in attack, permanent class conflict and a refusal to negotiate or compromise with class enemies.
Anarchism in French Guiana has a short, and little recorded, history. The only continental territory in Latin America to remain under European control into the 21st century, Guiana has not seen the same political developments as most countries in the region. Still, anarchism has existed to some degree, mainly through the presence of political prisoners deported to the colony. In the modern era, anarchism has had a minor presence in the Guianan political milieu.
Marie Félicie Vuillemin was a Belgian individualist anarchist, known for her involvement with the Bonnot Gang. Born in Mons, she met the French anarchist Octave Garnier while working at an inn in Charleroi. Jointly suspected of robbing her workplace, they fled to Paris, where they joined a commune at the publishing house of the magazine L'Anarchie.
References
↑ Parry (1987), p.5: "The illegalists in this study,...As anarchist individualists, they came from a milieu whose most important theoretical inspiration was undoubtedly Max Stirner—whose work The Ego and Its Own remains the most powerful negation of the State, and affirmation of the individual, to date."
↑ Imrie (1994–95): "Parallel to the social, collectivist anarchist current there was an individualist one whose partisans emphasized their individual freedom and advised other individuals to do the same...Some individualists rebelled by withdrawing from the economy and forming voluntary associations to achieve self-sufficiency. Others took the route of illegalism, attacking the economy through the direct individual reappropriation of wealth. Thus theft, counterfeiting, swindling and robbery became a way of life for hundreds of individualists, as it was already for countless thousands of proletarians."
↑ Parry (1987), p.15: "A new generation of anarchists, spurred on by the individualist' ideas of Max Stirner, were to take as their point of departure exactly what Jean Grave objected to, that the rebel who secretly stole was no more than an ordinary thief. The developing theory of 'illegalism' had no moral basis recognizing only the reality of might in place of a theory of 'right'. Illegal acts were to be done simply to satisfy one's desires, not for the greater glory of some external 'ideal'. The illegalists were to make a theory of theft without the embarrassment of theoretical justifications."
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
