Do not be deterred by the ‘anathema’ that has always been the word Anarchism. The issues Emma Goldman focuses on are, unfortunately, still as relevant as they were 100 years ago when these essays were written.
She has been accused of many things, but what no one could accuse her of is dishonesty. This honesty is reflected in the way her essays are constructed and her arguments formed. No alienating rhetoric, no pompous lingo so favoured by the Left. Talking from experience, not from theories, Emma Goldman’s call to arms is a call to Ethics, Justice and self-realisation. Putting equal weight on the social conditions, the authority structures but also the personal, human failure to act, her accussations are as close to home as ever. No stone remains unturned. Her essays try to uncover all hypocrisy, especially that of the liberals. She is the moral compass, the sleepless eye to reveal the dust on our self-proclaimed good deeds. The priestess that will forgive, as long as we finally look into that mirror.
‘Not for a hundred, not for five hundred years will the principles of anarchy triumph. But what has that to do with it?’
Essential reading for all.
Other info:
http://theanarchistlibrary.org/HTML/Emma_Goldman__Anarchism_and_Other_Essays.html
http://www.archive.org/details/anarchism_otheressays_0908_librivox
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