Making Sense Of Anarchism: Errico Malatesta's Experiments With Revolution, 18891900
by Davide Turcato /
2012 / English / PDF
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Many historians consider naIvety, absurdity and stupidity as anarchism's obvious attributes. They emphasize the abysmal gap between the anarchists' aims and means, their ideal and reality. Yet could the gap be between reality and the observer's understanding, instead? Or is 'making sense of anarchism' a hopeless oxymoron? Davide Turcato addresses these questions as he investigates the ideas and action of one of the most prominent and underrated anarchists, the Italian, Errico Malatesta, during the central years of his life. The methodological presumption of rationality is the book's driving principle in attempting a coherent interpretation of Malatesta's intentions, beliefs and actions. Between the two paths of liberal democracy and state socialism, anarchism has been unanimously regarded as a dead end Malatesta regarded it as an open road. Reassessed in the light of a 'principle of rational accommodation' his revolutionary attempts surprisingly appear as sound and rational experiments in the pursuit of the collective good.
