Emma Goldman

Emma Goldman's beliefs

The rejection of the state is the central idea of anarchist thought. Anarchists believe that state and government place morally unjustifiable restrictions on individual freedoms, as the state is founded on hierarchy and a coercive relationship between the ruler and the ruled. In her writings, Goldman argued that the state was a 'cold monster' and called it immoral.

Fig. 1 Emma Goldman

Goldman believed the way the state was organised stood in opposition to the needs of human nature. She also believed that the existence of the state prevented humans from exercising individual liberty and undermined social harmony.

In Goldman's view, the state uses its authority to protect the ruling classes and those who own property. In Patriotism: A Menace to Liberty (1908), Goldman argues that the state manipulates its population by encouraging patriotism, which in turn helps the state engage in military operations with other nations to expand its territories. For Goldman, the state creates conflict and war.

In her work, she outlined her rejection of capitalism and the influence that anarchist philosopher Peter Kropotkin had on her beliefs. Kropotkin argued that mutual aid and cooperation within species were the defining factors of evolution. He also embraced the idea that mutual aid and altruism are natural morality traits that exist biologically in humans. According to Kropotkin because humans were naturally altruistic, the state, and in particular the capitalist state, was an unnecessary protector of order.

In line with her views on the role of the state, Emma Goldman saw capitalism as incompatible with human needs. This was because capitalism aims to maximise profit and power and to this, it dehumanises the workers. This perspective, as well as her calling for a revolution, conforms with the thinking of anarcho-communism.

In her work The Hypocrisy of Puritanism (1917), Goldman argued that religion and the church are used to coerce people. Her criticism of religion was in line with the anarchist rejection of all forms of coercive relationships. Goldman, who was an atheist, believed that religion leveraged concepts of hell and heaven to force people into obedience against their own will.

She also argued that religion helped to uphold class inequality, as it kept the poor and working-class disillusioned, maintaining their belief that despite their struggles on earth, they would receive their reward in heaven. For Goldman, it was this disillusion that stopped people from realising the truly coercive nature of religion and rising up against it.

Emma Goldman and revolutionary violence

Whilst many anarchists oppose violence, Goldman was a supporter of the use of violence to bring about revolution and even participated in the Spanish Civil War to advance anarchism in Spain.

Goldman’s involvement in the Spanish Civil War came after her exile to Europe from the US. She was exiled due to the increased concerns over the spread of anarchist ideologies in the US. These concerns were exacerbated by the assassination of the 25th President of the United States, William McKinley, by anarchist Leon Czolgosz in 1901. As a result, subsequent governments sought to crack down on anarchism.

Anarchism and Other Essays

In 1910, Emma Goldman published a series of essays that outlined her relationship with anarchism, titled Anarchism and Other Essays. The collection of essays consisted of 12 works that use an anarchist framework to discuss a variety of issues, including violence and nationalism.

Emma Goldman and patriotism

One of the essays Goldman wrote was titled Patriotism: A Menace to Liberty, in which Goldman outlined her views on patriotism. In the essay, Goldman criticises America's use of patriotism, arguing that patriotism is used as a tool to justify the murder of people through militarism.

Goldman heavily criticised the US use of patriotism and how patriotism breeds ideals that make the people view themselves as superior to other nations. She argued that people are therefore willing to defend their nation from imagined threats by mobilising the military to commit acts of murder and violence.

Emma Goldman and women's rights

Emma Goldman was heavily concerned with the way women were perceived and treated in society. The use of anarchist perspectives to interpret and examine women's issues has been referred to as anarcho-feminism.

Fig. 2 The symbol for anarcha-feminism

Emma Goldman and Anarcho-feminism

Emma Goldman’s most distinguished contribution to anarchism was arguably how she linked it with feminism. Goldman viewed the patriarchy as a coercive hierarchy. Because anarchists oppose all forms of coercive relationships, Goldman not only challenged institutions such as the state, but she challenged the patriarchy too.

Challenging both of these institutions is something that the majority of anarchist thinkers had previously overlooked.

Although some refer to Goldman as an anarcha-feminist, Goldman sought to distance herself from the first-wave feminist current of her time. This is because first-wave feminism's main aim was the achievement of women's suffrage. As an anarchist, Goldman did not seek for the state to grant women the right to vote, but rather sought the abolition of the state itself.

As mentioned previously, in Goldman’s The Hypocrisy of Puritanism, she criticises the church and likens marriage to prostitution. In her view, those within the church condemn prostitution while upholding the idea of marriage, even though in both scenarios women are circulated and sold. Goldman was also a staunch critic of the double standards placed on women, male sexuality, and sexual freedom.

Emma Goldman's quotes

Here you can read some of Goldman's most famous quotes on anarchism and patriotism.

References

1 Goldman, Emma The Traffic in Women and Other Essays, 1970, p.20

2 Goldman, Emma “Patriotism, a Menace to Liberty” (Essay), 1911

3 Goldman Emma, Speech Given at Union Square, New York, 21 August 1893