James Guillaume

Leader of the Anarchist Section of the First International

February 16, 1844 — November 20, 1916

Description : He later became one of the leading members of the Jura Federation, the Anarchist wing, of the First International. He met Bakunin in 1869, and adopted much of his anarcho-collectivist ideas. Both Guillaume and Bakunin were expelled from the International at the Hague Congress in 1872. (From : Anarchy Archives)

Tags : anarchist, jura federation, st. imier international, first international, bakuninist, anti-authoritarian, collectivist, anarcho-collectivist.

Quotes :

"The character of the revolution must at first be negative, destructive. Instead of modifying certain institutions of the past, or adapting them to a new order, it will do away with them altogether. Therefore, the government will be uprooted, along with the Church, the army, the courts, the schools, the banks, and all their subservient institutions. At the same time the Revolution has a positive goal, that the workers take possession of all capital and the tools of production." (From : "Ideas on Social Organization," by James Guillaume, written August, 1874, Part I.)
"...the priests and the bourgeoisie try to frighten the peasants by telling them that the Revolution will take their land away from them. This is an outrageous lie concocted by the enemies of the people. The Revolution would take an exactly opposite course: it would take the land from the bourgeoisie, the nobles, and the priests and give it to the landless peasants." (From : "Ideas on Social Organization," by James Guillaume, written August, 1874, Part I.)
"It is not with decrees, with words written on paper, that the Revolution will emancipate the people but with deeds." (From : "Ideas on Social Organization," by James Guillaume, written August, 1874, Part I.)
"When abundant food is available and free for all, civilization in general will have taken a giant step forward." (From : "Ideas on Social Organization," by James Guillaume, written August, 1874, Part IV, Section C.)
"...in a free society, the voluntary union of a man and a woman will no longer be an official but a purely personal matter, not subject to, or requiring, public sanction." (From : "Ideas on Social Organization," by James Guillaume, written August, 1874, Part IV, Section D.)
"There will probably be very little brigandage and robbery in a society where each lives in full freedom to enjoy the fruits of his labor and where almost all his needs will be abundantly fulfilled. Material well-being, as well as the intellectual and moral progress which are the products of a truly humane education, available to all, will almost eliminate crimes due to perversion, brutality, and other infirmities." (From : "Ideas on Social Organization," by James Guillaume, written August, 1874, Part IV, Section F.)
"...schools, arbitrarily governed by a pedagogue, where the children wait impatiently for the moment of their deliverance when they can enjoy a little freedom outside." (From : "Ideas on Social Organization," by James Guillaume, written August, 1874, Part IV, Section G.)
"It is painfully evident that authoritarianism is incompatible with an enlightened system of education." (From : "Ideas on Social Organization," by James Guillaume, written August, 1874, Part IV, Section G.)
"The truth cannot be decided by vote; it verifies and imposes itself by the mighty power of its own evidence." (From : "Ideas on Social Organization," by James Guillaume, written August, 1874, Part V.)
"The revolution cannot be confined to a single country: it is obliged under pain of annihilation to spread, if not to the whole world, at least to a considerable number of civilized countries." (From : "Ideas on Social Organization," by James Guillaume, written August, 1874, Part VI.)

Biography :

James Guillaume 1

James Guillaume was born in London, February 16, 1844 to George and Susanne Guillaume. Guillaume first became interested in Anarchism as a student in Zurich, and furthered his interest and understanding as a printer in Neuchatel, Switzerland. He later became one of the leading members of the Jura Federation, the Anarchist wing, of the First International. He met Bakunin in 1869, and adopted much of his anarcho-collectivist ideas. Both Guillaume and Bakunin were expelled from the International at the Hague Congress in 1872. In 1876 he wrote his essay Ideas on Social Organization. Guillaume was later active in founding the Anarchist St. Imier International. He played a large role in Kropotkins conversion to Anarchism. The two, Guillaume and Kropotkin worked together in Switzerland during the later 1870s as anarchist agitators. And soon after, in the early 1880s, Guillaume withdrew himself from the movement, only to become active again twenty years later in the Anarcho-Syndicalist movement. During this period he wrote L'International: Documents et Souvenirs, a four-volume work which is one of the more important pieces of work documenting the Anarchist point of view relating to the First International. In 1889 he became a French citizen. He edited Bakunins collected works published in French in 1907, as well as writing Bakunins biography. He died November 20, 1916.

From : Anarchy Archives.

Works :

Author of Ideas on Social Organization (November 30, 1875)

Author of Michael Bakunin, a Biographical Sketch (November 30, 1906)

Author of Federalism (March 31, 1871)

Chronology :

February 16, 1844 : James Guillaume's Birth Day.
November 20, 1916 : James Guillaume's Death Day.
November 15, 2016 : James Guillaume's Added.
January 09, 2022 : James Guillaume's Updated.

Links :

Anarchy Archives: James Guillaume Archive
http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/bright/guillaume/guillaume.html
Anarchist Library: James Guillaume
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/category/author/james-guillaume
Wikipedia: James Guillaume
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Guillaume

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