The goal for the Future. And here I say, what many men have said before; that Anarchy is the final state of man in a just & virtuous society. And that “Virtue” – that idea shouted down in this oh so modern and progressive new world – “is nothing else than kind and sympathetic feeling reduced into principle.” But, as Anarchy has been corrupted by those who believed in it, but fell to fear and despair, by those who misunderstood the message, and by those who fear it’s truth, I must tell you, first of all, what Anarchism is not.

It is not bombs, disorder, or chaos.
It is not robbery and murder.
It is not a war of each against all.
It is not a return to barbarism or to the wild state of man.
Anarchism is the very opposite of all that.

Anarchism means that you should be free; that no one should enslave
you, boss you, rob you, or impose upon you.
It means that you should be free to do the things you want to do;
and that you should not be compelled to do what you don’t want to do.
It means that you should have a chance to choose the kind of a life
you want to live, and live it without anybody interfering.
It means that the next fellow should have the same freedom as you,
that every one should have the same rights and liberties.
It means that all men are brothers, and that they should live like
brothers, in peace and harmony.
That is to say, that there should be no war, no violence used by one
set of men against another, no monopoly and no poverty, no oppression, no taking advantage of your fellow man.

In short, Anarchism means a condition or society where all men and
women are free, and where all enjoy equally the benefits of an ordered
and sensible life.

“Can that be?” you ask; “and how?”
“Not before we all become angels,” your friend remarks.
Well, let us talk it over. Maybe I can show you that we can be decent
and live as decent folks even without growing wings.

– Alexander Berkman.

“Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You – Live & Let Live.”