Sébastien Faure 1858-1942

"The social structure threatens ruin. It is not ready to collapse, I do not mislead you there: there are cracks. However, the social structure is still solid and will need a heavy blow to demolish it. What is necessary, at the present time, is that a powerful breath of revolt rises and passes through all men of goodwill, for the arrogance of our Masters is made of our ignorance, their force is made of our weakness, their courage is made of our failure and their richness is made of our poverty! The spirit of submission degraded their characters, revolt will raise them; the practice of obedience curved their spines, revolt will straighten them; centuries of resignation undermined their humanity, the revolution will save it. As for us, the anarchists, we do not want to live any more as slaves. We declared a pitiless war against the System, yes, a war with the knife! We know that it is necessary for us to win or die. We have thus decided to battle, battle at every moment against all obstacles and all constraints: Religion, Capital, Government, Militarism, Police, etc.

And we are determined to carry out this battle until victory is complete. We want to not only be free ourselves, but that all men shall be free. As long as there will be chains, even if they would be gilded, even if they would be light, even if they would be slack, nevertheless they would bind us, we will not disarm: we want all the chains broken off, all and forever!"

~ From "REVOLUTIONARY FORCES" (Librairie sociale, Paris, 1921.)