2862 - Mikhail Bakunin quotes

I haven't done quotes in quite awhile. I saw one by Mikhail Bakunin which got me looking for more. I found out he has some good quotes and some controversial quotes. I'll post some of the non controversial ones.

'Mikhail Bakunin was a Russian revolutionary anarchist, and founder of collectivist anarchism. He is considered among the most influential figures of anarchism, and one of the principal founders of the "social anarchist" tradition. Bakunin's enormous prestige as an activist made him one of the most famous ideologues in Europe, and he gained substantial influence among radicals throughout Russia and Europe.'



Liberty without socialism is privilege, injustice. Socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality.


The modern State is by its very nature a military State; and every military State must of necessity become a conquering, invasive State; to survive it must conquer or be conquered, for the simple reason that accumulated military power will suffocate if it does not find an outlet.


The liberty of man consists solely in this, that he obeys the laws of nature because he has himself recognized them as such, and not because they have been imposed upon him externally by any foreign will whatsoever, human or divine, collective or individual.


But I recognize no infallible authority, even in special questions; consequently, whatever respect I may have for the honesty and the sincerity of such or such an individual, I have no absolute faith in any person.


Freedom, morality, and the human dignity of the individual consists precisely in this; that he does good not because he is forced to do so, but because he freely conceives it, wants it, and loves it.


By striving to do the impossible, man has always achieved what is possible. Those who have cautiously done no more than they believed possible have never taken a single step forward.


Political Freedom without economic equality is a pretense, a fraud, a lie; and the workers want no lying.


Look at Christ, my dear friend: His life was divine through and through, full of self-denial, and He did everything for mankind, finding His satisfaction and His delight in the dissolution of His material being.


I am truly free only when all human beings, men and women, are equally free. The freedom of other men, far from negating or limiting my freedom, is, on the contrary, its necessary premise and confirmation.


The freedom of all is essential to my freedom.


The privileged man, whether he be privileged politically or economically, is a man depraved in intellect and heart.


Does it follow that I reject all authority? Perish the thought. In the matter of boots, I defer to the authority of the boot-maker.