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- Rudolf Rocker, "Anarcho-Syndicalism" Rudolf Rocker (1873 - 1958) is today best remembered as one of the most erudite and articulate libertarian theorists of the twentieth century. His writings contain countless penetrating insights into the nature of power and its effects on the human character and the social environment, but are also flavoured by a sensibility for practicalities, and are therefore not only educational but also highly useful in and applicable to daily life. At first glace the most striking character of Rocker's work is the patent and deeply humanistic desire underlying them for dignity and a meaningful life, not the sort of flimsy freedom to be enjoyed in propertied society, one based on licence and a disregard for the equal rights of others, but rather one based on reciprocity and mutual respect, a type of freedom to be enjoyed equally be all. The rather beautiful tone in Rocker's writing is, needless to say, fairly unique, and was appreciated by none other than Albert Einstein, amongst numerous others. The story of Rocker's own life is also revealing. Not only did he talk of liberty and equality, but he practised both in his own life. Rocker's heavy involvement with the Jewish community of London and his agitation against the Nazi regime in his native Germany reveals much about his character in this respect. This archive is dedicated to making available some of the writings of a brilliant mind, and without seeking to cast him as some some sort of infafllible, unquestionable idol, paying tribute to his prolific, passionate and dedicated efforts towards the cause of freedom and the creation of a more free, more humane world.
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"Anarchism recognises only the relative significance of ideas,
institutions, and social conditions. It is, therefore not a fixed, self
enclosed social system, but rather a definite trend in the historical
development of mankind, which, in contrast with the intellectual
guardianship of all clerical and governmental institutions, strives for
the free unhindered unfolding of all the individual and social forces in
life. Even freedom is only a relative, not an absolute concept, since it
tends constantly to broaden its scope and to affect wider circles in
manifold ways. For the Anarchist, freedom is not an abstract
philosophical concept, but the vital concrete possibility for every
human being to bring to full development all capacities and talents with
which nature has endowed him, and turn them to social account. The less
this natural development of man is interfered with by ecclesiastical or
political guardianship, the more efficient and harmonious will human
personality become, the more will it become the measure of the
intellectual culture of the society in which it has grown."