We make no secret that the following article is freely adapted from one on Anarchist Organisation, written by Luigi Fabbri in 1907. We feel that his main arguments for organisation are still relevant.
Without organisation, anarchist communism is as inconceivable as fire without fuel. And we propagate this idea not only for the reasons that we will state, but because we are equally persuaded that modern minds must be impregnated with its spirit, and especially the minds of the anarchist communists. Organisation for common goals with people of other parties and other ideas is useful, but in order to form an anarchist consciousness, to consider only those who are already anarchist communist, nothing will do but the organisation of the anarchist communists themselves, who must endeavour to be as libertarian as possible. And the development of a new anti-authoritarian consciousness among us — we for whom anarchist communism is often limited to a merely doctrinaire conviction — consists in this effort to make our organisations genuinely libertarian.
I do not know if we who favour it shall really succeed in building this organisation that we wish and overcoming the existing spirit of reluctance toward anything requiring long, patient work. But we want to begin this long, patient work in order not to neglect the powerful means of propaganda that is the attempt and the example. It may be that, despite all of our reasons, many things prevent the emergence of real, durable anarchist organisations, insofar as the anti-organisationalists do not cease to block our efforts.
It may be that one must still continue this depressing labour of Sisyphus, building things up in one place while others destroy it elsewhere, as has been the case among us for a few years. I do not know how long it may remain the case that our organisations appear here and there to impel our propaganda, meeting a pressing need, whereas we have a sporadic character. Those organisations which, because they have to be created from nothing, lack the continuity of existence and action, fall more frequently into these specific errors in their youth …
Why does this matter? Above all, because of the mere fact that present and past organisations had a short existence due to mistakes made, which are avoided only through experience gained by practice and not merely from concepts learned in pamphlets and newspapers.
We think that even most beautiful and perfect organisation is destined for death if its members, as erudite as they may be in theory, remain inert. The good of the organisation consists in the fact that, all things being equal, it is preferable that people who have decided on action be organised rather than disorganised. It is natural that an isolated individual who acts is worth more than a thousand inept and disorganised people.
Whether the propaganda needed to make the anarchist communist organisation we believe to be necessary emerge even briefly succeeds or not does not matter, up to a certain point. It will displease us not to succeed because we will not be able to harvest all the fruits which we hope for; but we will have at least propagandised for a concept that is inseparable from the idea of anarchist communism, we will have sown the seeds that will germinate one day or another. Propaganda for the organisation of anarchist communists will impose itself through the necessity of things; and it will be the merit of this propaganda if the organisation becomes our own, and not the damaged goods which our adversaries would have bequeathed us.
The ridicule that greets our attempts thus falls on deaf ears. We already know that, as long as bourgeois society survives, our attempts will not succeed or will turn out imperfect; but this conviction does not make us give up “propaganda by the deed.”
In the end, what is the revolutionary struggle, if not an innumerable series of attempts, of which only one, the last one, succeeds — which would not have succeeded if there had not been the preceding failures? In the same way, in terms of organisation, we seek to marshal all our forces in order to succeed; each defeat will bring us closer to victory, but each time we look for ways to make a better attempt with a less imperfect result. It will serve to shape consciousnesses a thousand times better than mere doctrinal preaching.
In addition, those who declare themselves enemies of organisation are such by habit, because they feel incapable of libertarian solidarity and, at base, do not know how to escape from this dilemma: to command or to be commanded. They have no “libertarian” consciousness and thus they theoretically do not see any other guarantee for individual freedom than isolation, the lack of any pact and any freely accepted bond. In practice, it is they who wish to direct the movement; and at the first attempt of others to resist their influence, at the first sign of independence from those who persist in thinking and acting in their own way, you hear them hurl excommunications, cry inconsistency and treason, and affirm that those who do not say and do as they do are no anarchists. Thus always did the priests of all times and all religions. One who is in good faith protests more against the form than against the substance.
They do not want an organisation, but they speak of accord, agreement, free contract and association! We shall not deal with such questions of terminology, and we shall limit ourselves to recalling, once and for all, that organisation means neither authority, nor government, nor humiliation, but only the harmonious association of the elements of the social body. As we want all people to be one day harmoniously associated, we advocate today in the struggle for the preparation of such a future, the harmonious association of anarchist communists. Organisation is a means to reach the end, and a means most in harmony with the sociological aims of anarchist communism.