Illegalism

Illegalismus is a historical political philosophy of anarchism in the early 20th century in France, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland, looked at the illegal actions as permissible revolutionary actions.

Survey

The movement is not easy to distinguish from banditry. Burglary and theft were considered to be goal-oriented practices. Targets were property and means rich landowners, businessmen, politicians and clerics. The Illegalismus was celebrated as a lifestyle based and developed against the background of the individual anarchism on Max Stirner and his egotism and broke with philosophical traditions of anarchist theory like Clément Duval and Marius Jacob expressed the theft spearheaded as a means of redistribution. The Illegalismus replaced the higher ideals in favor of free moral satisfaction of personal needs as materially disadvantaged.

Background

Even in philosophy in the boudoir muses de Sade on theft as a way to fulfill their own needs and criticized the distribution of wealth in society. Theft is here interpreted as a legitimate response to a higher natural law against the social order, which disadvantages the poor and needy.

Protagonists

There were several Illegalisten with differing methods. The best known are Jules Bonnot and his Bonnot gang and Georges Darien.

Criticism

Support of Illegalismus was strongly controversial and the anarchist milieu particularly rejected by those who anarcho-syndicalism and its relationship to the struggle of the labor movement provided via individualistic activism. Socialists argued that Illegalismus copy capitalist mentality and having a strong urge to nihilism.

After his imprisonment for harboring members of the Bonnot gang of formerly the Illegalismus supportive Victor Serge was a strong opponent. In the memoirs of a revolutionist, he compared him to " collective suicide ". Argued similarly Marius Jacob 1948: "I do not think Illegalismus can free the individual in today's society ... Basically Illegalismus is an act of rebellion more a matter of temperament than of political theory. "