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So all through history, past and modern, the sense of right and justice has inspired man, individually and collectively, to deeds of self-sacrifice and devotion, and raised him far above the mean drab- ness of every-day existence. It is tragic, of course, that this idealism expressed itself in acts of persecution, violence, and slaughter. It was the viciousness and self-seeking of king, priest, and master, ignornace and fanaticism which determined these forms. But the spirit that filled them was that of right and justice. All past experi- ence proves that this spirit is ever alive and that it is a powerful and dominant factor in the whole scale of human life. The conditions of our present-day existence weaken and vitiate this noblest trait of man, pervert its manifestation, and turn it into channels of intolerance, persecution, hatred and strife. But once man is freed from the corrupting influences of material interests, lifted out of the ignorance and class antagonism, his innate spirit of right and justice would find new forms of expression, forms that would tend toward greater brotherhood and goodwill, toward individual peace and social harmony. Only under anarchy could this spirit come into its full develop- ment. Liberated from the degrading and brutalising struggle for our daily bread, all sharing labour and well-being, the best qualities of man's heart and mind would have opportunity for growth and beneficial application. Man would indeed become the noble work of nature that he has till now visioned himself only in his dreams. It is for these reasonsthat anarchy is the ideal not only of some particular element or class, but of all humanity, because it would benefit, in the larger sense, all of us. For anarchism is the formulation of a universal and perennial desire of mankind. Alexander Berkman ABC of Anarchism (1929) p. 16-17