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Title: Emma Goldman: An Appreciation
Author: David Porter
Date: 1990, Summer
Language: en
Topics: biography, Emma Goldman, appreciation, Fifth Estate, Fifth Estate #334
Source: Fifth Estate #334, Summer, 1990, retrieved August 18, 2019 from https://www.fifthestate.org/archive/334-summer-1990/emma-goldman-an-appreciation/

David Porter

Emma Goldman: An Appreciation

Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869-May 14, 1940) was known as “the most

dangerous woman in America” by the press in such articles as those to

the right which chronicled a visit by her to Windsor, Ontario, across

the border from Detroit, in 1939. She certainly was this country’s most

famous anarchist in the early years of this century.

David Porter, author of Vision On Fire: Emma Goldman on the Spanish

Revolution and a frequent contributor to this paper, examines her life

and contributions within the context in which she flourished—the

building of an anarchist movement which would overthrow capitalism and

the state and create in its place a society of cooperation and peace.

[FE editors]

I

Every generation produces certain individuals whose vitality and clarity

of words and actions reawaken among others an intense passion for growth

and fulfillment. Such individuals help articulate and sustain the vision

of freedom. Emma Goldman was such a person. Throughout her dramatic

life, Goldman’s defiant words and actions powerfully reminded her own

and later generations of the vast potentials of human existence. Because

of the strength of her own visceral liberatory impulse, the biographical

contexts in which that impulse showed itself, and her subsequent efforts

to comprehend the implications of her own and others’ experience, Emma

Goldman became one of the most prominent articulators and symbols of a

whole era’s thirst for freedom.

II

“All claims of education notwithstanding, the pupil will accept only

that which his mind craves. Already this truth is recognized by most

modern educators in relation to the immature mind. I think it is equally

true regarding the adult. Anarchists or revolutionists can no more be

made than musicians. All that can be done is to plant the seeds of

thought. Whether something vital will develop depends largely on the

fertility of the human soil, though the quality of the intellectual seed

must not be overlooked. [1]

“Why do I lecture? Why do I travel through Canada? Why do I travel

through those countries that will admit me?

“Because people are so burdened with their worries and troubles that

they have no time to think of action to remedy them. I, and others with

me, merely awaken them. We do not force any violent change upon them.

The change must come from the soil and needs of the country.

“That is what happened in Spain at the time of the revolution. That was

merely a bursting of forces that had accumulated.

“My definition of revolution is nothing else but the bursting point of

the accumulated evolutionary forces that have preceded it.” [2]

Goldman spoke to the needs and consciousness of millions who found

inspiration from her words and an example for their own lives. The

“political success” of an anarchist speaker or writer is in reminding

others of their own fundamental aspirations to freedom, to fulfill their

own potentials—both in their individual lives and as members of a

community. The cyclical popularity of Goldman in the U.S. from the 1890s

to the present provides a historical commentary on the culture. One can

observe the openness to anarchist critiques and vision from one

generation to another. Thus, the “legend” of Emma Goldman refers both to

her own strengths of insight and articulation as well as to the cultural

contexts receptive to an anarchist perspective (in the U.S. from the

mid-1890s to World War I, and in Spain in the 1930s).

III

More successfully than any other figure in U.S. history, Emma Goldman

communicated an anarchist vision to a broad audience of immigrants and

native-born, middle class and workers. Goldman’s vivid imagery,

critiques and perspective successfully related issues like birth

control, free speech, the emancipation of women, freedom for Cuba,

workers’ struggles, sexual freedom, militarism and free schools to a

broader quest for freedom. When she later embraced the mass-based

Russian revolution (not the Bolshevik coup) and especially the social

revolution in Spain, her enthusiasm was the natural outcome of such

diverse commitments.

IV

The energy Emma Goldman herself derived from speaking to large and

diverse audiences was paid for in personal terms by the weariness of the

road and constant harassment by police and other right-wing elements. By

her early twenties, Goldman was aware of her astonishing public

abilities, as well as the personal cost attached to their use. Yet from

the bedrock of her instinctive and intellectual commitment to personal

and social liberation, Emma Goldman defiantly carried on for her whole

life—returning again and again to her public role as propagator of

anarchism. Periods of self-questioning, attacks from some of her own

comrades and the grief of personal tragedy or despair at developments in

the broader world did not deter her. If the validity of the anarchist

critique in the years of Goldman’s activism was apparent, it was

nevertheless a struggle—then as today—to sustain hope that individual

lives, communities and whole societies could move significantly in the

direction suggested by the anarchist vision. Despite recent biographers’

emphasis on Goldman’s anxieties, loneliness, despair, broodiness and

doubts (of which she herself provided abundant evidence in her

autobiography and private letters), it is clear that Goldman retained

her deep commitment during such times of questioning and emotional

distress. Again and again, she emerged as the defiant and articulate

activist the public had come to know.

“Something I have been thinking about very deeply since the May events

in Spain. It is whether we Anarchists have not taken the wish for the

thought. Whether we have not been too optimistic in our belief that

Anarchism had taken root in the masses. The war, the Revolution in

Russia and Spain, and the utter failure of the masses to stand up

against the annihilation in all countries of every vestige of liberty

have convinced me that Anarchism…has not penetrated the minds and hearts

of even a substantial minority, let alone the compact mass. Actually,

there is no Anarchist movement anywhere in the world. What we have got

is so insignificant, so piffling, it is ridiculous to speak of an

Anarchist organized movement. In other words, everywhere the soil for

our ideas has proven sterile. In Spain alone has the ground been

fertile. But even in Spain the harvest is still small. In our enthusiasm

we forgot the natural forces the young, tender plants will be subjected

to, the storm and stress, the drought and winds. We admit all this in

nature. But we were not willing to admit the forces that beset the

social growth. My dears, my dears, think of it, in a country in the

grips of feudalism and the Church almost to the moment of July 19th we

Anarchists imagined our ideas can be realized in one jump, rise from the

depths of enslavement and degradation to the very heights of

fulfillment, come to full fruition from the hard rocks of the past in

Spain. It was our mistake and we are now paying for it in the agony of

our bitter disappointment.

“…Anarchism is still very much ahead of its time. And I am convinced it

will take more than one revolution before our ideas will come to full

growth. Until then the steps will be feeble, our ideas no doubt [will]

fall from the heights many times and many will be the mistakes our

comrades are bound to make.

“Does that mean that I have lost faith in Anarchism, or that I think we

ought to sit hands folded? Of course not. In point of truth I think now

more than ever we must strain every nerve to bring our ideas before the

world. Now more than ever, because we have the living proof for our

claims that nothing can be gained from any association with governments

or political parties. Now we also have the living proof that it is

possible to build amidst destruction, amidst war and revolution, that

the Anarchists have been the only ones to begin such gigantic work.

However the Spanish revolution will end it has already given us

marvelous material to enhance the logic of our ideas. And it should also

give us greater courage to go on and on so long as there is a breath of

life in us.” [3]

V

Goldman’s fundamentally anarchist self-identity and vision of political

change are elements neglected or misinterpreted by some of her

biographers. It is accurate to portray Emma Goldman as an early,

courageous and articulate spokesperson for various causes. But in the

effort to paint Goldman primarily as a forerunner or an especially

articulate propagandist of a particular social cause or to place her

within broader socialist, progressive liberal or feminist “movement”

traditions whose legacies extend to the present, the visionary

wellspring of Goldman’s activism is usually lost. Emma Goldman was an

anarchist. Everything starts from there. Not that there is one single

definition or vision of the anarchist ideal. But the deep emotional

impulses of Emma Goldman’s personal rebelliousness against injustice and

for liberation found their greatest clarity through the anarchist lens.

It was through a coherent, articulate anarchist perspective, not

socialist, liberal or feminist frameworks, that Emma Goldman chose her

particular issues of struggle. In the process, she not only followed the

intellectual paths of anarchist comrades of her own time but also

personally expanded an articulate anarchist critique and

activism—especially in the realms of sexual freedom and women’s

liberation. The centrality of her anarchism should be clear.

“It has often been suggested to me that the Constitution of the United

States is a sufficient safeguard for the freedom of its citizens. It Is

obvious that even the freedom it pretends to guarantee is very limited.

I have not been impressed with the adequacy of the safeguard. The

nations of the world, with centuries of international law behind them,

have never hesitated to engage in mass destruction when solemnly pledged

to keep the peace; and the legal documents in America have not prevented

the United States from doing the same. Those in authority have and

always will abuse their power. And the instances when they do not do so

are as rare as roses growing on icebergs. Far from the Constitution

playing any liberating part in the lives of the American people, it has

robbed them of the capacity to rely on their own resources or do their

own thinking. Americans are so easily hoodwinked by the sanctity of law

and authority.”

….

“I consider Anarchism the most beautiful and practical philosophy that

has yet been thought of in its application to individual expression and

the relation it establishes between the individual and society.

Moreover, I am certain that Anarchism is too vital and too close to

human nature ever to die. It is my conviction that dictatorship, whether

to the right or to the left, can never work—that it never has worked,

and that time will prove this again, as it has been proved before.

…

“Anarchism alone stresses the importance of the individual, his

possibilities and needs in a free society. Instead of telling him that

he must fall down and worship before institutions, live and die for

abstractions, break his heart and stunt his life for taboos, Anarchism

insists that the center of gravity in society is the individual—that he

must think for himself, act freely, and live fully. The aim of Anarchism

is that every individual in the world shall be able to do so. If he is

to develop freely and fully, he must be relieved from the interference

and oppression of others. Freedom is, therefore, the cornerstone of the

Anarchist philosophy. Of course this has nothing in common with a much

boasted ‘rugged individualism.’ Such predatory individualism is really

flabby, not rugged. At the least danger to its safety it runs to cover

of the state and wails for protection of armies, navies, or whatever

devices for strangulation it has at its command. Their ‘rugged

individualism’ is simply one of the many pretenses the ruling class

makes to unbridled business and political extortion.” [4]

VI

Goldman also proved beyond question that themes and writings of

anarchist communism which emerged in late 19th century Europe could be

meaningfully translated for appeal to North Americans of both socialist

and liberal backgrounds. She was not the only one to do this. But

through her frequent speaking tours and by producing Mother Earth for

over ten years, she became by far the best known and most effective

exponent of this perspective.

Though she died in exile in 1940, in the mid-1960s she re-emerged as a

fascinating and powerful influence in both the women’s movement and

among radicals. Because of her mastery of the North American idiom, her

familiarity with the activist milieu, her perspectives and even much of

her actual phrasing seem absolutely contemporary and relevant. She was

also well-versed in the European movement, personally acquainted with

many European anarchists, and experienced with living, observing,

lecturing or political organizing in several European countries (the

Soviet Union, Germany, France, Britain and Spain), and Emma Goldman’s

influence on that continent was also significant and has had a revival

since the 1960s.

VII

“I insist that if we are willing to be critical of our opponents we

should be even more critical of our own comrades. I admit it is harder

to find fault with our own than it is with our enemies. But is this not

the principal trait of Anarchism which differentiates us from other

political groups?” [5]

“I have learned through experience that ideas are one thing and life

another. Whether we want it or not life imposes certain changes in our

outlook or simply passes us by.” [6]

“Whatever the price our comrades are paying in Spain they evidently had

to have their own, they had to act according to their own lights and not

according to ours. However I am not so sure that we in their place would

have been wiser and more consistent than our comrades. Don’t you agree

that there is a large amount of vanity in every one of us to think that

we would have acted otherwise? We insist on our superior knowledge and

understanding for events in private life as well as for large social

issues. We are never willing to admit that we actually do not know how

we would act were we in the place of those we so readily hold up to

scorn and condemnation until some emergency arises. The older I grow the

surer I become that it is extremely difficult to decide a mode of action

for either ourselves or others. All that we can really be sure of is

that we mean to try honestly to act in keeping with our ideas and our

faith.” [7]

“I believe that Anarchism can not consistently impose an iron-clad

program or method on the future. The things every new generation has to

fight, and which it can least overcome, are the burdens of the past,

which holds us all as in a net. Anarchism, at least as I understand it,

leaves posterity free to develop its own particular systems, in harmony

with its needs. Our most vivid Imagination can not foresee the

potentialities of a race set free from external restraints. How then can

anyone assume to map out a line of conduct for those to come’? We, who

pay dearly for every breath of pure, fresh air, must guard against the

tendency to fetter the future.” [8]

While Goldman was well aware of how “movement superstar” status fatally

seduced many of her contemporaries, her own talents and public

role—constantly made more spectacular by the paranoia of politicians and

the sensationalism of the press—objectively placed her at the same level

of attention. But Goldman’s anarchist commitment to non-hierarchical

organization and free speech, to the need to criticize oneself as well

as others, meant that any budding “Goldman cult of personality” was

doomed to failure. The present-day proliferation of “Emma Goldman”

collectives, cooperatives and bookstores, as well as the various recent

biographies and anthologies of her work, would have pleased her to the

extent that her anarchist principles are propounded and have become

better known. Beyond that, however, she was no more prepared herself

than she was to allow others to be reified or deified by movement status

or popularity. Goldman refused to “protect” her influence in the

anarchist movement by refraining to criticize her own comrades. She also

defiantly pursued topical issues (as female sexuality or the defense of

motives of Leon Czolgosz—the assassin of U.S. President McKinley), love

affairs (as with non-anarchist Ben Reitman), and projects (as the Mother

Earth magazine) which brought strong criticism from other anarchists.

As her anarchist perspective constantly evolved through new insights and

experience, she insisted on her own right to discover and articulate

fresh themes and refinements without total consistency with the past.

Her awareness of others’ “feet of clay” applied to herself as well.

By its very nature, anarchism must continually renew and re-define

itself. Throughout her life, Goldman exemplified this demand. Admirers

of Emma Goldman in generations to come should remember her healthy

balance of commitment without fanaticism, her denunciation of

authorities while resisting efforts to install “liberationist authority”

in their place. She searched endlessly for the best words to clarify

individual subjugation, to suggest alternative paths to freedom and ways

to strengthen one’s resolve to engage in the struggle. Her ultimate goal

was to help us carry out our own emancipation.

David Porter

Emma Goldman: An Appreciation

I

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V

VI

VII

Further readings by and about Emma Goldman available through FE