Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today, I am honoured to present a brief exploration of Emma Goldman’s work and its relevance to understanding the complexities and challenges of our contemporary world.

Emma Goldman (1869-1940), a Russian-born American anarchist and feminist philosopher, offered profound insights into the social issues of her time, many of which resonate deeply with our current societal struggles.

 

Introduction

Emma Goldman was born in the Russian Empire to lower-middle-class Jewish parents of Lithuanian origin. As a young woman, she immigrated to the United States, envisioning it as a bastion of freedom and opportunity. However, she quickly became disillusioned by the stark realities of American capitalist society, which she perceived as ruthlessly exploitative and deeply oppressive, especially towards women and minorities.

Goldman’s experiences and observations led her to draw comparisons between Tsarist autocracy and American capitalism, both of which she saw as repressive systems that stifled true human freedom and dignity. Allured by Bolshevism at the outbreak of the October Revolution, she later denounced the Soviet regime as suppressive in her 1923 book entitled “Disillusionment in Russia”. Having initially been expelled from the United States in 1919, she left Russia four years later and spent the remainder of her life in Britain, France and Canada, being still philosophically involved and socially active until her death.

Her most famous book, her opus magnus on which this presentation revolves, was “Anarchism and Other Essays”, published while she was still in the United States, in 1910 – only years before the outbreak of one of the most consequential wars in western history: World War I.

 

The Suffering of People and Things

Drawing on Carl Jung’s concept of the “change of aeon,” we can observe that the contemporary West is experiencing significant turmoil and transformation. Post-modernist ideas have highlighted how language can be used as a tool of oppression, and how societal pathologies are exacerbated by the proliferation of divisive identities and conflicts. The human nature is peculiarly deified and we are perceived as the sole authors of our fate, a burden too heavy for any individual to bear. Nonetheless, not so for Emma Goldman: indeed, God is dead, as Nietzsche had earlier proclaimed; but in order to handle such a situation, humans need to assert responsibility, show courage and independent-mindedness, become more autonomous and poised to succeed. Where Nietzsche saw Ubermenschen, where Yuval Noah Harari today sees homines dei, Goldman saw a world made of Siegfrieds and Valkyries: brave, confident, unbowed.

In this era of glorified humanity, the people’s daily lives are increasingly unsatisfactory. Politicisation has infected divisively most aspects thereof: from our dietary choices to our fashion. The rapid pace of change, combined with the global interconnectedness and the looming threat of a menacing climate crisis, has left many feeling disoriented and disconnected. This pervasive sense of uncertainty and anxiety is evident in the widespread depression and lack of optimism and ambition among young people today, who seek refuge in novel group identities, spanning from the alt-right to Antifa and from neo-traditionalist doctrinaires to the LGBTQ community. The tide of radicalism seems invincible: the temperature in the public forum is rising.

In revisiting Emma Goldman’s anarchism, we can find a lens through which to examine these contemporary issues. Goldman identified property, government, and religion as the primary instruments of human repression, arguing that these institutions perpetuate domination and inhibit true human flourishing. The accumulation of wealth, she posited, creates profound social inequities, making genuine liberty, beauty and love unattainable for the masses. Among these goods, the latter, to love and to be loved, was for her the utmost entitlement, of which so many are being deprived.

We will examine five main areas of contemporary concern on which Emma Goldman’s analysis is still pertinent today: starting from her critique on capitalist democracy, we shall delve in her perception of the social, her views on property and the influence that new technological means exert on human life and the definition that she as an inspiring figure for the feminist movement gives to emancipation. Then, a brief reiteration of Goldman’s three social menaces and their centrality even today shall lead us to the conclusion of this presentation.

 

Economic and Political Critique

Goldman’s critique of capitalist democracy remains strikingly relevant. Despite regular elections, the influence of international organisations, NGOs, and global corporations has created a form of clientelism and serfdom akin to the homonymous Medieval arrangements. Today, giant conglomerates like Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, and Amazon hold unprecedented power, controlling vast amounts of data and influencing nearly every aspect of our lives.

The matrix is virtually inescapable. Such corporations dominate the market, stifling competition and amassing wealth in a manner reminiscent of the oligarchic systems Goldman criticised. The disparity between the cumulative market cap of these corporations and the global GDP underscores the extent of their influence and the challenges this poses to literally and substantively democratic governance.

 

Social Pathologies and the Quest for Justice

Goldman’s insights into social pathologies also find echoes in modern movements for justice. The George Floyd protests, for instance, highlighted deep-seated issues of racial injustice and systemic oppression in America. The fervour and outrage of these movements reflect Goldman’s archetype of the vigilant, questioning anarchist committed to justice. For Goldman the criminal is perhaps more sensitive and good-intentioned than the median layman, their difference being that the former’s energy is just misguided.

The contemporary landscape is fraught with complexities, with the strict socioeconomic divides on which Goldman bases her analysis having been significantly blurred. The intertwining of technology and daily life, in a way that their are inextricably blended with one another, the subsequent erosion of privacy and the concurrent retreat of many people to their own boules-de-rêve, result into the birth of new, particularised social movements that Goldman could not of course have foreseen but which resonate with her broader critiques regarding power and control over the people.

 

The Role of Property in Modern Society

The concept of property has evolved significantly since Goldman’s time. From the age of mass industrialisation, the baton has passed to a more social welfare-oriented post-war model of social democracy. However, the rise of global corporations and the increasing commodification of everyday life have led to new forms of economic dependency and inequality. Global corporations become effective landlords of aspects of our daily lives, while the republican system of governance is besieged by the interests of the few.

For many, homeownership remains a distant dream, with housing costs soaring and financial stability becoming ever more elusive. The control exerted by service providers, both online and offline, has created a new form of feudalism, where people are dependent on a myriad of services to maintain their standard of living. Alas, in lieu of dealing with these problems, the system tricks the people into submission: consumerism is today’s toy with which the people are enthused, as Goldman would phrase it. And the fickle baby has indeed new, actually insignificant, toys not only every day, but continuously being streamed, downloaded and scrolled by on their phones… pour passer le temps and remain socially insensitive and inactive, working day in and day out to keep up with each prevalent trend.

 

The Influence of Technology

In the digital age, the role of technology in shaping our lives cannot be overstated. Companies like Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, and Amazon actually control ad libitum the flow of information and the fabric of social interactions. This concentration of power poses significant challenges to individual autonomy and democratic governance. People are turning against people, in a world which is defined by isolation and self-absorption.

Artificial intelligence, in particular, presents both opportunities and threats. While it has the potential to revolutionise various sectors, it also raises ethical and existential questions about the future of work, privacy, and human agency. If the machine becomes your most reliable friend, colleague or advisor, then not only are you dependent therefrom but also you have been trapped into a matrix that requires submission.

 

The Ongoing Struggle for Emancipation

Goldman’s emphasis on the importance of individual autonomy and the struggle against oppressive systems remains relevant. The quest for true emancipation, whether economic, social, or political, continues to be a central challenge in our time, especially with regards to that of women. Take a look at these images: a traditional suburban patriarchal family from the American fifties, a female model in a suit posing for Vogue and a drawing of three old country-ladies. For Goldman, the image of the model is the same if not more despicable than that of the barbecuing suburbanites: a woman who thinks of herself as empowered just by imitating men, at an immense personal cost, abandoning her feminine nature and getting drained by the demands of her new boss, who is no more her husband, but her employer. The old submission gives in to a new one, in a system of persistent domination over women. For Goldman, our illiterate grandmothers who worked in the fields might have had much more feminine energy and liveliness than the modern working woman. Whatever rekindles real and innate aspects of the human nature is therefore to be sought after. The spirit of Ibsen’s Nora ignites: a woman’s greatest duty is that to herself – to keep her nature unfettered.

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, Emma Goldman’s work offers a compelling framework for understanding and addressing the travails of meta-modernity. Her critiques of property, government, and religion, alongside her observations on social pathologies and economic inequities, provide valuable insights for navigating our contemporary challenges. Her perception of freedom as a personal conquest is alluring as is her perception of the anarchist, who must take responsibility for effectuating and demonstrating a new, self-reliant and truly autonomous life paradigm in their own hands with bravery and decisiveness. By revisiting Goldman’s anarchism, we indeed gain a deeper appreciation of the systemic shortcomings that are apparent in our societies and explore pathways towards a more just and equitable world.

And fore-mostly, a path towards a more humane world. This demand remains still our challenge.

Thank you.

 

* Η ομιλία αυτή εκφωνήθηκε στα Αγγλικά ως εισήγηση στο 6o Διεθνές Συνέδριο Γυναικείων Σπουδών (GCWS), στην Ζυρίχη της Ελβετίας.