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Overview
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A Dedicated Anarchist
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A Dedicated Anarchist
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Sympathetic to revolutionary ideas since her days in St. Petersburg, Goldman was soon captivated by anarchism. In August 1889, she broke definitively with her husband, Jacob Kershner. Leaving Rochester for New York City, she plunged immediately into a life of political meetings, labor demonstrations and intellectual discussions.
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Goldman defined anarchism as "the philosophy of a new social order based on liberty unrestricted by man-made law; the theory that all forms of government rest on violence, and are therefore wrong and harmful, as well as unnecessary." The corresponding anarchist-communist belief that private property was inherently repressive and exploitative also resonated with her experiences and ideals. Desiring a state of absolute freedom and believing it would never come about through gradual reform, Goldman and her comrades advocated complete destruction of the State.
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Yet anarchists did not champion chaos or disorder. Trusting that human nature was inherently good, they believed free people would naturally form the most productive and just systems, entering into organizations strictly on their own accord. "Organization as the result of natural blending of common interests," Goldman wrote, "brought about through voluntary adhesion, Anarchists do not only not oppose, but believe in as the only possible basis of social life."
The numerous causes for which Goldman worked throughout her life were all expressions of her impassioned dedication to the anarchist principle of absolute freedom. In late 1889, she and her first great love and eventual life-long comrade, fellow Russian immigrant Alexander Berkman, "made a pact—to dedicate [themselves] to the Cause in some supreme deed, to die together if necessary, or to continue to live and work for the ideal for which one of [them] might have to give his life." Her eloquence and dedication quickly made her a popular speaker and a prominent member of New York's immigrant anarchist community.
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How to Cite This Page
For a bibliography:
Jewish Women's Archive. "JWA - Emma Goldman - A Dedicated Anarchist." <http://jwa.org/exhibits/wov/goldman/dedicated.html>.
For a footnote:
Jewish Women's Archive, "JWA - Emma Goldman - A Dedicated Anarchist," <http://jwa.org/exhibits/wov/goldman/dedicated.html>.
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