The Conquest of Bread

English language

Published Nov. 15, 2021 by Standard Ebooks.

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (8 reviews)

The Conquest of Bread is a political treatise written by the anarcho-communist philosopher Peter Kropotkin. Written after a split between anarchists and Marxists at the First International (a 19th-century association of left-wing radicals), The Conquest of Bread advocates a path to a communist society distinct from Marx and Engels’s Communist Manifesto, rooted in the principles of mutual aid and voluntary cooperation.

        <p>Since its original publication in 1892, <i>The Conquest of Bread</i> has immensely influenced both anarchist theory and anarchist praxis. As one of the first comprehensive works of anarcho-communist theory published for wide distribution, it both popularized anarchism in general and encouraged a shift in anarchist thought from individualist anarchism to social anarchism. It was also an influential text among the Spanish anarchists in the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s, and the late anarchist theorist and anthropologist David Graeber cited the book as an inspiration for the …

71 editions

"Lo primero, ¿cómo están los máquinas?"... pero con seres humanos

4 stars

Este clásico de la teoría política del comunismo libertario transmite la siguiente idea principal: la propiedad privada es una herramienta de la clase burguesa para mantener la desigualdad; es un robo desde el momento en el que el esfuerzo común e intergeneracional se copta para el su privado. Las tierras comunales, con los árboles podados especialmente para que todos puedan obtener varas, las tierras húmedas desecadas, la tierras roturadas, el conocimiento, la mejora de la productividad agrícola, etc. Todo ellos se produce de forma intergeneracional y colectiva. Privatizarlo es un espolio.

Si logramos producir los suficiente para todos ¿Por qué seguir distribuyendo las riquezas por todos de forma privativa? Es un sinsentido. Pero, ¿podemos determinar cómo contribuye exactamente cada persona a la producción para, en función de ello, otorgar un salario “justo” o es demasiado complejo? La naturaleza colectiva de la producción hace imposible un cálculo que obedezca a todos …

Review of 'The conquest of bread' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Required reading for anyone exchanging labor for wages.

I found the book quite sharp and still thought-provoking for something written a century ago. Its message is relevant as ever, as we're plunged into the dystopia of corporatism and decay by those at the top exploiting the labor force. It is radical and revolutionary and I would heartily recommend it for anyone interested in the actual meaning and nature of work and its dynamics and how societies organize and form around both labor and culture.

There's a reason this book is synonymous with anarchist communism

5 stars

Sure, some parts are out of date. But so much of it remains true even today. There's a saying about lectures that say that the best questions a lecturer can get are the ones answered by the very next slide. Well, that is exactly what happened to me, again and again, with the chapters of this book. Most amazingly, a question a friend raised in a discussion we had about chapter 8 was answered by the very first sentence of chapter 9. Can't be better than that.

Review of 'The Conquest of Bread' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

A classic, of course. Clear-eyed and practical, yet visionary; a a re-envisioning of a post-revolutionary society serving the needs of people from the bottom (of Maslow’s) up: first food, then shelter, then clothing, then everything else. Without the twin coercive expropriators of the capitalist and the state, there will be more than enough to create a pleasant society for all with minimal work and maximal leisure and pleasure. As a bonus, the lure of the above expropriators will be castrated because you can’t coerce and subjugate a populace whose needs are met.

avatar for euri

rated it

4 stars
avatar for KimeraGupta@bookwyrm.social

rated it

4 stars

Subjects

  • Communism
  • Anarchism

Lists