ABSTRACT
From the analysis of Bakunin’s work it may be said that while his philosophical justification for anarchism was flawed, his ‘praxis’ has been a major inspiration for ideas of social action and revolution that carry us through to the twentieth century. As well as having an influence on the main tendencies of anarchism mentioned above in the introduction to this chapter, Bakunin’s thought inspired a body of modern academic literature that was wary of attempts at large-scale rational political organisation, whatever the ideology that inspired it. In addition, Bakunin’s work provides us with an alternative socialist critique of Marx as well as the liberal tradition since Hobbes. Moving from the general to the specific, Bakunin’s ideas were particularly influential in Spain. Here the federalist movement, inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution, were influenced by two of Bakunin’s supporters (Giuseppe Fanelli and Elie Reclus). By 1873 the Bakunin anarchists numbered 54,000 in Spain (Schechter 1994). The anarchist tradition remains strong in that country despite their defeat as part of the republican movement by Franco in the 1930s.
