A-Infos (en) Brazil, OSL, Libera #183 - The theory of anarchist political organization (party) in Bakunin - Felipe Corrêa 1 (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Abstract ---- This paper aims to present and discuss the theoretical 
conception of anarchist political organization (party) developed by 
Mikhail Bakunin during his anarchist period (1868-1876), in his writings 
and letters. This is a marginalized topic, even among authors who have 
studied Bakunin's life and work more deeply. ---- The history of the 
political organization founded in 1868 by Bakunin and other anarchists, 
which I have previously proposed calling the "Alliance," is little 
known. This is explained by the silence of its members, the lack of 
documents on the subject, and an "official version" of history 
constructed later by the anarchists themselves. Even so, it is now known 
that Bakunin and others were part of this organization, and that it had 
a public arm, better known, and a secret arm, less known to researchers. 
There is also now a consensus among Bakunin researchers that writings 
and letters written by him exist that address this topic, including 
programs and regulations of the Alliance itself.

Although it is not known to what extent what is in these documents was 
or was not applied in practice, there is no doubt that Bakunin discussed 
this topic and that, therefore, he possessed a conception (or even a 
theory) of anarchist political organization or party - and that this 
topic is an integral part of his broader political theory, which I 
discussed in more detail in my book Freedom or Death: Theory and 
Practice of Mikhail Bakunin .

Bakunin possesses an organizational theory that can be called 
organizational dualism: the notion that anarchist militancy should be 
organized simultaneously in two distinct and complementary spheres. One 
of them, the mass organization, represented at the time by the 
International (AIT); the other, the organization of cadres, specifically 
anarchist, represented by the Alliance.

This cadre or party organization constitutes a complementary 
organizational level to the mass level. It does not intend to impose 
itself on the masses nor to lead the revolutionary process. Its dual 
objective involves, on the one hand, stimulating the strengthening and 
radicalization of the mass organization; on the other hand, ensuring the 
preponderance of anarchist positions in the internal disputes of this 
organization. With this, it aims to motivate the masses to advance so 
that, by themselves, they can lead a social revolution and build a 
socialist and libertarian society.

For Bakunin, this anarchist party is internationalist, due to its 
conceptions of revolutionary process and mass organization. It is a 
party-type organization that, despite not participating in elections and 
not seeking to conquer the State, brings together members based on 
political-doctrinal principles. It is a secret organization that, 
depending on the context, can become simultaneously secret and public. 
It is a minority organization, a "cadre party," which has common 
principles, a strategic program, and criteria of conduct, necessarily 
shared by its members, in addition to broad internal democracy, based on 
federalism and self-management.

Keywords: Bakunin, anarchism, political organization, political party, 
cadre party

This paper aims to present and discuss the theoretical conception of 
anarchist political organization (party) developed by Mikhail Bakunin 
during his anarchist period (1868-1876), in his writings and letters. 
This is a marginalized topic, even among authors who have studied 
Bakunin's life and work most deeply.

The history of the political organization founded in 1868 by Bakunin and 
other anarchists, which I have previously proposed calling the 
"Alliance" (Corrêa, 2019, pp. 335-346), is little known. This is 
explained by the silence of its members, the lack of documents on the 
subject, and an "official version" of history constructed later by the 
anarchists themselves. (Vuilleumier, 1964, 1979) Even so, it is now 
known that Bakunin and others were part of this organization, and that 
it had a public arm, better known, and a secret arm, less known to 
researchers.

--------------------------------------------------

1- (Corrêa, 2019, pp. 335-346) There is also a consensus today among 
Bakunin scholars that there are writings and letters he authored that 
address this topic, including programs and regulations of the Alliance 
itself (Cf., for example, Bakunin, 2000a, 2000b, 2000c, 2000e, 2009)

Although it is not known to what extent what is in these documents was 
or was not applied in practice, there is no doubt that Bakunin discussed 
this topic and that, therefore, he possessed a conception (or even a 
theory) of the anarchist political organization or party - and that this 
topic is an integral part of his broader political theory, which I 
discussed in more detail in my book Freedom or Death: Theory and 
Practice of Mikhail Bakunin (Corrêa, 2019).

Bakunin possesses an organizational theory that can be called 
organizational dualism: the notion that anarchist militancy should 
organize itself simultaneously in two distinct and complementary 
spheres. One of them is mass organization, represented at the time by 
the International (AIT). Bakunin's strategic positions in this regard 
are better known and have been developed in more detail by authors such 
as Gaston Leval (1976, 2007) and René Berthier (2012, 2014, 2015). The 
other of these spheres is the organization of cadres, specifically 
anarchist, represented at the time by the Alliance. Bakunin's 
perspectives on this have been little studied and are even less known. 
This is precisely the topic that will be explored in depth in this text.

As I will argue, for Bakunin, this cadre organization or anarchist party 
constitutes a complementary organizational level to the mass level. It 
does not intend to impose itself on the masses nor to lead the 
revolutionary process. Its dual objective involves, on the one hand, 
stimulating the strengthening and radicalization of the mass 
organization; on the other, guaranteeing the preponderance of anarchist 
positions in the internal disputes of this organization. With this, it 
aims to motivate the advance of the masses so that, by themselves, they 
may lead a social revolution and build a socialist and libertarian 
society. This anarchist party is internationalist, due to its 
conceptions of the revolutionary process and mass organization. It is a 
party-type organization that, despite not participating in elections and 
not seeking to conquer the State, brings together members based on 
political-doctrinal principles. It is a secret organization that, 
depending on the context, can become simultaneously secret and public. 
It is a minority organization, a "cadre party," that has common 
principles, a strategic program, and criteria for conduct, which must be 
shared by its members, in addition to broad internal democracy based on 
federalism and self-management.

complementary organizational level

Bakunin considered that a revolutionary transformation strategy would be 
unfeasible without a mass organizational level, which should initially 
bring workers together for the immediate economic struggle and then 
proceed with practical education through class struggle, increasingly 
promoting the radicalization of its members and a gain in social 
strength capable of guaranteeing popular advancement towards social 
revolution and collectivist-federalist socialism. For the author, this 
mass organization, the International (AIT), would be the main 
protagonist in this complete emancipation of the workers. (Corrêa, 2019, 
pp. 511-531)

However, Bakunin also considered that, for the realization of this 
revolutionary strategy, a complementary organizational level would be 
indispensable, an organization of cadres, the Alliance.

To those who ask us what the good use of the Alliance is, when the 
International exists, we will answer: the International, it is true, is 
a magnificent institution; it is undeniably the most beautiful, the most 
useful, the most beneficial creation of the present century. It created 
the basis for the solidarity of the workers of the whole world. It gave 
them a beginning of organization across the borders of all states and 
outside the world of the exploiters and the privileged. It did more; it 
already contains today the first seeds of the organization of future 
unity, and, at the same time, it gave the proletariat of the whole world 
a sense of its own strength. It is true, these are the immense services 
it has rendered to the great cause of universal and social revolution. 
But it is absolutely not a sufficient institution to organize and direct 
this revolution. (Bakunin, 2014a, p. 82, emphasis added)

Mass organization is capable of uniting workers in a cause based on the 
immediate economic struggle and proceeding with the practical education 
of class struggle, which contributes to the development of solidarity 
and class consciousness among workers, and even to bringing them closer 
to more frankly revolutionary and socialist positions - undoubtedly 
essential elements for a social revolution. However, Bakunin considers 
that the International Workingmen's Association (IWA) lacks components 
of organization and leadership of the revolutionary process: "the 
International[...]is an immense means favorable and necessary to 
this[revolutionary mass]organization, but it is not yet that 
organization" - for that, the Alliance is essential. ( Bakunin, 2014a, 
p. 83)

This is not to say that workers, within their class organizations, are 
incapable of thinking and acting beyond their short-term interests. The 
author argues that the emancipation of workers must be the work of the 
workers themselves and, consequently, that it is the masses and their 
organizations that must lead the revolutionary transformation. Workers 
possess the capacity for both economic and political and cultural 
struggle, for both the struggle for reforms and the revolutionary 
struggle. Class consciousness and transformative capacity do not come 
from outside, nor should they be formulated and disseminated to workers 
by a core external to them. The revolutionary subject is constituted in 
the class struggle, and mass organization and its praxis are 
irreplaceable in this sense.

Thus, organizing and directing the revolution does not imply an 
organization foreign to the workers that uses them, in a hierarchical 
relationship of domination, as an auxiliary force for a revolutionary 
process in which the organization of cadres is the protagonist and whose 
immediate goal is the seizure of the State - such are the bases of 
Blanquism, quite distinct from anarchist socialism. The Alliance needs 
to provide a solution to the problem of the organizational nature of the 
International Workingmen's Association (IWA) and guarantee the 
preponderance of anarchist positions in the internal disputes of this 
association, especially those of a strategic and tactical nature. 
Organizing and directing the revolution is, therefore, to stimulate and 
guarantee the strengthening and radicalization of the masses, ensuring 
the programmatic line previously exposed and, through it, the process of 
change that will lead to freedom and equality. (Corrêa, 2019, pp. 531-549)

As Bakunin argues in his work on mass movements, the organization of 
cadres aims to "exert a more effective and powerful influence on the 
spontaneous movement of the popular masses" and to prevent their 
organizations from "degenerating" or becoming "official government 
or[...]dictatorship." But for this to happen, its members must discard 
the means of domination and relate to the workers in an 
anti-authoritarian way, relying on natural influence and benefiting from 
this two-way relationship. The members of the alliance "always have far 
more lessons to learn from the people than to give"; they need to work 
to be only "more or less qualified midwives of the revolution," and 
never its "creators and[main]actors." (Bakunin, 2000e, pp. 6-7, 16-17)

Initially, the organization of cadres can contribute to the process of 
practical education within the International Workingmen's Association 
(IWA), assisting in the fight against economism, corporatism, and 
reformism. However, due to historical contingencies, such sections may 
not exist or may not function as desired, and in these cases, the 
Alliance needs to assume their functions. It also has to deal with the 
problems involving the trade union nature of the International. The IWA 
articulates "the public and legal struggle of workers in solidarity from 
all countries against the exploiters of labor, capitalists, owners, and 
industrial entrepreneurs, but never goes beyond that." Even if in these 
instances it is possible to carry out "the theoretical propaganda of 
socialist ideas among the working masses"-which, like the immediate 
economic struggle, is very useful and necessary "for the preparation of 
the revolution of the masses"-this "is far from the revolutionary 
organization of the masses." (Bakunin, 2014a, p. 83)

But the justification for organizing cadres goes beyond that. It relates 
to the "public and legal struggle" and the limits of mass organization 
because the International continues to be a public association that 
operates within the law, at least in countries that allow such 
initiatives. A dilemma emerges here. Only the masses are able to 
accumulate the necessary strength, and they are the ones who must lead 
the emancipation of the workers; and an association that brings together 
and mobilizes the masses can only be a public organization, since the 
clandestine articulation of these enormous contingents is unfeasible.

Reflecting on the aims of the International Workingmen's Association 
(IWA), it becomes clear that they require articulations and actions that 
cannot be carried out publicly, at the risk of compromising the entire 
organization and its members, and that such aims exceed the legal limits 
of any statist and capitalist society. A work that has "a practical, 
revolutionary objective, mutual understanding, which is its necessary 
condition, cannot be done publicly." A considerable part of this effort, 
if carried out publicly, "would attract persecution from the entire 
official and unofficial world against the initiators, and they would 
find themselves crushed before they could do the slightest thing." In 
view of the repression of the State and the upper classes - a concrete 
threat to any revolutionary initiative - an organization that can act 
secretly, fulfilling essential functions, becomes paramount. (Bakunin, 
2014a, p. 89)

The organizational dualism advocated by Bakunin aims to solve this 
dilemma, since it proposes, on the one hand, a public and mass 
International and, on the other, an Alliance of cadres that acts 
secretly and even publicly. In this way, the social force of the masses 
is reconciled with the demands of clandestinity in revolutionary and 
socialist praxis.

In any case, one must never lose sight of the limitations of a 
management organization:

Revolutions[...]cannot be carried out by individuals or secret 
societies. They arise from circumstances, from the inevitable course of 
events, and can only succeed if they have the support of the masses. 
There are moments in history when revolutions are impossible and others 
when they are inevitable.[...]But propaganda and action can prepare the 
revolution. All that a well-organized secret society can do is, first, 
contribute to the outbreak of revolution by disseminating ideas that 
correspond to the instincts of the masses, and then organize, not the 
army of the revolution - the army must always be the people - but a kind 
of general staff composed of sincere, hardworking, and devoted friends 
of the people, "without ambition or vanity" and "capable of acting as 
intermediaries between the revolutionary idea and the popular instinct." 
(Lehning, 1974, p. 65)

In other words, the author makes it clear that the Alliance is 
simultaneously indispensable and quite limited. It plays a prominent 
role in its relationship with the International, but it cannot and does 
not have the means to carry out the social revolution itself. Therefore, 
it is the dualistic organization of the workers - mass organization and 
cadre organization - that possesses adequate answers to the dilemma posed.

Furthermore, there is another justification for the existence of a cadre 
organization operating within the AIT: the various internal disputes, 
especially those of a strategic and tactical nature. Based on the 
concept of social force, it is known that any space that brings people 
together around a purpose involves disputes among its members, which, 
ultimately, define its character, its function, its trajectory, etc. If 
this is true for society as a whole, it is also true for any 
organization - it seems evident that, in the case of mass organizations, 
this is no different.

The International Workingmen's Association (IWA), in everything that 
concerns it, is nothing more than the result of confrontations between 
the set of social forces mobilized by its members, groups, sectors, 
sections, and also between the association itself and forces external to 
it. Its objectives, its strategic-tactical line, and its structure are 
the product of these confrontations, in which its militancy and its 
groupings (formal and informal), the structural factors of society, and 
the action of other collectives (dominant classes, repression, etc.) 
interact. For this reason, anarchists need an organizational structure 
that provides them with the conditions to intervene adequately and 
effectively in this dispute with other divergent forces, more or less 
articulated.

To act within the working class, it is necessary to recognize a struggle 
of tendencies, and that not all roads lead to Rome. This is what Bakunin 
did in the First International. The Russian revolutionary understood 
that there were two ways of conceiving the International, that its 
horizon was represented by two different "parties."[...]The central 
point of Bakunin's idea is to realistically acknowledge the diversity of 
tendencies within a mass organization . Diversity that necessarily leads 
to ideological struggle . In this sense, figures like Engels and Utin 
can be thought of, without major problems, as part of a line, a 
tendency, more or less organic; they are partisans of a particular 
vision of how to build socialism . Even if Bakunin exaggerates the real 
situation of the "Marxist party," I believe his analysis refers to a 
more fundamental issue: the inherent recognition of ideological struggle 
within workers' organizations . (Rivas, 2014, pp. 50, 54, emphasis added)

A mass organization that does not function within the limits of a 
mandatory and homogeneous political-ideological line for all its members 
- that is, the way the International Workingmen's Association (IWA) was 
conceived and which guided most of its trajectory - possesses a 
diversity of tendencies, of social forces representing different 
political conceptions and, therefore, has political-doctrinal struggles 
between supporters of different positions. This, as in society itself, 
is natural and healthy. The existence of these tendencies is explained 
by the fact that, even if the emancipation of workers through revolution 
and socialism is defended, there are disparate conceptions about what 
these objectives are, precisely, and how they should be pursued. Such 
answers are not obvious and, in a way, explain the diverse tendencies of 
a mass organization like the International.

The Alliance is the organization that promotes - in an articulated 
manner, and taking advantage of the benefits of collective social 
strength - a specific program for the International Workingmen's 
Association (IWA). This mass movement requires an organization that 
constantly stimulates it, ensuring that it can prevail in the 
competition with other tendencies.

Constitutive aspects, general and specific objectives, internationalist 
character and frameworks.

For Bakunin, the Alliance is an internationalist organization thanks to 
the way it conceives the revolutionary process and the character of mass 
organization, both of which are simultaneously international and 
internationalist. It is a political organization of a party type , since 
it brings its members together based on well-defined political-doctrinal 
principles, an explicit and in-depth program, and common positions in 
different fields. It is a secret organization that can, depending on the 
circumstances, become both secret and public . It is a minority 
organization, a cadre party , since it brings together a limited number 
of members based on qualitative criteria, among which stand out: 
capacity for influence, multifunctionality, and certain personal 
characteristics. In short, the Alliance is one.

A secret organization formed within the International itself, to give 
the latter a revolutionary organization, to transform it, and all the 
popular masses outside of it, into a force sufficiently organized to 
annihilate the political-clerical-bourgeois reaction, to destroy all the 
economic, legal, religious, and political institutions of the States. 
(Bakunin, 2014a, p. 89)

And also, to forge the foundations of an emancipated society, of 
collectivist-federalist socialism. The author argues that "the 
International and the Alliance, tending towards the same ultimate goal, 
simultaneously pursue different objectives." That is, both 
organizational levels, mass and cadre, have the same ultimate goal, but 
at the same time, each of these levels has specific objectives. Broadly 
speaking, the International Workingmen's Association "has the mission of 
uniting the working masses, the millions of workers[...]into one immense 
and compact body," and the Alliance "has the mission of giving the 
masses a truly revolutionary direction." (Bakunin, 2000d, p. 8)

The objectives of organizing cadres should thus be understood as 
follows: first, an ultimate objective, similar to that proposed for mass 
organization; second, some specific objectives, which define the 
specific purpose of the Alliance in relation to the International and 
workers in general.

To form all these revolutionary organizations, indispensable for the 
triumph of the popular cause, to propel and stimulate them , to, on the 
one hand, direct them and, on the other, prevent them from degenerating 
or becoming governments , even provisionally, there is a clear need for 
a force, an invisible collective organization that, obeying a frankly 
and completely revolutionary program and carrying it to its ultimate 
consequences, abstains from all manifestation, from all governmental or 
official interference , and can thus, by itself, exert an even more 
effective and powerful influence on the spontaneous movement of the 
popular masses , as well as on the action and all the revolutionary 
measures of its delegates and committees . This is the sole purpose of 
the Y.[Alliance]organization. (Bakunin, 2000e, pp. 6-7, emphasis added)

This means that, while mass organizations need to build a social force 
capable of overcoming the statist and capitalist forces of the ruling 
classes, cadre organizations must also shape a social force capable of 
imposing itself on others in internal disputes within the dispossessed 
classes themselves, thus guaranteeing a strategic direction for the 
International Workingmen's Association (IWA).

In summary, the Alliance has one ultimate goal and three specific 
objectives. Its ultimate goal is: To destroy the statist-capitalist 
system, social classes, and domination in general; to build 
collectivist-federalist socialism from workers' and peasants' 
associations, guaranteeing their full freedom and equality . Its 
specific objectives are: 1.) To form a revolutionary cadre organization 
based on principles, program, and strategic and tactical lines; 2.) To 
seek the growth of social strength and influence of this organization 
among the workers and the implementation of its program; 3.) To ensure 
that the cadre organization does not become a new organism of domination 
and subjugation of the masses, but that it stimulates and enhances their 
protagonism .

The cadre organization, like the mass organization, has an 
internationalist character, but it is distinguished from it by its 
(political) cadre character. While the former is a political 
organization, of cadres (a minority), secret or secret and public, the 
latter is a social-popular organization, of masses (a majority) and 
public. These characteristics have direct implications for the way the 
Alliance is organized and the profile of the members it brings together.

Bakunin conceives of the Alliance as a political organization , both in 
terms of its objectives and functions and its cadre character. It 
certainly does not intend to contest or conquer the State through 
elections, reforms, or revolution; it is, distinctly, a "party that 
refuses participation in elections, that even refuses the seizure of 
political power, because this is an instrument of return to domination 
and which, therefore, is not destined for any institutional existence" 
(Angaut, 2005, p. 553). Its action is political insofar as it stimulates 
and influences a revolutionary workers' movement that has, among its 
objectives, the abolition of the State. "We do not form a theoretical or 
exclusively economic institution. The Alliance is neither an academy nor 
a workshop; it is an essentially militant association." It is a partisan 
organization that brings together members with homogeneity in the field 
of thought and action around anarchist political-doctrinal positions, 
and expresses them through principles, program, and strategic and 
tactical lines, which aim to support an effective intervention both in 
the correlation of forces of the International and of the workers and 
society itself. Therefore, in comparison with the mass organization, the 
program of the cadre organization is "more explicit and more determined 
in the aspect of political[anarchism], religious[atheism], and 
social[lines and objectives]issues" (Bakunin, 2014a, pp. 82-83).

Since the author characterizes the Alliance as a party, it is also 
necessary to say that, in contrast to the already classic distinction, 
it is a party of cadres and not of the masses. "The number of these 
individuals[members of the Alliance]should not, therefore, be immense." 
For each European country, "one hundred revolutionaries strongly and 
seriously allied are sufficient," and "for the organization of the 
largest country," "two or three hundred revolutionaries will suffice." 
(Bakunin, 2000b) The Alliance differs both from the International, a 
majority organization - and, as such, possesses more flexible entry 
criteria and more limited principles and program - and from mass 
parties, whose conditions for entry and participation are modest. It is 
a minority organization, which has stricter requirements in terms of 
entry, participation, and conduct of members, and which has well-defined 
political-doctrinal principles and an explicit and in-depth program, 
which are mandatory for all members.

Furthermore, the organization of its cadres is primarily secret - it 
needs to be able to constitute itself in this way to carry out 
everything that cannot be done publicly - which also reinforces the fact 
that the Alliance must be a minority organization. But it doesn't need 
to be completely secret; it can have the necessary flexibility to adapt 
to the context according to the possibilities and circumstantial needs, 
and, if necessary, take advantage of public institutions and activities. 
That is, the Alliance has the possibility of becoming an organization 
that is both secret and public.

The cadre character of the Alliance is reinforced by the profile of its 
members, with the criteria for entry and participation prioritizing 
quality rather than quantity. These cadres - whom Bakunin (2000b, 2000e) 
refers to as "brothers" or "allies" - are above-average militants who 
share political, doctrinal, and programmatic agreement and stand out for 
their natural influence among workers, their multi-functionality, and 
their personal characteristics.

The author believes that the organization of frameworks should

to ensure the participation of all popular leaders. I call popular 
leaders individuals who, for the most part, emanate from the people, 
living their lives with them, and who, thanks to their intellectual and 
moral superiority, exert a great influence over them.[...]It is 
necessary to seek out good leaders, those who do not seek their own 
interest but the interest of all. (Bakunin, 2014a, p. 88).

In terms of class origin, the alliance leader is generally a worker, but 
not necessarily one; it can also be a member from the dominant classes 
who has sided with the oppressed in the class struggle. This leader 
needs to be able to influence the workers, to be a leader among them 
and, thus, through their natural influence, persuade them, convince them 
of their positions, and engage them in their political project. However, 
this must be done by means that lead to the desired ends and that obey 
certain ethical assumptions. Authoritarian criteria for increasing 
social power must be discarded, including the domination of the masses 
and the substitution of a collective project of transformation with 
individual or group mobility.

Furthermore, the Alliance's leadership is multifunctional , meaning it 
performs varied functions, both external and internal to the 
organization, that do not adhere to the hierarchical division between 
intellectual and manual labor - a split within the organization between 
a leadership that decides and a base that executes. And since this 
leadership is, above all, the link between the Alliance and the working 
masses, the means through which a specific mass line is promoted, its 
most important function is "propaganda and organizational work."

Regarding propaganda, it involves producing and disseminating, through 
the most diverse means, the political-doctrinal line of the cadre 
organization, as well as those positions that strengthen it among the 
public: programmatic-strategic positions, structural and conjunctural 
analyses and readings, etc., in such a way that this promotes the 
organization's points of view among the workers. And this "propaganda" 
must be done "not only through words, but through deeds." That is, it 
involves not only discursive forms, but relies above all on practices 
that can be multiplied by the power of example. Regarding organizational 
work, it involves carrying out what would be called during the 20th 
century grassroots work , stimulating the creation, growth, and 
radicalization of the trade sections and the International as a whole, 
seeking to implement the Alliance's program and fulfilling certain 
organic criteria. (Bakunin, 2000e, p. 11)

However, Bakunin considers that there are still other functions to be 
performed by the cadres: the definition and guarantee of organic 
functioning, with regard to the different levels of the organization, 
its deliberative and executive bodies, its organic processes and the 
functions of its members; the discussion, definition and improvement of 
structural and conjunctural analyses, of the political-doctrinal, 
programmatic, strategic and tactical positions of the organization; the 
elaboration and promotion of a permanent policy of recruitment, training 
and education of militants; the creation and management of a financial 
policy and a common treasury; the preparation, archiving and 
distribution of the organization's documents; the guarantee of relations 
between militants and the resolution of conflicts between them according 
to organic rules; the establishment of relations with other 
organizations and people. (Bakunin, 2000b, 2000e)

Regarding the characteristics of an Alliance framework:

The qualities required of all international brothers[full cadres of the 
Alliance]- except those that constitute a good and devoted revolutionary 
conspirator, such as true revolutionary passion, firmness, constancy, 
discretion, prudence, energy of character, intelligence, courage - are: 
the ability to rise naturally and spontaneously above all the narrow 
inspirations of personal ambition and vanity, of family and patriotism, 
and that other quality, even rarer among men of energy and intelligence, 
the ability to submerge their own personal initiative in collective action.

For each international brother, it is necessary that our program, as 
well as our policy and our revolutionary tactics, be more than the 
result of a vain philosophical abstraction, more than the expression of 
uncertain and vague aspirations. It is necessary that they become their 
life, their dominant passion, their daily consciousness and instinct, at 
once reflected and ardent. Externally, in the coldest possible way; 
internally, in such an ardent way that no external seduction can ever 
prevail over them and that no sophistry, theoretical or practical, can 
divert them from their path. (Bakunin, 2000e, pp. 13-14).

It is understood here that, for the author, a member of the cadre 
organization must have, or seek to have over time , a set of qualities 
that need to be incorporated into their daily life and that can be 
divided into two parts: one, common to all good and devoted 
conspirators, and another, particular to the members of the alliance, 
due to the ends they propose to achieve and the means they consider 
valid for that purpose.

In the first case, the Alliance members must be: passionate about the 
revolution, firm, constant, discreet, prudent, energetic, intelligent, 
and courageous. In the second case, they must be "sincerely devoted to 
our[the Alliance's]ideas," "capable of serving as intermediaries between 
the revolutionary idea and popular instincts," and, therefore, function 
as midwives of the revolution. This revolutionary passion, which can be 
referred to as "having the devil in one's body," demands "imposing upon 
oneself the greatest sacrifices." The Alliance cadre, therefore, 
possesses a high level of dedication: "each brother[militant]is on a 
permanent mission." This is because "every day, from morning to night, 
their dominant thought and passion, their supreme duty, must be the 
propaganda of the Alliance's principles, its development, and the 
increase of its power." (Bakunin, 2000b; Bakunin, 2000e, p. 22)

These militants must not only possess goodwill and honesty, but also 
discard ambition and vanity (personal, familial, and patriotic) and 
merge their individual work into a collective revolutionary project. 
Furthermore, they must practice criticism and self-criticism, and 
respect the ethical principles that govern all relations between 
Alliance cadres and with the workers. Among other aspects, these 
principles stipulate that, with regard to "domination" and 
"exploitation[...]of the masses," Alliance members must have "renounced 
exercising them in any form whatsoever"; for those who do so will be 
"mercilessly excluded." (Bakunin, 2000b; Bakunin, 2000e, pp. 15-16)

Principles, program and criteria of conduct

Bakunin further considers that the organization of cadres relies on a 
set of principles, a program, and criteria of conduct that will now be 
presented. It is important to remember that "science understands the 
thinking about reality, and not reality itself" (Bakunin, 2014b, p. 
292). Therefore, conjunctural and structural analyses of reality must be 
more flexible, adapting themselves towards a more precise understanding 
of the world, just as concrete action plans adapt to analyses aimed at 
promoting the strategic program.

Distinctly, the overarching program, but above all the organizational 
principles, the political-doctrinal principles, and the ethical 
foundations (including the criteria for members' conduct) are less 
flexible and, therefore, change less in temporal and spatial terms. The 
Alliance's cadres must be "inflexible in everything that concerns our 
principle, our supreme law, our morality, transparency, and mutual 
solidarity in all undertakings and actions," that is, they must be 
"inflexible in everything that touches the common interest of the 
Alliance." (Bakunin, 2000d , p. 6)

The organizational principles of the Alliance are: 1.) Common thought 
(principles, theory, analysis of reality, program, action plan); 2.) 
Common action (practice, implementation of program and action plan); 3.) 
Commitment among members (fraternal self-control of members and mutual 
responsibility between each member and the Alliance as a whole).

Members are required to "think and act only in common." (Bakunin, 2000d 
, p. 6) And that, "in both large and small matters relating to common 
work, we must henceforth strive to think, will, and act in common." It 
is further prescribed that, in the organization of cadres, "there can be 
no different parties," that all must possess "absolutely the same 
program, the same policy and the same revolutionary tactics, and also 
the same method of recruitment," and that "all its members" must act 
"according to a collectively established plan of action." (Bakunin, 
2000e, pp. 13, 19, 22, 25)

This unity is achieved through a federalist decision-making process, in 
which members participate through the appropriate channels; they can 
perform organizational functions, elect and be elected in case of 
delegation. They are primarily responsible for implementing the 
decisions in the organization's daily life and for ensuring that they 
are executed. In the decision-making process, it is up to each 
individual to contribute "to the organization all that they possess best 
in terms of thought, in such a way that a thought, once expressed by the 
individual and accepted by the collective, immediately becomes not their 
own thought but a collective one." (Bakunin, 2000d , p. 6)

This collective process of discussion and natural influence - in which 
all members, on the same basis, exchange information, points of view, 
perspectives, influence and are influenced, persuade and are persuaded - 
aims to reach a common denominator, if possible through unanimity 
(consensus), but not necessarily. The members of the alliance 
"[consult]each other, arriving, as far as possible, at unanimous 
resolutions." (Bakunin, 2000e, p. 22) Seeking unanimity "as far as 
possible" means that the cadre organization prioritizes consensus among 
members in its decisions, but that it accepts, in many cases, majority 
votes (simple, 2/3, etc., depending on the case). (Bakunin, 2000b)

By providing the conditions for broad discussions among members and for 
all their individual positions to be presented and debated, once 
deliberated, the issues and positions taken become binding on all, at 
least until different decisions are made. In the case of the highest 
instance of the cadre organization, it

will discuss and determine the general plan of revolutionary action of 
the Alliance, a plan which, once established, can only be revoked by the 
Alliance; and as long as it has not been revoked by the Alliance, it 
will be absolutely binding on all national Councils, which must, at all 
costs, ensure that it is carried out in their respective countries, 
under the constant supervision of the Central Bureau, which will have 
not only the right but the duty to remind them, whenever necessary, of 
the strict and active observance of this plan. (Bakunin, 2000e, pp. 26-27)

In addition to the deliberative bodies that serve for decision-making 
and rely on the self-discipline of members for execution, there are 
control bodies (such as the bureau) that ensure compliance with what has 
been decided. It advocates "fraternal control of all over each and of 
each over all" (Bakunin, 2000e, p. 18). Unlike the International, which 
relies on the autonomy of its sections, the members of the Alliance 
"cannot take any measure relating to propaganda and revolutionary 
organization without the consent of neighboring brothers" and, more 
specifically, "no brother will accept public office without the consent 
of neighboring brothers" (Bakunin, 2000b). And only those who agree with 
the historically accumulated positions become members.

The political and doctrinal principles of the Alliance are: 1.) 
Rejection of theological understandings of the world, including liberal 
and individualistic ones, and the adoption of a materialist, naturalist, 
and scientific framework for analyzing reality; 2.) Understanding the 
individual as a product of society and labor as the sole producer of 
value and foundation of society, which implies that man can only 
emancipate himself within society and through work; 3.) Understanding 
society as a terrain of relations of domination at all levels (which 
includes exploitation), especially between classes - in which a 
privileged minority dominates a majority of workers and subsidizes the 
existence of a class struggle; 4.) Rejection of domination at all 
levels, especially class-based domination, but not only that; 5.) 
Affirmation that freedom, a product of historical development, should 
guide all human relations, be sought collectively and individually, 
along with economic and social equality - this should constitute the 
ethical foundation of society; 6.) The conviction that the possibility 
of an emancipated future resides only in the workers, in the 
dispossessed classes, who, by liberating themselves, will liberate all 
of humanity. (Bakunin, 2009, pp. 69-81)

The Alliance's strategic program (maximum program) is: 1.) Extinction of 
established religions and authoritarian theological influence on life; 
2.) End of social classes, exploitation of labor, and domination in 
general, including those relating to women; 3.) Socialization of 
property (distribution according to work performed), end of inheritance 
rights (with a view to the possible maintenance of small peasant 
properties that do not benefit from exploitation), and democratization 
of knowledge (comprehensive education for all under the responsibility 
of society); 4.) Abolition of States and their replacement by 
agricultural and industrial workers' associations; 5.) Freedom and 
equality at all levels, with preservation of diversity; 6.) Promotion of 
a revolutionary, class-based, and internationalist policy - and, 
therefore, contrary to nationalism - that strengthens workers in their 
class struggle and prevents them from any conciliation or alliance with 
their enemies; 7.) Guarantee of a libertarian and egalitarian socialist 
society based on workers' associations organizing and articulating 
themselves through federalism. (Bakunin, 2000a; cf. also: Angaut, 2005, 
p. 554) This program guides the Alliance's more restricted strategies 
and tactics, and thus the Alliance's "general plan of revolutionary 
action" and the Y.'s[Alliance's]revolutionary tactics. (Bakunin, 2000e, 
pp. 9, 27)

In terms of the conduct criteria for members of the cadre organization, 
the following applies. First, the need for agreement with the principles 
and the program. Second, certain rules of behavior and relationships 
between members, from which values emerge that must be cultivated and 
promoted, configuring a type of internal ethics. "Each international 
brother will be more of a brother to all others than a natural brother." 
(Bakunin, 2000a) And they must cultivate and practice, with one another, 
affection, respect, sincerity, trust, solidarity, dedication, fidelity, 
and generosity. (Bakunin, 2000e, p. 19)

They commit to abandoning manipulation and deceit among themselves: 
"Jesuitical systems of manipulation and deceit" must be completely 
excluded, since they involve "harmful, dissolving, and degrading means 
and principles." (Bakunin, 2017, p. 135) The members of the Alliance 
must be sincere with one another and exercise "unreserved transparency 
in everything that relates to their own lives, both public and private." 
But, for security reasons, no one should know more than necessary: 
"indiscretion and senseless curiosity are completely anti-revolutionary 
defects." (Bakunin, 2000e, pp. 20, 32)

" Everyone dedicates themselves to each other and each to all. Each 
brother is helped and must sacrifice himself for all the others to the 
extent possible." (Bakunin, 2000a) Furthermore, the members cultivate a 
critical spirit, but one that is, at the same time, constructive, and 
that values this organic strengthening. (Bakunin, 2000d , p. 6) 
Individual limitations and problems exist and will always exist, but 
they must be overcome, or at least minimized and corrected, by the 
collective qualities of the organization. These strengthen each member 
of the organization: "each of us feels the need to complete ourselves, 
correct ourselves and strengthen ourselves through the intelligence, 
morality and energy of our entire collectivity, and the strength, virtue 
and spirit of all must become that of each of us." (Bakunin, 2000e, p. 20)

In this way, responsibility is cultivated between one and all, 
individual and collective, which is exercised through the "open 
fraternal control of all by each one," allowing for the prevention, 
identification, and treatment of the most varied problems. However, such 
control can never be "inconvenient, petty, and above all, malevolent"; 
it needs to replace "Jesuitical control" and exclude "bad distrust, 
treacherous control, espionage, and mutual denunciations." It must be 
done through "moral education, with the pillar of each member's 
strength, based on mutual fraternal trust, upon which all the inner and 
therefore outer strength of the association will be founded." (Bakunin, 
2017, pp. 131, 136) Once problems are identified, the solution must be 
sought not only through the aforementioned preferences for (re)education 
over punishment and generosity, but also through consideration of the 
effort and loyalty of the members involved: "we must act frankly and 
promptly, never behind the back of the accused, but directly, either 
addressing him alone or making the necessary observations to him in the 
presence of all the other brothers." (Bakunin, 2000e, p. 21) Political 
and personal disagreements between members can never be brought to the 
public eye, much less to the state courts: the Alliance members "never 
attack each other, nor expose their quarrels in public or in court." 
(Bakunin, 2000a)

This process of addressing problems, misunderstandings, and conflicts is 
based on the expectation that all members of the organization need to 
cultivate a constructive spirit of criticism and self-criticism - they 
must know how to speak and listen, persuade and be persuaded, educate 
and be educated through this collective process.

Finally, the organization of cadres also operates under the logic of 
concentric circles. The Alliance is divided into three geographical 
levels - International, National, and Regional/Local - and operates with 
two levels of members - International Brothers and National Brothers. It 
relates these levels in a federalist manner and proposes, with them, to 
guarantee organizational effectiveness and the correspondence between 
the rights and duties of the members. (Bakunin, 2000a; Bakunin, 2000e; 
Bakunin, 2000d ).

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES

Angaut, Jean-Christophe. Liberté et Histoire chez Michel Bakounine , 2 
vols, Nancy, Université Nancy 2 (doctorate in Philosophy), 2005.

Bakunin, Mikhail. " Programme et Règlement de l'Alliance Internationale 
de la Démocratie Socialiste" (3 documents, 1868), CD-ROM Bakounine: 
Œuvres Completes (BOC) , Amsterdam, IIHS, 2000a.

___. "Statuts Secrets de l'Alliance" (5 documents, 1868), BOC , 
Amsterdam, IIHS, 2000b.

___. "Fraternité Internationale: program et objet" (1868), BOC , 
Amsterdam, IIHS, 2000c.

___. "Letter to Tomás Gonzáles Morago (May 21, 1872)", BOC , Amsterdam, 
IIHS, 2000d.

___. "Programme de la Fraternité Internationale" (1872), BOC , 
Amsterdam, IIHS, 2000e.

___. "Program of the Society of the International Revolution" (1868), 
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International Revolution , São Paulo, Imaginário/Faísca, 2009.

___. "Letter to the Brothers of the Alliance in Spain (June 12-13, 
1872)", in: Writings Against Marx , São Paulo, Imaginário, 2014a.

___. "Historical Sophisms of the Doctrinaire School of German 
Communists" (1871), in: Ferreira, Andrey C.; Toniatti, Tadeu (eds.), 
From the Bottom Up and from the Periphery to the Center: political, 
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Niterói, Alternativa, 2014b.

___. "To Sergei Nechaev (June 2, 1870)", in: Avrich, Paul, Bakunin & 
Nechaev , Aparecida de Goiânia, Sculpture, 2017.

Berthier, René. "Bakounine: une théorie de l'organization". Monde 
Nouveau , 2012.

___. "Postface", in: Antonioli, Maurizio, Bakounine: entre syndicalisme 
révolutionnaire et anarchisme , Paris, Noir et Rouge, 2014.

___. Social-Democracy & Anarchism in the International Workers' 
Association (1864-1877) , London, Anarres, 2015.

Corrêa, Felipe, Freedom or Death: Theory and Practice of Mikhail Bakunin 
, São Paulo, Faísca/ITHA, 2019.

Lehning, Arthur, "Bakunin's Conceptions of Revolutionary Organizations 
and Their Role: a study of his 'secret societies'", in: Abramsky, Chimen 
(ed.), Essays in Honor of EH Carr , London, Macmillan, 1974.

Leval, Gaston, La Pensée Constructive de Bakounine , Paris, Spartacus, 1976.

___. Bakunin, Founder of Revolutionary Syndicalism , São Paulo, 
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Rivas, Gabriel, "Introduction: Political Organization in Bakuninian 
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Bakunin, Mikhail, Letter to Nechayev , Santiago, Thoughts and Batalla, 2014.

Vuilleumier, Marc, "Les Archives de James Guillaume". Le Mouvement 
Social , 48, Paris, Les Éditions Ouvrières, 1964.

___. "Bakounine et le Mouvement Ouvrier de Son Temps", in: Catteau, 
Jacques (ed.), Bakounine: combats & debates , Paris, Institut d'Estudes 
Slaves, 1979.

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