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In 1935, during the Hutchins and
Adler days at the University of Chicago where I was a awarded a
scholarship, I went in to see Dr. Merriam, the head of the Political
Science Department, to thank him and, at the same time, to explain
to him that I was an anarchist. His response was gratifying. He said
"Thank God, at last we have an anarchist, rather than another
communist or socialist, among our students." That, of course,
gratified my ego.
In recent years, I helped to establish The
Institute for Learning in Washington, D.C., and during the past few
years I have led seminars on anarchism which included, of course,
Kropotkin, Bakunin, Proudhon and other anarchists. I save, for the
last two sessions, the discussion on Emma
Goldman.
I do this because of my adoration for this woman
who helped to start, in so many different ways, the social and
political revolutions that have occurred in our democratic societies
and, in particular, in America during the last 40-50 years. Were it
not for her devotion and commitment to liberty--not only for women,
but for the entire human race--we would not have made the advances
that we have and not just tolerate but advocate diversity in all of
its complexions.
In brief, Emma's anarchism was founded on
the basic theory that freedom, in all forms, is indigenous to the
human race and no social or political structure should inhibit its
growth.
Marcus Cohn
Attorney,
retired | |
