Voltairine de Cleyre on anarchism

Abstract

This article aims to present the multifaceted conception of anarchism offered by the political thinker and anarchist activist Voltairine de Cleyre. As is the case with a radical thinker, the work can never be dissociated from practice, so we begin with a brief overview of the life of this anarchist, still surprisingly unknown even among the most specialized audience today. We then move on to her understanding of anarchism as a socio-economic theory and political movement, inseparable from her advocacy of what she termed the "New Spirit" of anarchism – an original concept of her that we interpret here as capable of reconciling the unity of struggle and principles with the multiplicity of ways of being, modes of action, and various individualities that are always unique and lead to constant change.