James Guillaume
James Guillaume (date unknown)
Born(1844-02-16)16 February 1844
London, United Kingdom
Died20 November 1916(1916-11-20) (aged 72)
Marin-Epagnier, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Resting placeMontparnasse Cemetery
NationalitySwiss
Occupation(s)Writer, historian
OrganizationInternational Workingmen's Association
MovementAnarchism

James Guillaume (1844–1916) was a leading member of the Jura federation, the anarchist wing of the First International. Later, Guillaume would take an active role in the founding of the Anarchist St. Imier International.[1]

Work

In his 1876 essay, "Ideas on Social Organization," Guillaume set forth his opinions regarding the form that society would take in a post-revolutionary world, expressing the collectivist anarchist position he shared with Bakunin and other anti-authoritarians involved in the First International:

Whatever items are produced by collective labor will belong to the community, and each member will receive remuneration for [their] labor either in the form of commodities (subsistence, supplies, clothing, etc.) or in currency.

Only later, he believed, would it be possible to progress to a communist system where distribution will be according to need:

When, thanks to the progress of scientific industry and agriculture, production comes to outstrip consumption, and this will be attained some years after the Revolution, it will no longer be necessary to stingily dole out each worker’s share of goods. Everyone will draw what [they] need from the abundant social reserve of commodities, without fear of depletion; and the moral sentiment which will be more highly developed among free and equal workers will prevent, or greatly reduce, abuse and waste.[2]

In 1909, James Guillaume assisted Peter Kropotkin with the research in preparing his book, "The Great French Revolution, 1789-1793," particularly helping with regards to the resolutions (arrêtés) of 4 August 1789, where the Assembly declared that it is acting with both constituent and legislative power.[3] Guillaume is said to have played a key role in Peter Kropotkin's conversion to anarchism.

Writings

  • L'Internationale: Documents et Souvenirs (1864–1878), 4 vols., reprinted in 1969 by Burt Franklin Publishing, New York.
  • Ideas on Social Organization
  • Pestalozzi : étude biographique (1890), Hachette, Paris.
  • Michael Bakunin, a Biography (1907)
  • Karl Marx, pangermaniste, et l’Association internationale des travailleurs de 1864 à 1870 (1915), A. Colin, Paris.

He also edited five of the six volumes of Bakunin's collected works (in French), which included the first biography of Bakunin.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Black Rose Books". Archived from the original on 23 September 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2006.
  2. ↑ Marxists Internet Archives, Guillaume Archive
  3. ↑ Peter Kropotkin (1909). "Preface". The Great French Revolution, 1789-1793. Translated by N. F. Dryhurst. New York: Vanguard Printings.
  4. ↑ Marxists Internet Archives, Bakunin Archive

Archive sources

Part of James Guillaume's archives are conserved in the "Archives de l'État de Neuchâtel". The collection contains correspondence, notes, articles and memorabilia.

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