Causes+and+Consequences

By Brandon Bednarek While there is no one direct cause that spawned the Anarchist movement, there were several influences that impacted its creation. One such influence was the continuation of Enlightenment ideals. Many of the ideas from the period of thinking transferred into the 19th century, where a heavy focus on the importance of individuals and spirit were still very much present. Another important influence was the French Revolution. Even though the French Revolution occurred almost a hundred years prior to the height of the Anarchist movement, its presence was still being felt. One of the main causes that both the French Revolution and Anarchist movement shared was the problem of social inequality. During the 18th Century, France was still under a feudalistic society, where the advantaged and rich few held special privileges. Some of those privileges included being exempt from paying taxes, enjoyment of many freedoms and inclusion within politics. Underneath these privileged few were the middle class and peasants who worked long hours doing strenuous labors for little pay and felt the heavy burden of taxation from the state. The parallel to French Revolution social inequality during the height of the Anarchism was the industrialization of many European countries, whose ethics and labor treatment were morally challengeable. The industrialization of Europe spread quickly among countries and affected almost all aspects of life. This change impacted the lives of the poor, working class, artisans, peasants and families and worked to repress them by their governments. As industry grew, the power and role of government grew as well. Through economic expansion of rail lines, factories and housing, there became a large increase in the taxation of country’s citizens. This economic rise also brought about an increase in work life – a change many saw from farming to factories, where conditions were highly unethical by today’s standards. In these factories, workers worked a 12-hour day, typically from 6am to 6pm with little to no breaks. The inefficiency of factories was also lacking heat and ability for airflow, leaving workers subjected to scorching summers and bitter cold winters. To ensure workers were doing their jobs, management would police the factory floors and punishing workers who were off task or being lazy by lashing them with whips or forcing heavy fines upon them. Despite employee’s hard work, there was limited to no advancement opportunities. Often workers would be stuck working the same job for the same pay during the length of their employment – which depended on several factors, time of year and factory overhead. As a result of social inequalities during the mid-to-late nineteenth century, many anarchists were inspired to stand up and fight against the obvious injustices occurring, much like the outcome of social inequality in the French Revolution. Depending on the faction of Anarchists, different approaches to social inequality were taken. Individualistic and pacifistic approaches were taken by some factions, whereas the most popular and radical approach was violence - as promoted through the Propaganda of the Deed. This “deed”, which would later inspire the idea of terrorism, promoted acts of violence, especially towards political figures, intended to cause chaos and revolution. Through the Propaganda of the Deed, assassinations of many European leaders were carried out. Among the victims were Czar Alexander II, Marie-Francois Sadi Carnot, the Empress of Austria, and the King of Italy. All of these assassinations took place at political functions or gatherings where radical Anarchists could perform acts of violence publically to crowds of hundreds. The consequences from the Anarchist movement were seen in terms of both negative and positive outcomes. While anarchist inspired songs, speeches, demonstrations and strikes proved to be effective tools in providing powerful awareness of much-needed changes in government; they were greatly overshadowed by the brutal tactics and acts of violence. Radical Anarchists strongly believed that their violence and assassinations would create and show vulnerability in government systems and inspire others towards self-sacrifice, but the radicals were unfortunately met with the opposite effect. These acts made the public see not just radicals, but all Anarchists as mindless destroyers. Their reign of violence was deemed unjustifiable by the public they were intending to help and as a result added a major roadblock to their cause. The consequences and negative effects of this movement have not faded with time. In fact, their consequences can be seen in present day, where its successor, terrorism, has been recreated to serve as a weapon for insurgent groups, radicals, and other groups looking to target governments, countries and other sources of power.
 * Causes and Consequences of the Anarchist Movement **