Confessions of an anarchist

Confessions of an anarchist by W. C. Hart is a polemical memoir and exposé written in the early 20th century. It offers a hostile insider account of anarchist circles, portraying the creed as immoral, criminal, and incoherent while detailing groups, publications, spies, bomb-making, and celebrated outrages. Blending personal reminiscence with reportage and case notes, it seeks to discredit the movement and argue for curbs on violent propaganda. The opening of the book sets the author’s credentials as a former group secretary and contributor to key anarchist papers, then declares anarchism a denial of morality and responsibility. It recounts his conversion and disillusion, classifies anarchists as criminals, spies, and inciters, and illustrates hypocrisy with tales of theft, fraud, and “propaganda by deed.” A long section alleges pervasive police infiltration, including agent provocateurs and compromised clubs, and critiques anarchist “literature” while accusing editors of sweating labor. The narrative sketches chaotic, tiny “groups,” bomb-making classes and manuals, the Walsall bomb affair, and a raucous conference urging violence, followed by a brisk catalogue of international assassinations. It closes this opening stretch by describing failed anarchist colonies (and a few accidental, order-keeping exceptions), presented as proof that anarchist practice collapses without external moral or religious glue.

Confessions of an anarchist, by W. C. Hart. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #77674.