"THE STATE, EVERY GOVERNMENT WHATEVER its form,
character or colour- be it absolute or constitutional, monarchy or republic,
Fascist, Nazi or Bolshevik-is by its very nature conservative, static, intolerant of
change and opposed to it. Whatever changes it undergoes are always the result of
pressure exerted upon it, pressure strong enough to compel the ruling powers to
submit peaceably or otherwise, generally "otherwise"-that is, by
revolution. Moreover, the inherent conservatism of government, of authority of any kind, unavoidably
becomes reactionary. For two reasons: first, because it is in the nature of
government not only to retain the power it has, but also to strengthen, widen and
perpetuate it, nationally as well as internationally. The stronger authority grows, the
greater the State and its power, the less it can tolerate a similar authority or political
power along side of itself. The psychology of government demands that its influence and
prestige constantly grow, at home and abroad, and it exploits every opportunity to
increase it. This tendency is motivated by the financial and commercial interests back
of the government, represented and served by it. The fundamental raison d'etre of
every government to which, incidentally, historians offormer days willfully shut
their eyes, has become too obvious now even for professors to ignore.
The other factor which impels governments to
become even more conservative and reactionary is their inherent distrust ofthe
individual and fear of individuality. Our political and social scheme cannot afford to
tolerate the individual and his constant quest for innovation. In
"self-defence" the State therefore suppresses, persecutes, punishes and even deprives the individual of life.
It is aided in this by every institution that stands for the preservation of the existing
order. It resorts to every form of violence and force, and its efforts are supported by the
"moral indignation" of the majority against the heretic, the social dissenter and the political
rebel-the majority for centuries drilled in State worship, trained in discipline and
obedience and subdued by the awe of authority in the home, the school, the church and the
press.
The strongest bulwark of authority is uniformity; the least divergence from it is the greatest crime. The wholesale mechanization of modern life has increased uniformity a thousandfold. It is everywhere present, in habits, tastes, dress, thoughts and ideas. Its most concentrated dullness is "public opinion." Few have the courage to stand out against it. He who refuses to submit is at once labelled "queer," "different," and decried as a disturbing element in the comfortable stagnancy of modern life."
Emma Goldman: The Individual, Society and the State (1940).
