Illegalism is an anarchist philosophy that
developed primarily in France, Italy, Belgium
and Switzerland during the early 1900s as
an outgrowth of individualist anarchism.
The illegalists embraced either openly or
secretly criminality as a lifestyle.
The illegalists use Max Stirner's Egoism as
a justification for illegalism.
However, not all illegalists are supporters
of Max Stirner and his philosophy.
Jules Bonnot and the Bonnot Gang have been
described as illegalist by some.
Illegalism does not specify the type of crime,
though it is associated with theft and shoplifting.
== Emergence ==
Illegalism first rose to prominence among
a generation of Europeans inspired by the
unrest of the 1890s, during which Ravachol,
Émile Henry, Auguste Vaillant and Caserio
committed daring crimes in the name of anarchism,
in what is known as propaganda of the deed.
Influenced by theorist Max Stirner's egoism,
the illegalists in France broke from anarchists
like Clément Duval and Marius Jacob who justified
theft with a theory of individual reclamation
(la reprise individuelle).
Instead, the illegalists argued that their
actions required no moral basis and illegal
acts were taken not in the name of a higher
ideal, but in pursuit of one's own desires.
In Paris, this milieu was centred on the weekly
papers L'Anarchie and the Causeries Populaires
(regular discussion groups meeting in several
different locations in and around the capital
each week), both of which were founded by
Albert Libertad and his associates.
After Peter Kropotkin along with others decided
to enter labor unions after their initial
reservations, there remained the anti-syndicalist
anarchist-communists, who in France were grouped
around Sebastien Faure's Le Libertaire.
From 1905 onwards, the Russian counterparts
of these anti-syndicalist anarchist-communists
become partisans of economic terrorism and
illegal expropriations.
Illegalism as a practice emerged and within
it "[t]he acts of the anarchist bombers and
assassins ("propaganda by the deed") and the
anarchist burglars ("individual reappropriation")
expressed their desperation and their personal,
violent rejection of an intolerable society.
Moreover, they were clearly meant to be exemplary,
invitations to revolt".
In another less dramatic sense, "[at]t that
time this term was used to indicate all those
practices prohibited by law that were useful
for resolving the economic problems of comrades:
robbery, theft, smuggling, counterfeiting
money and so on".Such acts of rebellion which
could be individual were in the long run seen
as acts of rebellion which could ignite a
mass insurrection leading to revolution.
Proponents and activists of this tactic among
others included Johann Most, Luigi Galleani,
Victor Serge and Severino Di Giovanni.
In Argentina, these tendencies flourished
at the end of the 1920s and during the 1930s,
"years of acute repression and of flinching
of the once powerful workers movement—this
was a desperation, though heroic, of a decadent
movement".
France's Bonnot Gang was the most famous group
to embrace illegalism.
The Bonnot Gang (La Bande à Bonnot) was a
French criminal anarchist group that operated
in France and Belgium during the Belle Époque
from 1911 to 1912.
Composed of individuals who identified with
the emerging illegalist milieu, the gang utilized
cutting-edge technology (including automobiles
and repeating rifles) not yet available to
the French police.
Originally referred to by the press as simply
"The Auto Bandits", the gang was dubbed "The
Bonnot Gang" after Jules Bonnot gave an interview
at the office of Petit Parisien, a popular
daily paper.
Bonnot's perceived prominence within the group
was later reinforced by his high-profile death
during a shootout with French police in Nogent-sur-Marne.
== Criticism ==
Advocacy of Illegalism proved to be highly
controversial and was contested within the
anarchist milieu, particularly by those who
favored syndicalism and mass struggle over
individual actions disconnected from the labor
movement.
Many socialists argued that illegalism replicated
the mentality of capitalism and represented
a turn towards nihilism.
Following his arrest for harbouring members
of the Bonnot Gang, Victor Serge, once a forceful
defender of illegalism, became a sharp critic.
In Memoirs of a Revolutionary, he describes
illegalism as "a collective suicide".
Similarly, Marius Jacob reflected in 1948:
"I don't think that illegalism can free the
individual in present-day society...
Basically, illegalism, considered as an act
of revolt, is more a matter of temperament
than of doctrine".
== Influence ==
Illegalism has been updated by currents such
as insurrectionary anarchism and post-left
anarchy.
In Spain and Latin America, a campaign called
Yomango has appeared, which advocates shoplifting
and thus updates individual reclamation.
Horst Fantazzini was an Italian-German individualist
anarchist who pursued an illegalist lifestyle
and practice until his death in 2001.
He gained media notoriety mainly due to his
many bank robberies through Italy and other
countries.
In 1999, the film based on his life Ormai
è fatta! was released.
== See also ==
Agorism
Amoralism
Expropriative anarchism
Insurrectionary anarchism
Piracy
Propaganda of the deed
Social bandits
== References ==
== Further reading ==
Parry, Richard (1986).
The Bonnot Gang.
Rebel Press.
ISBN 0-946061-04-1.[1].
"The "illegalists" by Doug Imrie.
From "Anarchy: a Journal Of Desire Armed",
Fall-Winter, 1994-95.
Cacucci, Pino (July 25, 2006).
Without a Glimmer of Remorse.
Christie Books.
ISBN 1-873976-28-3.
On Illegalism and Ultra-Leftism.
Philippe Gavi, J-P Sartre, & Pierre Victor.
Gallimard, Paris, 1974.
"Illegalism and Insurrectionary Anarchism"
by Freedom.
