Émile Armand (26 March 1872 – 19 February 1962), pseudonym of Ernest-Lucien Juin Armand, was an influential French

individualist anarchist Individualist anarchism is the branch of anarchism that emphasizes the individual and their will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions and ideological systems."What do I mean by individualism? I mean by individualism t ...

at the beginning of the 20th century and also a dedicated

free love Free love is a social movement that accepts all forms of love. The movement's initial goal was to separate the state from sexual and romantic matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery. It stated that such issues were the concern ...

polyamory Polyamory () is the practice of, or desire for, romantic relationships with more than one partner at the same time, with the informed consent of all partners involved. People who identify as polyamorous may believe in open relationships wi ...

intentional community An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious ...

, and

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campai ...

antimilitarist Antimilitarism (also spelt anti-militarism) is a doctrine that opposes war, relying heavily on a critical theory of imperialism and was an explicit goal of the First and Second International. Whereas pacifism is the doctrine that disputes (esp ...

writer, propagandist and activist. He wrote for and edited the anarchist publications ''L'Ère nouvelle'' (1901–1911), '' L'Anarchie'', ''

L'En-Dehors ''L'En-Dehors'' (, ''The Outside'') is a French individualist anarchist newspaper, created by Zo d'Axa in 1891. History Numerous activists contributed to the paper, including Jean Grave, Bernard Lazare, Albert Libertad, Octave Mirbeau, Saint-Po ...

'' (1922–1939) and '' L'Unique'' (1945–1953).Xavier Diez. ''El anarquismo individualista en España (1923–1939)''. Virus Editorial. Barcelona. 2007

Life and activism

Armand was born in Paris on 26 March 1872. He was a son of a participant of the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defende ...

. At first, he embraced Christianity through the

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

then became an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

. Around 1895–1896, Armand discovered anarchism through coming into contact with the magazine ''Les Temps nouveaux'' which was edited by

Jean Grave Jean Grave (; October 16, 1854, Le Breuil-sur-Couze – December 8, 1939, Vienne-en-Val) was an important activist in the French anarchist and the international anarchist communism movements. He was the editor of three major anarchist periodica ...

. Later, he wrote articles under the pseudonyms of Junius and in the magazine ''Le Libertaire'' of Sébastien Faure. Important influences in his writing were

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

, Benjamin Tucker,

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among ...

and

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a cham ...

. Armand later collaborated in other anarchist and pacifist journals such as ''La Misère'', ''L'Universel'' and ''Le Cri de révolte''. In 1901, he established with Marie Kugel (his companion until 1906) the journal ''L'Ère nouvelle'', which initially adhered to

Christian anarchism Christian anarchism is a Christian movement in political theology that claims anarchism is inherent in Christianity and the Gospels. It is grounded in the belief that there is only one source of authority to which Christians are ultimately ans ...

, later embraced anarcho-communism and in 1911 finally adhered to individualist anarchism. He founded ''Ligue antimilitariste'' in 1902 with

Albert Libertad Joseph Albert (known as Albert Libertad or Libertad) (24 November 1875 – 12 November 1908) was an individualist anarchist militant and writer from France who edited the influential anarchist publication ''L'Anarchie''. Life and work He was born ...

and George Mathias Paraf-Javal, another intransigent individualist. These principles he sought to apply within the social experimental spaces, events and communes that anarchist groups in the France of the time called ''milieux libres''. From 1902 on, Armand wrote ''Causeries populaires'' and started a publishing and writing partnership with the important individualist anarchist

. In 1905, he started collaborating in the journal '' L'Anarchie''. The anarchist, pacifist, and antimilitarist activism of Armand had him imprisoned many times around this period. In 1908 he published the book ''Qu'est-ce qu'un anarchiste''. In 1911 he married Denise Rougeault who helped him financially and with this he was able to concentrate on his activism. From 1922 on he published the magazine ''

'' which lasted around 17 years. At the same time he wrote ''Poésies composées en prison'', ''l'Initiation individualiste anarchiste'' (1923) and ''La révolution sexuelle et la camaraderie amoureuse'' (1934). In 1931 he published "Ways of communal life without state and authority. Economic and sexual experiences through history" in which he presented intentional communities anarchist and non-anarchist from different times. In it he argued that these experiments were ways of resistance and propaganda by the deed of the possibility of living differently according to

affinity group An affinity group is a group formed around a shared interest or common goal, to which individuals formally or informally belong. Affinity groups are generally precluded from being under the aegis of any governmental agency, and their purposes m ...

s will. In this way he revitalized utopian socialist thought and practice of thinkers such as

Robert Owen Robert Owen (; 14 May 1771 – 17 November 1858) was a Welsh people, Welsh textile manufacturer, philanthropist and social reformer, and a founder of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement. He strove to improve factory working conditio ...

and especially

Charles Fourier François Marie Charles Fourier (;; 7 April 1772 – 10 October 1837) was a French philosopher, an influential early socialist thinker and one of the founders of utopian socialism. Some of Fourier's social and moral views, held to be radical ...

with whom he could also connect with his viewpoints on

and freedom of personal exploration. By then, his thought had an important influence in the Spanish anarchist movements through the help of Spanish individualist anarchists activists such as José Elizalde (his main translator into Spanish) and his group "Sol y Vida" and the individualist anarchist press such as ''

La Revista Blanca ''La Revista Blanca'' was a Spanish individualist anarchist magazine of sociology and arts published in Madrid by Joan Montseny (Federico Urales) and Teresa Mañé (Soledad Gustavo) from 1898 to 1905 and in Barcelona from 1 June 1923 till 15 A ...

'', ''Ética'' and ''

Iniciales Individualist anarchism in Europe proceeded from the roots laid by William GodwinWoodcock, George. 2004. '' Anarchism: A History of Libertarian Ideas and Movements''. Broadview Press. p. 20. and soon expanded and diversified through Europe, inc ...

'' from Barcelona. ''Iniciales'' especially had a specific strong influence by Armand's thought. On the debate within anarchist circles he defended the Ido

constructed language A constructed language (sometimes called a conlang) is a language whose phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, instead of having developed naturally, are consciously devised for some purpose, which may include being devised for a work of fiction. ...

over

Esperanto Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communic ...

with the help of José Elizalde. He also maintained a fluid contact with important

individualist anarchists Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and to value independence and self-relianc ...

of the time such as the American Benjamin Tucker and the French

Han Ryner Jacques Élie Henri Ambroise Ner (7 December 1861 – 6 February 1938), also known by the pseudonym Han Ryner, was a French individualist anarchist philosopher and activist and a novelist. He wrote for publications such as ''L'Art social ...

. He also contributed in a few articles in Sébastien Faure´s '' Anarchist Encyclopedia'' and specifically he wrote the article on the encyclopedia on individualist anarchism. French

s grouped behind Armand and published '' L'Unique'' during and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. '' L'Unique'' went from 1945 to 1956 with a total of 110 numbers. Armand was an

.Declares himself as an atheist and an enemy of every irreconcilable monotheist and polytheist conceptions. Source: "Mi Ateísmo" El anarquismo individualista. Lo que es, puede y vale. He died on 19 February 1963, in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...

Armand's individualist anarchism

For Spanish historian Xavier Diez, the political philosophy of Émile Armand can be understood through the consideration of four main themes: his definition of

individualism Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and to value independence and self-reli ...

, the dynamics between the individual and society, individualist ethics, and the subject of association between individualists. Benjamin R Tucker

Armand liked to emphasize the difference that his individualist anarchism has with the social anarchist currents. As such, he rejected the usual call of

anarcho-communism Anarcho-communism, also known as anarchist communism, (or, colloquially, ''ancom'' or ''ancomm'') is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that advocates communism. It calls for the abolition of private property but retains re ...

for

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

. He argued that waiting for revolution meant waiting for the masses to gain awareness and will and delaying the enjoyment of liberty until that event comes. Instead, he advocated living under one's own conditions in the present time, revolting against social conditioning in daily life and living with those with an affinity to oneself in accord to the values and desire they share. He says the individualist is "a presentist" and "he could not, without bad reasoning and illogic, think of sacrificing his being, or his having, to the coming of a state of things he will not immediately enjoy". From the influence of

Max Stirner Johann Kaspar Schmidt (25 October 1806 – 26 June 1856), known professionally as Max Stirner, was a German post-Hegelian philosopher, dealing mainly with the Hegelian notion of social alienation and self-consciousness. Stirner is often seen a ...

he embraces egoistical denial of social conventions, dogmas and accords in order to live in accord to one's own ways and desires in daily life since he emphasized anarchism as a way of life and practice. In this way he manifests "So the anarchist individualist tends to reproduce himself, to perpetuate his spirit in other individuals who will share his views and who will make it possible for a state of affairs to be established from which authoritarianism has been banished. It is this desire, this will, not only to live, but also to reproduce oneself, which we shall call "activity" ". His views on society can be summarized as follows: From an individualist perspective Armand sees that one better look for those with an affinity to oneself and freely associate with one another with the possibility of breaking or interrupting the association or encounter at any time one of the parts wants it. In this way he applies this rule to friendship, love, sexual encounters and economic transactions. He adheres to an ethics of reciprocity and sees the chances of one's self realization as enhanced by the association with others seeing this as the main reason for propaganda of one's own values. Armand’s

"ideas about freedom in sexual matters come from Fourier’s “theory of the four movements”, which was as disdained by some “puritan” anarchists as Proudhon was. Fourier explains that humans have to follow the patterns of a markedly sexual universe which always moves in harmony, proposing a new organization of the amorous world in which everyone would be able to express their individuality in the plurality of encounters, which would permit all forms of love, encouraging every imaginable kind of associations."

A hedonistic individualism is advocated when he manifests that

" (Charles) Fourier saw it clearly when he launched his truly majestic expression of “the utilization of the passions”. A reasonable being utilizes; only the senseless suppress and mutilate. “Utilize one’s own passions” yes, but for whose benefit? For one’s own benefit, to make one’s self someone “more alive”, that is, more open to the multiple sensations that life offers. The happiness of living! Life is beautiful for whoever goes beyond the borders of conventional existence, whoever evades the hell of industrialism and commercialism, whoever rejects the stink of the alleys and taverns. Life is beautiful for whoever constructs it without care for the restrictions of respectability, of the fear of “what they’ll say” or of the gossips...Our individualism is not an individualism of the graveyard, an individualism of sadness and of shadow, an individualism of pain and suffering. Our individualism is a creator of happiness, in us and outside of us. We want to find happiness wherever it is possible, thanks to our potential as seekers, discoverers, realizers.".

For this a hedonistic logic is put forward and so Armand does not

"classify pleasures as superior or inferior, good or bad, useful or harmful, favorable or inconvenient. The ones that make me love life more are useful. The ones that make me hate it or depreciate it are harmful. Favorable are the enjoyments that make me feel like I’m living more fully, unfavorable those that contribute to the shrinking of my feeling of being alive. I feel myself to be a slave as long as I consent to others judging my passions. Not because I’m not really passionate, but because I want to flesh out my passions and impassion my flesh.".

Economics

In economics he says that the individualist anarchist "inwardly he remains refractory – fatally refractory – morally, intellectually, economically (The capitalist economy and the directed economy, the speculators and the fabricators of single are equally repugnant to him.)" He adheres to the following pluralistic logic as a form of individualist anarchist economics:

Here and there everything happening – here everyone receiving what they need, there each one getting whatever is needed according to their own capacity. Here,
gift A gift or a present is an item given to someone without the expectation of payment or anything in return. An item is not a gift if that item is already owned by the one to whom it is given. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation ...
and
barter In trade, barter (derived from ''baretor'') is a system of exchange in which participants in a transaction directly exchange goods or services for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. Economists disti ...
– one product for another; there, exchange – product for representative value. Here, the producer is the owner of the product, there, the product is put to the possession of the collectivity.

Free love activism and practice

Armand was an important propagandist of free love. He advocated

naturism Naturism is a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms ...

and

in what he termed ''la camaraderie amoureuse''. Above all he advocated a pluralism in sex and love matters in which one could find "Here sexual union and family, there freedom or promiscuity". He wrote many propagandist articles on this subject such as "De la liberté sexuelle" (1907) where he advocated not only a vague free love but also multiple partners, which he called "plural love". In the individualist anarchist journal ''

'', he and others continued in this way. Armand seized this opportunity to outline his theses supporting revolutionary sexualism and camaraderie amoureuse that differed from the traditional views of the partisans of free love in several respects. Later, Armand submitted that from an individualist perspective, nothing was reprehensible about making "love" even if one did not have very strong feelings for one's partner. "The camaraderie amoureuse thesis entails a free contract of association (that may be annulled without notice, following prior agreement) reached between anarchist individualists of different genders, adhering to the necessary standards of sexual hygiene, with a view toward protecting the other parties to the contract from certain risks of the amorous experience, such as rejection, rupture, exclusivism, possessiveness, unicity, coquetry, whims, indifference, flirtatiousness, disregard for others, and prostitution." He also published ''Le Combat contre la jalousie et le sexualisme révolutionnaire'' (1926), followed over the years by ''Ce que nous entendons par liberté de l'amour'' (1928), ''La Camaraderie amoureuse ou “chiennerie sexuelle”'' (1930), and, finally, ''La Révolution sexuelle et la camaraderie amoureuse'' (1934), a book of nearly 350 pages comprising most of his writings on sexuality. In a text from 1937, he mentioned among the individualist objectives the practice of forming

voluntary association A voluntary group or union (also sometimes called a voluntary organization, common-interest association, association, or society) is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement, usually as volunteers, to form a body (or organization) to ac ...

s for purely sexual purposes of heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual nature or of a combination thereof. He also supported the right of individuals to change sex and stated his willingness to rehabilitate forbidden pleasures, non-conformist caresses (he was personally inclined toward voyeurism), as well as sodomy. This led him allocate more and more space to what he called "the sexual non-conformists", while excluding physical violence. His militancy also included translating texts from people such as Alexandra Kollontai and

Wilhelm Reich Wilhelm Reich ( , ; 24 March 1897 – 3 November 1957) was an Austrian doctor of medicine and a psychoanalyst, along with being a member of the second generation of analysts after Sigmund Freud. The author of several influential books, most ...

and establishments of free love associations which tried to put into practice ''la camaraderie amoureuse'' through actual sexual experiences. The prestige in the subject of free love of Armand within anarchist circles was such as to motivate the young Argentinian anarchist América Scarfó to ask Armand in a letter on advice as to how to deal with the relationship she had with notorious Italian anarchist

Severino Di Giovanni Severino Di Giovanni (17 March 1901 – 1 February 1931) was an Italian anarchist who immigrated to Argentina, where he became the best-known anarchist figure in that country for his campaign of violence in support of Sacco and Vanzetti and anti ...

. Di Giovanni was still married when they began the relationship. "The letter was published in ''

''" on 20 January 1929 under the title "'An Experience', together with the reply from E. Armand". Armand replied to Scarfó, "Comrade: My opinion matters little in this matter you send me about what you are doing. Are you or are you not intimately in accord with your personal conception of the anarchist life? If you are, then ignore the comments and insults of others and carry on following your own path. No one has the right to judge your way of conducting yourself, even if it were the case that your friend's wife be hostile to these relations. Every woman united to an anarchist (or vice versa), knows very well that she should not exercise on him, or accept from him, domination of any kind."

Works

* L'idéal libertaire et sa réalisation., 1904. * De la liberté sexuelle, 1907. * Mon athéisme, 1908. * Qu'est-ce qu'un anarchiste ? Thèses et opinions, Paris, Éditions de l'anarchie, 1908, 179 p. * Le Malthusianisme, le néo-malthusianisme et le point de vue individualiste, 1910. * La Procréation volontaire au point de vue individualiste, 1910. * Est-ce cela que vous appelez « vivre ? », 1910. * Les Ouvriers, les syndicats et les anarchistes, 1910. * Mon point de vue de « l’anarchisme individualiste », 1911. * La Vie comme expérience, 1916. * Les besoins factices, les stimulants et les individualistes, 1917. * Le plus grand danger de l’après-guerre, 1917. * Lettre ouverte aux travailleurs des champs, 1919. * L’illégalisme anarchiste. Le mécanisme judiciaire et le point de vue individualiste, 1923. * L’illégaliste anarchiste est-il notre camarade ?, 1923
in english
* L’Initiation individualiste anarchiste, 1923. * Entretien sur la liberté de l’amour, 1924. * L’ABC de « nos » revendications individualistes anarchistes, 1924. * Liberté sexuelle, 1925. * Amour libre et liberté sexuelle, 1925. * ''Realism and Idealism mixed – Reflections of an Anarchist Individualist.'' 1926. * ''Ways of Life in Common without State nor Authority: Sexual and Economic Experiences through History.'' 1931 * ''Libertinage and Prostitution: great prostitutes and famous libertines: influence of the sexual act in the political and social life of humanity'' 1936 *

Publications

* '' L’Anarchie'' * ''L'Ère nouvelle'' (1901–1911) * ''Hors du troupeau'' (1911) * ''Par-delà la Mêlée'' (1916) * ''

L'EnDehors ''L'En-Dehors'' (, ''The Outside'') is a French individualist anarchist newspaper, created by Zo d'Axa in 1891. History Numerous activists contributed to the paper, including Jean Grave, Bernard Lazare, Albert Libertad, Octave Mirbeau, Saint-Po ...

'' (1922) * '' L’Unique'' (1945)

References

External links

*
The Anarchism of Emile Armand

entry for Emile Armand

by Emile Armand
Articles by Émile Armand, for magazines such as ''L'Ère nouvelle'' and ''L'Unique''.

"E. Armand and “la camaraderie amoureuse” Revolutionary sexualism and the struggle against jealousy" by Francis Ronsin

@ RevoltLib

@ marxists.org

(1911)

by Emile Armand in French

by Emile Armand. Thoughts on alternative communal experiments of his day in French * The Daily Bleed Calenda

for February 1962 provides background, in English & French, with useful links. {{DEFAULTSORT:Armand, Emile 1872 births 1962 deaths Anarchist theorists Anarcho-pacifists Egoist anarchists Free love advocates French anarchists French atheists French pacifists Individualist anarchists Mutualists Non-interventionism Writers from Paris