Individual reclamation
Encyclopedia
Individual reclamation is a form of direct action
, characterized by the individual theft of resources from the rich by the poor. Individual reclamation gained popular attention in the early 20th century as a result of the exploits of anarchists
and outsiders such as Ravachol
and Clément Duval
who believed that such expropriations
were ethical because of the exploitation of society by capitalists (see Anti-capitalism
). Advocacy centered around France, Belgium, Great Britain and Switzerland.
, wrote What Is Property?
, a question to which he famously answered "property is theft". By this, Proudhon meant that legitimate private property
could result only from an individual's labor and all other capital was, in effect, stolen. This economic world view converged in the minds of radicals with the Russian theorist Mikhail Bakunin's concept of propaganda of the deed
, the use of physical violence against political enemies as a method of inspiring the masses.
A marginal sector of European individualist anarchism
derived the idea of individual reclamation as a means of breaking down what they perceived as the robbery of the laboring class by capitalists, politicians and the church. The individual's expropriation was regarded as legitimate resistance against an unfair social order, an ethical right to even the distribution of wealth.
and Clément Duval
. A later generation of European anarchists, influenced by the anti-essentialism
of Max Stirner
, would eventually abandon the ethical framing of individual reclamation, proposing an ideology of illegalism
and openly embracing criminality as a lifestyle. The most famous of these practitioners included the infamous Bonnot Gang
of France.
In the 20th century, Lucio Urtubia
, a Spanish practitioner of individual reclamation, stole millions from Citibank
by forging traveler's checks. Between 1993 and 2007, Jaime Giménez Arbe
robbed 36 banks in Spain, stealing more than €700,000 euros in what he described as an effort "to liberate the Spanish people" from the banking sector.
Direct action
Direct action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. This can include nonviolent and violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action...
, characterized by the individual theft of resources from the rich by the poor. Individual reclamation gained popular attention in the early 20th century as a result of the exploits of anarchists
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
and outsiders such as Ravachol
Ravachol
François Claudius Koenigstein, known as Ravachol, , was a French anarchist. He was born 14 October 1859 at Saint-Chamond and died guillotined 11 July 1892 at Montbrison.-Biography:...
and Clément Duval
Clément Duval
Clément Duval was a famous French anarchist and criminal. His ideas concerning individual reclamation were greatly influential in later shaping illegalism....
who believed that such expropriations
Confiscation
Confiscation, from the Latin confiscatio 'joining to the fiscus, i.e. transfer to the treasury' is a legal seizure without compensation by a government or other public authority...
were ethical because of the exploitation of society by capitalists (see Anti-capitalism
Anti-capitalism
Anti-capitalism describes a wide variety of movements, ideas, and attitudes which oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists, in the strict sense of the word, are those who wish to completely replace capitalism with another system....
). Advocacy centered around France, Belgium, Great Britain and Switzerland.
Conceptual origins
In 1840, Pierre Joseph Proudhon, a French anarchistAnarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
, wrote What Is Property?
What Is Property?
What Is Property?: or, An Inquiry into the Principle of Right and of Government is an influential work of nonfiction on the concept of property and its relation to anarchist philosophy by the French anarchist and mutualist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, first published in 1840.In the book, Proudhon most...
, a question to which he famously answered "property is theft". By this, Proudhon meant that legitimate private property
Private property
Private property is the right of persons and firms to obtain, own, control, employ, dispose of, and bequeath land, capital, and other forms of property. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which refers to assets owned by a state, community or government rather than by...
could result only from an individual's labor and all other capital was, in effect, stolen. This economic world view converged in the minds of radicals with the Russian theorist Mikhail Bakunin's concept of propaganda of the deed
Propaganda of the deed
Propaganda of the deed is a concept that refers to specific political actions meant to be exemplary to others...
, the use of physical violence against political enemies as a method of inspiring the masses.
A marginal sector of European individualist anarchism
Individualist anarchism
Individualist anarchism refers to several traditions of thought within the anarchist movement that emphasize the individual and his or her will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions, and ideological systems. Individualist anarchism is not a single philosophy but refers to a...
derived the idea of individual reclamation as a means of breaking down what they perceived as the robbery of the laboring class by capitalists, politicians and the church. The individual's expropriation was regarded as legitimate resistance against an unfair social order, an ethical right to even the distribution of wealth.
Practice
Well-known 19th century practitioners of individual reclamation included RavacholRavachol
François Claudius Koenigstein, known as Ravachol, , was a French anarchist. He was born 14 October 1859 at Saint-Chamond and died guillotined 11 July 1892 at Montbrison.-Biography:...
and Clément Duval
Clément Duval
Clément Duval was a famous French anarchist and criminal. His ideas concerning individual reclamation were greatly influential in later shaping illegalism....
. A later generation of European anarchists, influenced by the anti-essentialism
Essentialism
In philosophy, essentialism is the view that, for any specific kind of entity, there is a set of characteristics or properties all of which any entity of that kind must possess. Therefore all things can be precisely defined or described...
of Max Stirner
Max Stirner
Johann Kaspar Schmidt , better known as Max Stirner , was a German philosopher, who ranks as one of the literary fathers of nihilism, existentialism, post-modernism and anarchism, especially of individualist anarchism...
, would eventually abandon the ethical framing of individual reclamation, proposing an ideology of illegalism
Illegalism
Illegalism is an anarchist philosophy that developed primarily in France, Italy, Belgium, and Switzerland during the early 1900s as an outgrowth of individualist anarchism...
and openly embracing criminality as a lifestyle. The most famous of these practitioners included the infamous Bonnot Gang
Bonnot gang
The Bonnot Gang was a French criminal anarchist group that operated in France and Belgium during the Belle Époque, from 1911 to 1912...
of France.
In the 20th century, Lucio Urtubia
Lucio Urtubia
Lucio Urtubia Jiménez is a Spanish anarchist famous for his practice of expropriative anarchism. At times compared to Robin Hood, Urtubia carried out bank robberies and forgeries throughout the 1960s and 1970s...
, a Spanish practitioner of individual reclamation, stole millions from Citibank
Citibank
Citibank, a major international bank, is the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York...
by forging traveler's checks. Between 1993 and 2007, Jaime Giménez Arbe
Jaime Giménez Arbe
Jaime Giménez Arbe is the identity behind the Spanish anarchist and bank robber known as El Solitario .He is charged with more than thirty...
robbed 36 banks in Spain, stealing more than €700,000 euros in what he described as an effort "to liberate the Spanish people" from the banking sector.
See also
- Expropriative anarchismExpropriative anarchismExpropriative anarchism is the name given to an anarchist practice carried out by certain anarchist affinity groups in Argentina and Spain which involved theft, robbery, scams and counterfeiting currency. The robberies done were called "expropriations on the bourgoisie"...
- Labor theory of valueLabor theory of valueThe labor theories of value are heterodox economic theories of value which argue that the value of a commodity is related to the labor needed to produce or obtain that commodity. The concept is most often associated with Marxian economics...
- Robin HoodRobin HoodRobin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
- YomangoYomangoYomango is a shoplifting movement that originated in Barcelona in 2002. It is billed as an anti-consumer lifestyle....