An Appeal to the Young by Pyotr Kropotkin

An Appeal to the Young Reviews

• 
  Lucas

  Kropotkin never fails to inspire action with his prophetic style. Despite being written a century ago his words still ring true and should be read by anyone who considers themselves on the political left. This short pamphlet is a great place to start learning about anarchism as Kropotkin saw it.e
• 
  Nishant

  "...when one is speaking to those who have suffered from the effects of bourgeois surroundings, how many sophisms must be combated, how many prejudices overcome, how many interested objections put aside!"
  
  Anarchism necessitates action. Radical thinking is not enough, one who claims to be an anarchist has also to act radically. But those who have ever entered in a situation which demanded to make choices about the course of action must appreciate the difficulty that those who act face in such situation. Such are the situation when the fundamental convictions are either strengthened or revised. This pamphlet must be read for strengthening one's basic beliefs of socialism.
  
  Kropotkin starts with defining the young whom he is talking to. The young, according to Kropotkin, "have a mind free from the superstition which teachers have sought to force upon (them); ... (they) are not one of the fops, sad products of the society in decay, who display their well-cut trousers and their monkey faces in the park." And then he throws the basic question which grapples every young person- "What am I going to be?" Thus the appeal is made to those who want to apply the knowledge and expertise that they acquire in the discipline of their choice towards addressing 'disenfranchisement of the people living in misery and ignorance'.
  
  As the appeal builds up with examples and cases of dilemma which is faced by "the young" in different professions, the appeal gets stronger and strengthens the radical attitude and the urges of the young reader. This is a pamphlet to be kept in the study, always reminding of what needs to be done.
  
  P.S. It was after reading Kropotkin's works that Oscar Wilde had declared himself an anarchist and wrote the famous essay 'The Soul of Man Under Socialism'. Following quote from the same essay reflects the anarchist socialist tendencies of Wilde-
  "Socialism itself will be of value simply because it will lead to Individualism".
• 
  Devon Giguere

  An Appeal to the Young is a very inspiring work that demonstrates the passionate writing that embodies Kropotkin's works. If you desire to gain an understanding of anarchism, then this may not be the best thing to read. I would recommend his Mutual Aid and The Conquest of Beard. However, this work is really inspiring and should be read by the youth. He talks about how we should do something of value by helping the revolution. I would recommend it to anyone that is a teenager or young adult. Especially those who really don't know what to do with their life.
• 
  Marts (Thinker)

  Introduction to Kropotkin's 1880 pamphlet, "It is to the young that I wish to address myself today. Let the old — I mean of course the old in heart and mind — lay the pamphlet down therefore without tiring their eyes in reading what will tell them nothing..."
  This can be read online at the Anarchist Library:
  http://theanarchistlibrary.org/librar...
• 
  Christopher Trader

  A brilliant and stirring essay on the reality of experienced oppression.
• 
  Martyna

  choć książka była wydana 140 lat temu to jest nadal aktualna. napisana z pasją i w bardzo inspirujący sposób. (plus, RCIN wrzucił pdf tego za darmo, więc jeśli ktoś chce linka to piszcie)
• 
  Kat Alex

  Accessible, inspiring, wonderful!
• 
  Adrian

  A very quick read and one that surprised me very much. Kropotkin makes great poetic arguments to young workers in different trades about why they should fight on the side of socialism. I might recommend this book to my liberal friends who are on the fence about socialism. This fired me up and was a reminder of the reasons I fight
• 
  Sumit Ghosh

  It doesn't have much rigor to it, but that's not what it was going for anyway. So in a way it's kind of a propagandist—without any bad connotation of the word—pamphlet, nevertheless I liked it.
• 
  Mary L

  I think Kropotkin's real strength lays in imbuing hope, wonder, and vigor in his readers through his writing. I don't think this piece is helpful for understanding the basics of anarcho-communism/anarchism, but it's a perfect for keeping hope in the day to day struggle against capitalism and all oppression.
• 
  Brendan

  Interesting historical document that is still relevant today.
• 
  Jairo

  Beautifully written and inspiring work.
• 
  Facundo

  A good book.
• 
  Paul Bond

  How do you get people to dedicate their lives to Big Issues? By demonstrating that unless society is fixed, each person's day-to-day is doomed to failure. That's certainly Kropotkin's approach here. He asks the would-be doctor what drug can be prescribed for workers ground down by poverty; the scientist how his discoveries will ever be applied except in service of luxury; the lawyer how he can defend the poor, who really do (and should) break property laws (that are unjust). Instead, Kropotkin urges, all should capital-S Socialists! It's addressed to the young, so perhaps fittingly the argument is a bit juvenile. It is the rhetoric of someone who has learned one very effective rhetorical trick, and intends to show it off. Strangely evocative of ATLAS SHRUGGED, which also sought to demonstrate that no individual, however noble and valiant, can flourish in a hopelessly compromised society. I hope the parallels would give Rand and Kropotkin equal pause.
• 
  Tammam Aloudat

  Unlike
  Anarchist Morality which I have read not long ago, this one is neither a book intended by the author nor is it an analytical philosophical argument. This is rather a collection of articles written over several decades and published in newspapers and pamphlets and are mainly a tool for propaganda rather than of thought.
  
  That doesn't discredit them in anyway though as the exercise in convincing the skeptics can be as well done and well crafted as that of much other types of writing.
  
  The collection ranges from a few short articles that talk about the reasoning of Anarcho-Communism to a very brilliantly written prediction of the coming tyranny of the Soviet state done with a great foresight in 1919 to the longer article which is the appeal to the young which is very well done and which still applies in part today.
• 
  ioanna ⭑

  if you’re interested in political theory and want to read about anarchism this book is perfect. it’s so simple and interesting as are all of kropotkin’s works and i really really recommend his books !!
• 
  Joredos

  Good appeal but continue to be invalid.Nowadays people are the same sheeps .Anarchy is applied only when there is smart people.The society is on standby for that...actually fro thousands of years.
• 
  graceofgod

  Ok-ish Propoganda.
• 
  Booklevard22

  Αν και αναφερεταί πιο πολύ στην πρώιμη καπιταλιστική κοινωνία παραμένει, εξίσου, ένα επίκαιρο δοκίμιο προς κάθε νέο άνθρωπο!
• 
  Ledese

  not: the insightful/provoking anarchist call to action i was expecting,
  more: recruiting propaganda pandering to the young and confused, political missionary?
• 
  Zach Boyle

  I disagree with the author, but a little less dogmatic than Marx and others.