The first native wildflower blooming this spring in the local woods is Nuttall's toothwort (Cardamine nuttallii), a little native bittercress that I was unaware of before today. oregonflora.org/taxa/index.p...

New Translation: Ramón de la Sagra, “On the Imprecision of Economic Principles and the Teaching of Political Economy in Colleges” (1847) — This is a nice intro, providing lots to think about when it comes to similarities to and differences from Proudhon. www.libertarian-labyrinth.org/wp-content/u...

An entertaining work, which seems to come around as a useful reference more often than one would like or expect: archive.org/details/Brou...

I have added a draft translation of Ramón de la Sagra's "Bank of the People" (1849) to my translations from his work. The book was published in support of Proudhon's free credit project. www.libertarian-labyrinth.org/featured-aut...

Ramón de la Sagra wrote "Bank of the People: Theory and Practice" as a general work, with particular attention to Proudhon's project in the first and last chapters. After the failure of the project, it appears he rewrote those chapters and republished it as "Economic Revolution: Causes and Means."

I am working on an expanded edition of "Solution of the Social Problem," which collected Proudhon's work on mutual credit. That project involves collecting writings by his collaborators—a significant selection of which are now linked at the page below: www.libertarian-labyrinth.org/working-tran...

The "Detailed Explanation of the Bank of the People" is sufficiently detailed that we learn how we might have attempted to purchase camels in Paris in 1848, using its circulation vouchers.

My break from the work on Proudhon's property theory was a quick translation of Ramón de la Sagra's "Social Aphorisms," the 1848 version of a work that he appears to have written and rewritten a number of times in the 1840s. www.libertarian-labyrinth.org/featured-aut...

I got curious about what — and how many different things — the "Encyclopédie Anarchiste" had to say about "organization." You'll find all of the entries for that term, plus a few related ones, quickly, but newly translated at the link below: www.libertarian-labyrinth.org/anarchist-en...

A minor update to the "Programs and Manifestos" listing, with a couple of new translations linked, including one in support of Ravachol et al. www.libertarian-labyrinth.org/anarchist-be...

We can probably safely say that the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building no longer functions as "a metaphor for sustainable and transparent government."

New translation: Daniel Saurin, "Order through Anarchy" (1893) — This was published by "La Révolte" and advertised by the major anarchist papers for years. It's an exploration of anarchist ethics from a what is essentially a natural law perspective. www.libertarian-labyrinth.org/working-tran...

"Even so, “Melania” had the best result for a wide-release documentary, excluding concert films, since 2012, when the nature film “Chimpanzee” arrived to $10.7 million, or about $15 million after adjusting for inflation, according to Comscore data." (NYT)

I'm working on a post for the Contr'un blog, "Property: The Sixth Formulation," which proposes a non-exhaustive list of seven characterizations of "property" in Proudhon's works and then sets up some of the apparatus for "The Anarchism of the Encounter." It's a bit of a tiger-by-the-tail affair.

A Schematic Anarchism: Anarchy and the Governmental Series — I've been sitting on this since April 2024, but someone actually asked the question it answers yesterday (and what's one more arcane horror loosed upon the world at this point?) www.libertarian-labyrinth.org/featured-art...

Bestor's "Evolution of the Socialist Vocabulary" is surprisingly weak on the history of "égalitaire"/"egalitarian"—less surprisingly so on "humanitaire"/"humanitary"/"humanitarian"—in their political senses. A deeper dive in the relevant literature is called for, but it appears at first glance...

New translation: Jean-Jacques Pillot, "Neither Castles nor Cottages" (1840) — More neo-babouvism, for your reading pleasure. No, really... www.libertarian-labyrinth.org/wp-content/u...

Best OCR coinage in a while: plushypocrites.

Three essays from "L'Humanitaire," the (proto) anarchist communist paper published in 1841: two essays on social science and a brief biography of Sylvain Maréchal. www.libertarian-labyrinth.org/wp-content/u...

Three essays from "L'Humanitaire," the 1841 (proto) anarchist communist paper, are at the top of the translation queue. Soon.

It was only a matter of time: "Multiple monkeys are on the loose in St. Louis, and AI-generated images are complicating the effort to find them." apnews.com/article/monk...

Updates to the Lewis Masquerier bibliography, with links to a pdf of most of his contributions to the "Western Examiner," Ann Tabor's contributions to the "Boston Investigator," etc. The new additions are some of his earliest writings, from 1834-35. www.libertarian-labyrinth.org/lewis-masque...

A summary of recent updates, some new translations, etc. www.libertarian-labyrinth.org/journal/rese...

I've been transcribing Lewis Masquerier's 1834-35 contributions to the "Western Examiner" (as "Palmer.") I usually think of his social-scientific period as starting with "The Materiality of Mind" in 1836, but there are some beginnings here . He was a kook, but this is interesting material.

They say it's about oil, but really they just heard that Latin America was short on inflatable frog costumes.

I rang in the new year trying to figure out how many small books or pamphlet E. Armand published in 1899 — and under how many names. (A Patreon freebie) www.patreon.com/posts/e-arma...

My memories were correct. A few early issues of Libertad's "l'anarchie" are wall-to-wall goodness — but there are stretches when the paper is downright dull. Around the middle of 1906, E. Armand starts to stir the pot regularly, but it's a bit of a slog getting that far.

Here are some translations from the genre of Anarchist Christmas stories. And, with a little luck, I'll add a few more, from "Le Libertaire," before I drift off to sleep tonight. www.libertarian-labyrinth.org/tag/christmas/

I've been struggling to synthesize three kinds of "encounter" in Proudhon's work into a bit of more general theory. Lo and behold, the most seemingly disparate elements all appear to be accounted for among the senses of "se rencontrer." That leaves work to be done, but it's a wonderful step forward.

Based on previous efforts, the "Golden Fleet" seems likely to really lift the spray-paint industry.

Dear Leader announces an "unprecedented four-day athletic event" in which "one young man and one young woman from each state and territory" will battle "a radical IRA splinter cell led by Kevin O'Donnell." No word yet whether Jack Ryan will be featured in the National Garden of American Heroes.

Well, it's that time of year again... when someone stumbles on my largely moribund Redbubble shop and treats themselves or some hard-to-please acquaintance to something from the DRAWNFROMHISTORY collections. www.redbubble.com/people/shawn...

New translation: "The Bank of the People Must Regenerate the World" (1849) — A pamphlet issued in support of Proudhon's second mutual credit project, from an anonymous author of somewhat independent opinions. www.libertarian-labyrinth.org/wp-content/u...

Some discussion of the practical details of mutualist credit "banks" over on Reddit: www.reddit.com/r/mutualism/...

New translation: Proudhon, "Organization of Credit and Circulation." The third of the pamphlets collected in "Solution du Problème Social," with an introduction by Charles Fauvety not included in the Œuvres Complètes. Economic theory + Bank of Exchange. www.libertarian-labyrinth.org/wp-content/u...

I've been "translating" some caricatures and broadsides relating to Proudhon. Some will show up on a mutual credit page I'm putting together right now, but here's one that I uploaded to my Patreon as a freebie: www.patreon.com/posts/apostl...

I spent some time this morning working on the Corvus Editions archive, linking the best copies available of texts from the Utopias and “Utopian” Socialism / Science Fiction library. There are some neglected gems there. www.libertarian-labyrinth.org/corvus-editi...

The Department of War is rumored to be preparing to split the Coast Guard once again into the United States Revenue Cutter Service — because "cutter" sounds pretty warrior-ethos-y and cutting revenue is one of the administration's proven strong points ...

Something I was reminded of today: "What can we do [about pauperism]? First, we must close up official out-door relief. Second. we must check private and indiscriminate benevolence, or charity, falsely so called. Third, we must get hold of the children." www.libertarian-labyrinth.org/from-the-arc...

We could probably achieve a real increase in various kinds of clarity in modern society if all "AI" responses were required to simply begin "Well ackshually..."

"I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for an unconscionable betrayal today."

I'm pleased to be able to share a draft translation containing the Introduction ("On Happiness"), Books I-V and the Epilogue from Pierre Leroux's "Humanity" (1840). www.libertarian-labyrinth.org/wp-content/u...

I finished translating the first 3 books of Pierre Leroux's Humanity last night and am on pace to finish the next two today. That's the bulk of the analysis, with just a very long historical "proof" following it. I think folks will find it useful in the context of Proudhon and his contemporaries.

A free post over on the Patreon, because no one should have to pay to experience these horrors ("available now with our Premium service, which, this week only, you can have for the low price of...") www.patreon.com/posts/in-cas...

Lots of useful information here on growing native plants frm seed: klamathsiskiyouseeds.com/seed-germina...

I have completed translations of the sections of Proudhon's "Jesus and the Origins of Christianity" not included in the collection published as "Jesus AntiChrist." www.libertarian-labyrinth.org/wp-content/u...

Not content to merely adapt the work of former administrations, the president is intent, in his Washington, DC renovations, on completing a work begun by [checks notes] the British in 1814.