The Essays of Errico Malatesta

Gathered here are the major essays of one of anarchism’s most enduring voices, including the pamphlet Anarchy, in which Malatesta sets out to answer the ordinary objection that society cannot function without government. He argues that authority and coercion are not the foundation of order but obstacles to it, and that people freely cooperating could organize work, justice, and daily life without masters. Written for workers rather than scholars, the pieces are plain, direct, and patiently reasoned, returning again and again to the practical question of how a free society might actually operate. Spanning decades of an activist life, they remain a clear introduction to classical anarchist thought. Free to download here as a PDF and EPUB edition.