The Place of the Individual in Society

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About this book

The Place of the Individual in Society is by Emma Goldman. The text names public opinion as a most concentrated dullness, says few have the courage to stand out against it, and says one who refuses to submit is at once labelled queer or different.

The text says that, perhaps even more than constituted authority, social uniformity and sameness harass the individual, whose very uniqueness, separateness and differentiation make him an alien. The text says the sole legitimate purpose of society is to serve the needs and advance the aspiration of the individual, and that only by doing so can it justify its existence and be an aid to progress and culture. The writer says that political parties and men savagely scrambling for power will scorn the writer as hopelessly out of tune with our time, while man’s yearning for liberation from all authority and power will never be soothed by their cracked song.

About the author

Emma Goldman

Emma Goldman (1869-1940) was a Lithuanian-born anarchist, writer, and orator who became one of the most influential and controversial radical thinkers in America. Her essays championed personal and political freedom.