# The Anarchists — Moribund Society and Anarchy character guide > The Anarchists in Moribund Society and Anarchy by Jean Grave. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Anarchists, The Anarchists **First appearance:** 0001-moribund-society-and-anarchy ## Snapshot A scattered, moneyless collective whose ideas invade art, science, and literature, bound together less by organization than by a shared refusal to be governed. ## Who they are They are the movement's many hands: unknown propagandists without funds whose doctrines nonetheless seep into every corner of culture. Their defining tension is internal—individualists cry that Communism and Anarchy cannot be coupled, while the book insists the two complete each other. Their rapid growth, and the hatred they inspire in intriguers who find no ladder here, is the phenomenon the early chapters set out to explain. ## Relationships ### [Anarchy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/anarchy) _friendship_ Anarchy is the ideological core and guiding force for The Anarchists, who follow and propagate its principles. ### [The Workman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/the_workman) _friendship_ The Anarchists and The Workman are natural allies, united by shared goals of labor rights and societal upheaval. ### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/unknown_narrator) _social_ The Unknown Narrator interacts with The Anarchists as a chronicler and commentator on their activities and beliefs. ### [Dr. Manouvrier](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/dr_manouvrier) _professional_ Dr. Manouvrier likely studies The Anarchists as a social or biological phenomenon, often with a critical or deterministic lens. ### [Jean Grave](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/jean_grave) _friendship_ Jean Grave is a comrade and intellectual leader among The Anarchists, contributing to their movement. ### [The Workman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/the_workman) _friendship_ The Anarchists and The Workman are natural allies, united by shared goals of labor rights and societal upheaval. ### [Anarchy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/anarchy) _friendship_ Anarchy is the ideological core and guiding force for The Anarchists, who follow and propagate its principles. ## In the story ### [Moribund Society and Anarchy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/moribund-society-and-anarchy) The Anarchists are implied as the agents of social revolution. ### [I: The Anarchistic Idea and Its Development](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/i-the-anarchistic-idea-and-its-development) The Anarchists are portrayed as propagandists who attack all institutions of authority and demonstrate the iniquity of private property, facing persecution but growing in number. ### [II: Individualism and Solidarity](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/ii-individualism-and-solidarity) Discussed as a diverse group, some of whom exaggerate individualism or communism, leading to internal debates. ### [III: Too Abstract](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/iii-too-abstract) The Anarchists are the subject of the objection that their propaganda is too abstract; they defend their method as necessary for conscious revolution. ### [IV: Is Man Evil?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/iv-is-man-evil) Referenced as 'we Anarchists, destroyers of laws and property,' who claim to know the key to the enigma of social revolution. ### [V: Property](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/v-property) Referenced as those demanding expropriation by force, against whom the bourgeoisie declaim. ### [VI: The Family](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/vi-the-family) The Anarchists are described as rejecting marriage and the legal family, advocating for unions based on affection and freedom. ### [VII: Authority](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/vii-authority) Implied as the audience for the call to destroy government. ### [VIII: The Magistracy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/viii-the-magistracy) Implied as the 'we' who reject the legitimacy of law and judges, advocating for a social revolution. ### [IX: The Right to Punish and the Savants](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/ix-the-right-to-punish-and-the-savants) Referenced as 'us Anarchists' who assail legality and authority. ### [X: The Influence of Environment](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/x-the-influence-of-environment) Implied as those who dream of a society based on solidarity and who critique the current order. ### [XI: “The Country”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/xi-the-country) Referenced as those who logically oppose participation in war, as wars serve only exploiters. ### [XII: The Patriotism of the Governing Classes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/xii-the-patriotism-of-the-governing-classes) Referenced as those who demonstrate the antagonism of interests between workers and the bourgeoisie. ### [XIII: Militarism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/xiii-militarism) Implicitly present as the critical voice against militarism, though not named directly in the excerpts. ### [Colonization](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/xiv-colonization) Implied as the perspective from which the critique is launched, opposing the state and capitalist exploitation inherent in colonization. ### [XV: There Are No Inferior Races](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/xv-there-are-no-inferior-races) Implied as the collective voice opposing racial hierarchy and colonial violence. ### [XVI: Why We Are Revolutionists](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/xvi-why-we-are-revolutionists) Described as coordinators of efforts and synthesizers of aspirations, disdainful of no contribution, and inevitably driven to action by circumstances. ### [XVII: As to What Means Follow from the Principles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/xvii-as-to-what-means-follow-from-the-principles) Discussed as repudiating certain means of struggle (e.g., universal suffrage) and as sometimes carrying reasoning to absurdity by justifying theft or advocating indiscriminate violence. ### [Revolution and Anarchy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/xviii-revolution-and-anarchy) Referenced as a diverse group with differing views on methods; some are impatient and focus on revolution, while others prioritize ideological clarity. ### [XIX: Efficacy of Reforms](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/xix-efficacy-of-reforms) The Anarchists are presented as the ones who decline to pursue reforms, recognizing them as decoys that distract from revolutionary change. ### [XX: The Experimental Method](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/xx-the-experimental-method) Portrayed as social hygienists who diagnose the causes of societal disease and prescribe the destruction of authority and property. ### [XXI: What Then?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/xxi-what-then) Referenced as the group whose duty is to carry the masses along during the revolution and to oppose sentimentality. ### [Anarchism and Its Practicability](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/xxii-anarchism-and-its-practicability) The group whose ideas are defended as practical through conviction and propaganda. ### [XXIII: The Unvarnished Truth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/xxiii-the-unvarnished-truth) Criticized for sometimes treating the masses as plastic dough and for harboring authoritarian remnants. ### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/endnotes) Referenced in translator's note about Lombroso's analysis of Chicago anarchists. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/the_anarchists - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters