# The Workman — Moribund Society and Anarchy character guide

> The Workman in Moribund Society and Anarchy by Jean Grave.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** The workman, himself

**First appearance:** 0001-moribund-society-and-anarchy

## Snapshot

The laborer whose demands the anarchists refuse to convert into a career, standing as the test of whether a movement can serve the exploited without breeding new masters.

## Who they are

He is the recurring figure of the exploited, the one whose grievances political butterflies would happily ride into office. The anarchists' insistence that they offer no stepping-stone to personal ambition—that the individual alone comprehends his own needs—places him at the center of the book's argument about sincerity versus intrigue. His presence forces the question the early chapters keep circling: can a movement of the crushed avoid producing new crushers?

## Relationships

### [Anarchy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/anarchy)

_friendship_

Anarchy and The Workman share a close alliance, with The Workman embodying the practical, labor-driven side of the anarchist movement.

### [The Anarchists](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/the_anarchists)

_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 Workman and the Unknown Narrator have a distant, observational relationship, with the Narrator documenting the Workman's struggles.

### [Their Masters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/their_masters)

_rivalry_

The Workman is in direct conflict with Their Masters, representing the exploited laborer versus the oppressive ruling class.

### [Dr. Manouvrier](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/dr_manouvrier)

_professional_

Dr. Manouvrier likely studies or categorizes The Workman as a subject of anthropological or sociological analysis.

### [Anarchy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/anarchy)

_friendship_

Anarchy and The Workman share a close alliance, with The Workman embodying the practical, labor-driven side of the anarchist movement.

### [The Anarchists](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/the_anarchists)

_friendship_

The Anarchists and The Workman are natural allies, united by shared goals of labor rights and societal upheaval.

## In the story

### [VII: Authority](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/vii-authority)

Referenced as the worker who bears the cost of government without benefit.

### [X: The Influence of Environment](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/x-the-influence-of-environment)

Referenced as the worker who is forced into competition with fellow workers and exploited by masters.

### [XI: “The Country”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/xi-the-country)

Implied as the worker who is exploited and sent to war, with no real stake in national conflicts.

### [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)

The worker who is manipulated by patriotic rhetoric and bears the burden of war and taxes.

### [Colonization](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/xiv-colonization)

The workman is referenced as being brutalized by military discipline and unknowingly serving as an instrument of despotism, approving of colonial infamies.

### [XV: There Are No Inferior Races](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/xv-there-are-no-inferior-races)

Referenced as 'we workers' who do not believe themselves lower than exploiters, asserting equal capacity for cultivation.

### [Anarchism and Its Practicability](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/xxii-anarchism-and-its-practicability)

Referenced as the worker who can hope for no improvement under the current system and is urged to revolt.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/the_workman
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters