The Conquest of Bread · Character

The Socialists

A chorus of rival socialist voices whose schemes Kropotkin measures against his own, sometimes borrowing, often correcting.

supporting

Also known as Some Socialists, Socialists, Other Socialists

First appearance: The Conquest of Bread

As a supporting figure in The Conquest of Bread, The Socialists is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Referenced as proponents of various socialist ideas that Kropotkin engages with and critiques.

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The socialists gather the many strands of nineteenth-century radical thought, from state planners to mutualists, each offering a remedy for the same disease. Kropotkin treats them as interlocutors rather than enemies, testing their proposals against the practical question of how a city in revolt would actually feed itself. Their disagreements give the book its dialectical energy, forcing Kropotkin to show why anarchist communism is not merely another blueprint but the one that follows from abundance.

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Character Web

5 connections

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Relationship types

Rivalry
Friendship

Character groups

Economic and Political Thinkers
Protagonist

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

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Relationships

Proudhon
rivalry · negative
Proudhon was a fierce critic of mainstream socialist thought, famously declaring… How this plays out →
Robert Owen
friendship · positive
Napoleon
rivalry · negative
Marx
rivalry · negative
Rothschild
rivalry · negative

Proudhon
Proudhon was a fierce critic of mainstream socialist thought, famously declaring 'property is theft' while opposing collectivist socialism.
Robert Owen
Owen was a pioneering socialist whose cooperative experiments influenced later socialist movements.
Napoleon
Napoleon suppressed socialist and Jacobin ideas during his rule, viewing them as threats to his authoritarian order.
Marx
Marx harshly criticized other socialist schools (e.g., utopian, anarchist) as unscientific, promoting his own revolutionary theory.
Rothschild
Rothschild, as a symbol of capitalist finance, was a frequent target of socialist critique and class struggle rhetoric.

Relationship notes

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In the story

The Socialists appears across 23 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

The Conquest of Bread
Referenced as proponents of various socialist ideas that Kropotkin engages with and critiques.
Our Riches
Referenced as those who have repeatedly argued that the means of production have been seized by the few.
II
Cited as having repeatedly argued that the few have seized the means of production, leading to poverty for the many.
I
Referenced as critics who raise objections about foreign millionaires settling in a revolutionary community.
III
Some Socialists are criticized for trying to distinguish between instruments of production and articles of consumption, a distinction Kropotkin rejects.
Food
Criticized for dreaming of a revolution that only takes profits without transforming production.
I
Implied as those who, like the Jacobins, prioritize political questions over material needs.
V
Referenced as those who dream of revolution accomplished in an instant.
I
Mentioned as a few socialists scattered among middle class elements in the Provisionary Government, who might take up the measure of rent abolition.
Ways and Means
Referenced as having previously calculated how many hours of daily work would suffice to produce necessities, often concluding four or five hours.
I
Referenced as having a narrow view of the capitalist system according to Kropotkin.
The Need for Luxury
Referenced as those who object that communist societies might not provide for varied tastes beyond basic necessities.
X: Agreeable Work
Kropotkin mentions Socialists who argue for making work agreeable and those who reject the phalanstery.
II
Mentioned as rejecting phalansteries but still expecting women to do housework.
Free Agreement
Early English and French socialists are credited with showing how legislation favored large capital over small industry.
II
Referenced as early English and French socialists who showed how legislation ruined small industries and drove peasants into poverty.
I
Mentioned as partisans of individual remuneration who defend the wage system despite its flaws.
XIII: The Collectivist Wages System
Referenced as collectivists advocating wage systems.
II
Referenced as French, German, English, and Italian collectivists who advocate the collectivist system.
The Fallacy of Wage Distinctions
Referred to as 'collectivist writers' who advocate for a scale of wages based on skill.
IV
Referenced as 'collectivists' who advocate for the principle 'to each according to his deeds'.
The Division of Labour
Criticized for accepting the division of labor even in revolutionary plans, proposing that workers continue specialized tasks like pin-sharpening for life.
II
Referenced indirectly through the call for an Anarchist Commune, contrasting with statist approaches.

Chapter companion notes

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