# The Socialists — The Conquest of Bread character guide > The Socialists in The Conquest of Bread by Peter Kropotkin. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Some Socialists, Socialists, Other Socialists **First appearance:** 0001-the-conquest-of-bread ## Snapshot A chorus of rival socialist voices whose schemes Kropotkin measures against his own, sometimes borrowing, often correcting. ## Who they are 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. ## Relationships ### [Proudhon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/characters/proudhon) _rivalry_ Proudhon was a fierce critic of mainstream socialist thought, famously declaring 'property is theft' while opposing collectivist socialism. ### [Robert Owen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/characters/robert_owen) _friendship_ Owen was a pioneering socialist whose cooperative experiments influenced later socialist movements. ### [Napoleon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/characters/napoleon) _rivalry_ Napoleon suppressed socialist and Jacobin ideas during his rule, viewing them as threats to his authoritarian order. ### [Marx](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/characters/marx) _rivalry_ Marx harshly criticized other socialist schools (e.g., utopian, anarchist) as unscientific, promoting his own revolutionary theory. ### [Rothschild](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/characters/rothschild) _rivalry_ Rothschild, as a symbol of capitalist finance, was a frequent target of socialist critique and class struggle rhetoric. ## In the story ### [The Conquest of Bread](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/chapters/the-conquest-of-bread) Referenced as proponents of various socialist ideas that Kropotkin engages with and critiques. ### [Our Riches](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/chapters/i-our-riches) Referenced as those who have repeatedly argued that the means of production have been seized by the few. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/chapters/ii) Cited as having repeatedly argued that the few have seized the means of production, leading to poverty for the many. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/chapters/i) Referenced as critics who raise objections about foreign millionaires settling in a revolutionary community. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/chapters/iii) Some Socialists are criticized for trying to distinguish between instruments of production and articles of consumption, a distinction Kropotkin rejects. ### [Food](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/chapters/v-food) Criticized for dreaming of a revolution that only takes profits without transforming production. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/chapters/i) Implied as those who, like the Jacobins, prioritize political questions over material needs. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/chapters/v) Referenced as those who dream of revolution accomplished in an instant. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/chapters/viii-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/chapters/i) Referenced as having a narrow view of the capitalist system according to Kropotkin. ### [The Need for Luxury](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/chapters/ix-the-need-for-luxury) Referenced as those who object that communist societies might not provide for varied tastes beyond basic necessities. ### [X: Agreeable Work](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/chapters/x-agreeable-work) Kropotkin mentions Socialists who argue for making work agreeable and those who reject the phalanstery. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/chapters/ii) Mentioned as rejecting phalansteries but still expecting women to do housework. ### [Free Agreement](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/chapters/xi-free-agreement) Early English and French socialists are credited with showing how legislation favored large capital over small industry. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/chapters/ii) Referenced as early English and French socialists who showed how legislation ruined small industries and drove peasants into poverty. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/chapters/i) Mentioned as partisans of individual remuneration who defend the wage system despite its flaws. ### [XIII: The Collectivist Wages System](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/chapters/xiii-the-collectivist-wages-system) Referenced as collectivists advocating wage systems. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/chapters/ii) Referenced as French, German, English, and Italian collectivists who advocate the collectivist system. ### [The Fallacy of Wage Distinctions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/chapters/iii) Referred to as 'collectivist writers' who advocate for a scale of wages based on skill. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/chapters/iv) Referenced as 'collectivists' who advocate for the principle 'to each according to his deeds'. ### [The Division of Labour](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/chapters/xv-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_conquest_of_bread_se/chapters/ii) Referenced indirectly through the call for an Anarchist Commune, contrasting with statist approaches. ## 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