Editing The Conquest of Bread

{{Short description|1892 book by Peter Kropotkin}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox book
| name              = The Conquest of Bread
| image             = La conquête du pain.jpg
| caption           = Print cover, 1892
| author            = [[Peter Kropotkin]]
| title_orig        = La Conquête du Pain
| orig_lang_code    = fr
| language          = French
| country           = France
| genre             = [[Political theory]]
| publisher         = [[Stock (publishing house)|Tresse et Stock]]
| release_date      = 1892
| english_pub_date  = 1907
| dewey             = 335.83
| congress          = HX632 .K7613
| wikisource        = The Conquest of Bread
| native_wikisource = La Conquête du pain
}}
{{Anarcho-communism sidebar|Works}}

'''''The Conquest of Bread'''''{{efn|{{langx|fr|La Conquête du Pain}}; {{langx|ru|Хлеб и воля|Khleb i volja|lit=Bread and Freedom}}. {{lang|ru|Хлѣбъ и воля}} in the original spelling.}} is an 1892 book by the Russian anarchist [[Peter Kropotkin]]. Originally written in French, it first appeared as a series of articles in the [[anarchist journal]] ''[[Le Révolté]]''. It was first published in [[Paris]] with a [[preface]] by [[Élisée Reclus]], who also suggested the title. Between 1892 and 1894, it was [[Serial (literature)|serialized]] in part in the [[London]] journal ''[[Freedom (British newspaper)|Freedom]]'', of which Kropotkin was a co-founder.

In the work, Kropotkin identified what he considered to be the defects of the [[economic system]]s of [[feudalism]] and [[capitalism]], and argued that these systems thrive on and maintain [[poverty]] and [[scarcity]]. He proceeded to propose a more [[Decentralization|decentralized]] economic system based on [[Mutual aid (organization theory)|mutual aid]] and voluntary [[cooperation]], asserting that the tendencies for this kind of organization already exist, both in [[evolution]] and in [[human society]].

''The Conquest of Bread'' has become a classic of political [[Anarchism|anarchist]] literature. It was heavily influential on both the [[Spanish Civil War]] and the [[Occupy movement]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rodgers Gibson |first=Morgan |date=Fall 2013 |title=The Anarchism of the Occupy Movement |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262834146 |journal=Australian Journal of Political Science |volume=48}}</ref>

==Background==
In 1886, Kropotkin was released from French prison. Fearful of the anarchist scare that was gripping [[continental Europe]] following the [[assassination]] of [[Alexander II of Russia|Alexander II]] and wishing to focus more time on composing [[theory]] and arguing for his revolutionary ideals, Kropotkin moved to London in the same year.<ref name="Woodcock-1990">{{Cite book |last=Woodcock |first=George |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9210921689609 |title=Peter Kropotkin : from prince to rebel |last2=Avakumovic |first2=Ivan |date=1990 |publisher=Black Rose Books |isbn=9780921689607 |location=Montréal |oclc=21156316 |url-access=registration}}</ref> Following the death of [[Mikhail Bakunin]] in 1876, anarchists desired a prominent and respected theorist to explain their ideas and—after the splitting of the [[First International]] between [[Marxism|Marxists]] and anarchists—Kropotkin wished to formally explain [[anarchist communism]] in a way that would clearly differentiate the anarchists from the Marxists, but also help to correct what he saw as flaws in Bakunin's ideology of [[collectivist anarchism]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Priestland |first=David |title=The Conquest of Bread |others=Kropotkin, Peter |year=2015 |isbn=9780141396118 |edition=This edition, using the 1913 text, first published in Penguin Classics in 2015 |location=London |pages=Introduction |oclc=913790063}}</ref> With this aim, Kropotkin spent a great deal of time in London writing multiple books and pamphlets, in between his international speaking tours to the [[United States]] and [[Canada]]. It was during this time of rapid literary output that Kropotkin wrote ''The Conquest of Bread'', which became his most well-known attempt to systematically explain the essential parts of anarchist communism.<ref name="Woodcock-1990" />

Kropotkin originally wrote the text in French and published in the French journal ''[[Le Révolté]],'' where he served as the primary editor. Following its publication in France, Kropotkin published a serialized version in English in the London anarchist journal ''[[Freedom newspaper|Freedom]]''. The book would later be collected and published as a book in France in 1892 and in England in 1906.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kropotkin |first=Peter |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Conquest_of_Bread |title=The Conquest of Bread}}</ref><ref name="Woodcock-1990" />

The publication of the text was a watershed moment in anarchist history, being the first time that a completed and in-depth theoretical work of anarchist communism was available to the public.<ref name="Woodcock-1990" /> The publication of the text shifted the focus of [[anarchism]] from [[Individualist anarchism|individualist]], [[Mutualism (economic theory)|mutualist]] and [[Collectivist anarchism|collectivist]] strains to [[Social anarchism|social]] and [[Anarchist communism|communist]] tendencies.<ref name="Woodcock-1990" /> This shift would prove to be one of the most enduring changes in the [[history of anarchism]] as anarchism developed throughout the 20th century with Kropotkin and ''The Conquest of Bread'' as firm reference points.<ref name="Woodcock-1990" />

==Summary==

===Chapters 1–3: The Right to Well-Being===
Throughout the first three chapters, Kropotkin constructs an argument for the [[common ownership]] of all [[Intellectual property|intellectual]] and useful property due to the collective work that went into creating it. Kropotkin does not argue that the product of a worker's labor should belong to the worker. Instead, Kropotkin asserts that every individual product is essentially the work of everyone since every individual relies on the intellectual and physical labor of those who came before them as well as those who built the world around them. Because of this, Kropotkin proclaims that every human deserves an essential right to well-being because every human contributes to the collective social product:<ref name="Kropotkin-2015">{{Cite book |last=Kropotkin |first=Petr Alekseevich |title=The Conquest of Bread |publisher=[[Penguin Classics]] |others=Priestland, David |year=2015 |isbn=9780141396118 |edition=This edition, using the 1913 text, first published in Penguin Classics in 2015 |location=London |oclc=913790063}}</ref> {{blockquote|text=No more of such vague formulae as "The right to work", or "To each the whole result of his labour." What we proclaim is the Right to Well-Being; Well-Being for All!}}

Kropotkin further contends that the central obstacle preventing humanity from claiming this right is the state's violent protection of [[private property]]. Kropotkin compares this relationship to feudalism, saying that even if the forms have changed, the essential relationship between the [[propertied]] and the [[Landlessness|landless]] is the same as the relationship between [[Feudal lord|feudal lords]] and their [[serfs]]. Kropotkin calls for the destruction of the [[State (polity)|state]] and the [[expropriation]] of all property into the [[commons]], where the right to well-being can be achieved for all people.<ref name="Kropotkin-2015" />

===Chapters 4–11: Anarchist Communist Society===
Throughout the middle of the book, Kropotkin sketches a picture of what he feels an anarchist communist society could look like. He points to the huge levels of production that modern industrial society achieved in terms of food production, clothing production, and housing production, and he uses this as evidence of the feasibility of an anarchist communist society. More than enough of the essentials are produced for all people, Kropotkin argues; if they were only distributed properly, nobody would have any unmet needs. Kropotkin further argues that with the level of production output being so high, people should not have to work more than five hours a day and they should be able to reduce that as much as possible, giving them free time for [[leisure]], socialization, and to work on innovations that would reduce their labor.<ref name="Kropotkin-2015" />

Near the end of this section, Kropotkin discusses [[luxury items]], recognizing that they are a necessity for a good life and affirming that luxury items would still be produced, even if production were taken under the purview of common need. Kropotkin claims that luxury items would be produced on a collective basis by those most interested in their production. He uses an example of a group of [[pianist]]s dedicating time to building luxury [[piano]]s with the help of a group of collective [[carpentry|carpenters]]. Kropotkin argues that this system of collective production could produce necessary luxury items—on top of the production of the necessities—for everybody to live a fulfilling life.<ref name="Kropotkin-2015" />

===Chapters 12–17: Objections and Conclusion===
In the final chapters, Kropotkin lays out what he feels will be prominent objections to his theory as well as his responses to them. He figures that many critics will claim that people are naturally lazy and they would not work without a [[Profit (economics)|profit]] incentive, even if it is only for five hours and for basic necessities. Kropotkin counters by saying that people are willing to work in jobs they enjoy and given the necessary free time to work on their own, with the guarantee of material stability, people will work willingly on collective gardens or in collective garment factories.<ref name="Kropotkin-2015" />

Near the end of the work, Kropotkin cautions against the state [[Centralisation|centralization]] of industry, warning people against more [[Authoritarian socialism|authoritarian strands of socialism]] and claiming that any revolution must guarantee bread and freedom to the workers and revolutionaries. He ends with a long chapter on [[agriculture]], marveling at the many ways in which humans have cultivated and advanced agricultural production, dreaming about the ways that it could be used to feed everybody and guarantee a healthy and happy life for all people.<ref name="Kropotkin-2015" />

==Legacy==
''The Conquest of Bread'' has made an impact which exceeds Kropotkin's own lifetime. It has played a prominent role in the [[anarchist militias]] of the [[Spanish Civil War]] as well as inspiring anarchist history, theory and [[Praxis (process)|praxis]] throughout the 20th century. Due to the [[Authoritarianism|authoritarian]] and [[sectarian violence]] of [[Marxism–Leninism]] in the [[Soviet Union]], some thinkers came to regard the book as [[Prophecy|prophetic]], with Kropotkin anticipating the many pitfalls and [[Human rights|human rights abuses]] that would occur with the centralization of industry.<ref name="Priestland-2015">{{Cite news |last=Priestland |first=David |date=2015-07-03 |title=Anarchism could help to save the world |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/03/anarchism-could-help-save-the-world |access-date=2017-09-27 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

After the [[2008 financial crisis]] and the subsequent [[Occupy movement]], Kropotkin's work took on increased prominence.<ref name="Priestland-2015" /> [[David Graeber]], one of the intellectual leaders of the Occupy movement, cited Kropotkin directly as an inspiration for the world the Occupy protesters were attempting to create.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Graeber |first=David |author-link=David Graeber |title=Debt: The First 5000 Years |publisher=Melville House |year=2014}}</ref> In 2015, David Priestland, writing for ''[[The Guardian]]'', called for a renewed look at Kropotkin and ''The Conquest of Bread'' in the West, given the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|collapse]] of the [[Soviet Union]] in 1991 and the [[2008 financial crisis]].<ref name="Priestland-2015" />

Sometimes the subject of leftist [[internet meme|memes]], it is known as "The Bread Book" colloquially.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 22, 2020 |title=Beyond the Bread Book |url=https://anarchopac.com/2020/01/22/beyond-the-bread-book/}}</ref> Since 2018, a loose group of left-leaning [[YouTube]] [[Content creation|content creators]] have collectively been referred to as [[BreadTube]], inspired by the title of the book.<ref>{{Cite podcast |url=https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/theezrakleinshow?selected=VMP7001118782 |title=Contrapoints on taking the trolls seriously |website=The Ezra Klein Show |publisher=Vox Media Podcast Network |host=Ezra Klein |date=May 13, 2019 |access-date=June 18, 2019 |others=Natalie Wynn}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Citarella |first=Joshua |author-link=Joshua Citarella |date=2020-09-12 |title=Marxist memes for TikTok teens: can the internet radicalize teenagers for the left? |url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/12/marxist-memes-tiktok-teens-radical-left |access-date=2021-01-29 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref> The term "breadpilled" refers to the act of becoming an [[Anarcho-socialism|anarcho-socialist]], alluding to the [[red pill and blue pill]] from the 1999 film ''[[The Matrix]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-11-06 |title=The Extremist Medicine Cabinet: A Guide to Online "Pills" |url=https://www.adl.org/blog/the-extremist-medicine-cabinet-a-guide-to-online-pills |publisher=[[Anti-Defamation League]]}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Bread and Freedom]]
* [[Bread and Roses]] (slogan)
* ''[[Fields, Factories and Workshops]]''
* ''[[Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution]]''

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikisource}}

* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/peter-kropotkin/the-conquest-of-bread/chapman-and-hall}}
* {{Gutenberg|no=23428}}
* {{Librivox book|title=The Conquest of Bread|author=Peter Kropotkin}}
* {{Anarchives|kropotkin/conquest/toc.html|''The Conquest of Bread''}}
* [https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/petr-kropotkin-the-conquest-of-bread The Conquest of Bread] entry at the [https://theanarchistlibrary.org/special/index Anarchist Library]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conquest Of Bread, The}}
[[Category:1892 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Anarchist economics]]
[[Category:Books about anarchism]]
[[Category:French-language non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Literature critical of work and the work ethic]]
[[Category:Works by Peter Kropotkin]]
[[Category:Books about labour]]