--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our principle is: to prevent all command…" description: "\"Our principle is: to prevent all command over man by his fellowmen, to, make state, government, laws, or whatsoever form of compulsion existing, a thin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/johann-most-24344_anarchism_our-principle-is-to-prevent-all-command_2742661.jpg" --- # Our principle is: to prevent all command over man by his… ![“Our principle is: to prevent all command over man by his fellowmen, to, make state, government, laws, or whatsoever form of compulsion existing, a thing of the past, to establish full freedom for all. Anarchism means first and foremost freedom from all government.” quote by Johann Most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/johann-most-24344_anarchism_our-principle-is-to-prevent-all-command_2742661.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/johann-most-24344_anarchism_our-principle-is-to-prevent-all-command_2742661.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/johann-most-24344_anarchism_our-principle-is-to-prevent-all-command_2742661.jpg) > “Our principle is: to prevent all command over man by his fellowmen, to, make state, government, laws, or whatsoever form of compulsion existing, a thing of the past, to establish full freedom for all. Anarchism means first and foremost freedom from all government.” [Johann Most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-most/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates eliminating all forms of governmental coercion to achieve total freedom for individuals. **In simple terms:** Freedom from any government control. Key Takeaway Promote voluntary cooperation over coercion. Themes freedom government anarchism Mood critical inquisitive Type philosophical political When to use this quote - community organizing - mutual aid - policy reform Key Concepts political theory libertarianism Questions to Reflect On - Can societies function without any authority? - What alternatives to coercion exist? A Different Perspective Implementing total freedom may face practical challenges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anarchism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchism/) [Compulsion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compulsion/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Principle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principle/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [State government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state-government/) ## Related quotes > [Liberalism is to freedom as anarchism is to anarchy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-junger/liberalism-is-to-freedom-as-anarchism-is-to-anarchy/) [Ernst Junger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-junger/) > [Whenever freedom is made into the absolute, the result is not freedom but anarchism. Freedom must be under law, or it is not freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-rushdoony/whenever-freedom-is-made-into-the-absolute-the-result-is-not-freedom/) [R.J. Rushdoony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-rushdoony/) > [Anarchism means voluntary co-operation instead of forced participation. It means harmony and order in place of interference and disorder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/anarchism-means-voluntary-co-operation-instead-of-forced/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [Anarchism does not mean bloodshed; it does not mean robbery, arson, etc. These monstrosities are, on the contrary, the characteristic features of capitalism. Anarchism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-spies/anarchism-does-not-mean-bloodshed-it-does-not-mean-robbery-arson-etc/) [August Spies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-spies/) > [In short, Anarchism means a condition or society where all men and women are free, and where all enjoy equally the benefits of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/in-short-anarchism-means-a-condition-or-society-where-all-men-and/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [Anarchism means all sort of things to different people but the traditional anarchists' movements assumed that there'd be a highly organized society, just one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/anarchism-means-all-sort-of-things-to-different-people-but-the-2/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Anarchism, to me, means not only the denial of authority, not only a new economy, but a revision of the principles of morality. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/anarchism-to-me-means-not-only-the-denial-of-authority-not-only-a-new/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [Anarchism means all sort of things to different people, but the traditional anarchists' movements assumed that there'd be a highly organized society, just one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/anarchism-means-all-sort-of-things-to-different-people-but-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Freedom of the press’ and ‘capital punishment' – I usually give these phrases a wide berth at the family table, for were I to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-junger/freedom-of-the-press-and-capital-punishment-i-usually-give-these/) [Ernst Jünger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-junger/) > [Since I was a teenager, I had wanted to come to the United States to establish my name as a writer and to establish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osama-alomar/since-i-was-a-teenager-i-had-wanted-to-come-to-the-united-states-to/) [Osama Alomar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osama-alomar/) > [Let us remember that revolutions do not always establish freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millard-fillmore/let-us-remember-that-revolutions-do-not-always-establish-freedom/) [Millard Fillmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millard-fillmore/) > [Liberty cannot be caged into a charter or handed on ready-made to the next generation. Each generation must recreate liberty for its own times.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-ellinwood-allen/liberty-cannot-be-caged-into-a-charter-or-handed-on-ready-made-to-the/) [Florence Ellinwood Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-ellinwood-allen/) > [Whether or not we establish freedom rests with ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-ellinwood-allen/whether-or-not-we-establish-freedom-rests-with-ourselves/) [Florence Ellinwood Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-ellinwood-allen/) > [Let us remember that revolutions do not always establish freedom. Our own free institutions were not the offspring of our revolution. They existed before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millard-fillmore/let-us-remember-that-revolutions-do-not-always-establish-freedom-our/) [Millard Fillmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millard-fillmore/) > [Is anarchism possible? The failure of attempts to attain freedom does not mean the cause is lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-most/is-anarchism-possible-the-failure-of-attempts-to-attain-freedom-does/) [Johann Most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-most/) ## More by Johann Most > [The aims of anarchists and true communists are identical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-most/the-aims-of-anarchists-and-true-communists-are-identical/) [Johann Most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-most/) > [They make revolutionary propaganda because they know the privileged class can never be overturned peacefully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-most/they-make-revolutionary-propaganda-because-they-know-the-privileged/) [Johann Most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-most/) > [Anarchists are socialists because they want the improvement of society, and they are communists because they are convinced that such a transformation of society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-most/anarchists-are-socialists-because-they-want-the-improvement-of/) [Johann Most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-most/) > [As set forth by theologians, the idea of 'God' is an argument that assumes its own conclusions, and proves nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-most/as-set-forth-by-theologians-the-idea-of-god-is-an-argument-that/) [Johann Most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-most/) > [If we hope and even assume that the social question will be answered through communism, and not in this or that country but in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-most/if-we-hope-and-even-assume-that-the-social-question-will-be-answered/) [Johann Most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-most/) > [Is anarchism possible? The failure of attempts to attain freedom does not mean the cause is lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-most/is-anarchism-possible-the-failure-of-attempts-to-attain-freedom-does/) [Johann Most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-most/) > [Above all, what socialist, without flushing with shame, maintains he is not a revolutionary? We say: none!.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-most/above-all-what-socialist-without-flushing-with-shame-maintains-he-is/) [Johann Most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-most/) > [Anarchists prepare for social revolution and use every means - speech, writing, or deed, whichever is more to the point; to accelerate revolutionary development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-most/anarchists-prepare-for-social-revolution-and-use-every-means-speech/) [Johann Most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-most/) > [Among all mental diseases that have been systematically inoculated into the human cranium, the religious pest is the most abominable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-most/among-all-mental-diseases-that-have-been-systematically-inoculated/) [Johann Most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-most/) > [The aims of anarchists and true communists are identical. The anarchists, on behalf of the proletariat, therefore consider it necessary to show the proletariat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-most/the-aims-of-anarchists-and-true-communists-are-identical-the/) [Johann Most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-most/) > [The god of the Christians, as we have seen, is the god who makes promises only to break them; who sends them pestilence and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-most/the-god-of-the-christians-as-we-have-seen-is-the-god-who-makes/) [Johann Most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-most/) > [It is the lash of hunger which compels the poor man to submit. In order to live he must sell - 'voluntarily' sell -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-most/it-is-the-lash-of-hunger-which-compels-the-poor-man-to-submit-in/) [Johann Most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-most/) > [Fortunately, no country was ever more suited for anarchist agitation than present-day America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-most/fortunately-no-country-was-ever-more-suited-for-anarchist-agitation/) [Johann Most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-most/) > [While we have entertained the contention that a deed may make more propaganda than hundreds of speeches, thousands of articles, and tens of thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-most/while-we-have-entertained-the-contention-that-a-deed-may-make-more/) [Johann Most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-most/) > [The existing system will be quickest and most radically overthrown by the annihilation of its exponents. Therefore, massacres of the enemies of the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-most/the-existing-system-will-be-quickest-and-most-radically-overthrown-by/) [Johann Most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-most/) [Explore all 24 Johann Most quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-most/) ## More Anarchism quotes > [I know one thing: that you can do a lot of things but if you don't educate people into conscious anarchism it gets frittered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-know-one-thing-that-you-can-do-a-lot-of-things-but-if-you-don-t/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [In morals as in politics anarchy is not for the weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/in-morals-as-in-politics-anarchy-is-not-for-the-weak/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [Anarchism is a definite intellectual current in the life of our times, whose adherents advocate the abolition of economic monopolies and of all political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-rocker/anarchism-is-a-definite-intellectual-current-in-the-life-of-our-times/) [Rudolf Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-rocker/) > [“Do not all theists insist that there can be no morality, no justice, honesty or fidelity without the belief in a Divine Power? Based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/do-not-all-theists-insist-that-there-can-be-no-morality-no-justice/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [“Does it follow that I reject all authority? Perish the thought. In the matter of boots, I defer to the authority of the bootmaker;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/does-it-follow-that-i-reject-all-authority-perish-the-thought-in-the/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [“An anarchist government somehow creates an impression in the hearts of citizens that no one cares.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/an-anarchist-government-somehow-creates-an-impression-in-the-hearts/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Anarchism as a political philosophy seeks to dissolve all forms of authority and power, and if possible, wishes their complete abolition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-marshall/anarchism-as-a-political-philosophy-seeks-to-dissolve-all-forms-of/) [Peter Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-marshall/) > [And now, what has Anarchism to say to all this, this bankruptcy of republicanism, this modern empire that has grown up on the ruins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/and-now-what-has-anarchism-to-say-to-all-this-this-bankruptcy-of/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [I see anarchism as the theoretical ideal to which we are all gradually evolving to a point where everybody can tell the truth to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-see-anarchism-as-the-theoretical-ideal-to-which-we-are-all/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Anarchists are opposed to violence; everyone knows that. The main plank of anarchism is the removal of violence from human relations. It is life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errico-malatesta/anarchists-are-opposed-to-violence-everyone-knows-that-the-main-plank/) [Errico Malatesta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errico-malatesta/) > [“They knew that their anarchism was the product of a very high civilization, of a complex diversified culture, of a stable economy and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/they-knew-that-their-anarchism-was-the-product-of-a-very-high/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Anarchism means voluntary co-operation instead of forced participation. It means harmony and order in place of interference and disorder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/anarchism-means-voluntary-co-operation-instead-of-forced/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [The Anarchists are simply unterrified Jeffersonian Democrats. They believe that 'the best government is that which governs least,' and that which governs least is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/the-anarchists-are-simply-unterrified-jeffersonian-democrats-they/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [We must therefore turn to history for enlightenment; here we find that none of the proclaimed anarchist groups correspond to the libertarian position, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/we-must-therefore-turn-to-history-for-enlightenment-here-we-find-that/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“I became an anarchist very early on. Anarchism, in my mind, meant taking democracy seriously and organizing prefiguratively- that is, in a way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrej-gruba-i/i-became-an-anarchist-very-early-on-anarchism-in-my-mind-meant-taking/) [Andrej Grubačić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrej-gruba-i/) [Browse all 388 Anarchism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our principle is: to prevent all command over man by his fellowmen, to, make state, government, laws, or whatsoever form of compulsion existing, a thing of the past, to establish full freedom for all. 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