“The anarchist . . . is not a utopian. . . He does not want to plunge mankind into a condition of life for which its nature is not fitted—a charge often repeated by kindly and well-meaning people who cannot rid themselves . . . of the belief that government must exist to restrain the selfishness of man. They forget that a man with the forces of government at his command has the power to indulge his selfishness multiplied a thousand times. The anarchist does not deplore the instinct of selfishness. He simply recognizes it and is guided accordingly. . . . The anarchist is not so foolish as to think that one set of men, because they belong to a different party, or hold different opinions in politics or economics, are any better or worse than any other set. He knows that all men are made from the same clay, and that, placed in the same position they will act the same way. . . . He insists that selfishness must not be perverted by being placed in positions of authority, where it can enslave mankind, and that the way to protect ourselves from selfishness is to strip it of all power, except the power each person possesses within himself.”
—Jay Fox, Mother Earth, November 1917
Sharp and Pointed 