Mikhail Bakunin: the philosophical basis of his anarchism - Paul McLaughlin

It is concerned not so much with the explication of his anarchist position, as such, with the basic philosophy which underpins it, and focuses on two central components: a negative dialectic or revolutionary logic; and a naturalist ontology, a naturalistic account of the structure of being or reality. But a preliminary question is begged, relating to the very significance of this apparent philosophical "non-entity" (Karl Marx's judgement). Is Bakunin worthy of philosophical consideration?

McLaughlin offers an interpretation of Bakunin's philosophy and, in part, a defense of it against Marxist and liberal scholarship to date. Indeed, he argues that there has yet been no satisfactory philosophical treatment of Bakunin in the English Language.