It’s Not Marx: Bernie’s Bakunin T-Shirt in ‘Silver Circle’
October 17th, 2013
Thursday is Easter egg day on the Silver Circle blog, when we go into detail about some of the hidden references and allusions that have been placed throughout the film for fans to discover while watching the movie --> -->on DVD --> --> or online. Today’s episode takes a closer look at the figure on the T-shirt that Bernie, one of the rebels from the film, is wearing, which features a picture of a famous 19th century Russian revolutionary and early proponent of anarchism. Some may confuse the image for that of Karl Marx, but, in reality, the man depicted was one of Karl Marx’ contemporary intellectual adversaries.
Mikhail Bakunin believed in a brand of libertarian socialism that now fits into the “collectivist anarchism” categorization. Though some libertarians may find his embrace of socialism to be contradictory with his anarchism, he distinctly differed from Karl Marx in his views, in that he considered authoritarian, government-run solutions to be an unacceptable route through which to pursue socialistic ends. He also influenced Joseph Schumpeter’s “creative destruction” concept.
Bakunin Versus Marx
Bakunin’s strong anti-state stance made him a fearsome ideological figure in the 19th century. In fact, some would argue that he was more aggressively vilified than Karl Marx, due to the stigma connected to anarchism. Marx and Bakunin had their personal differences as well. While Marx argued that the state could be used to bring about socialism, Bakunin felt that Marx’ theories promoted authoritarianism.
Bakunin predicted that repressive governments would arise from Marx’ philosophy, which later came true in many nations throughout the world. On the other hand, Bakunin promoted a form of social anarchism that he felt would arise naturally without the intervention of the state through a system called “syndicalism.”
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Bakunin’s Influence on Free Market Thinkers
After studying the works of early socialists, Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter developed and popularized the concept of “creative destruction,” which explains how market forces destroy existing businesses to make room for newer, more efficient ones. Marx described this phenomenon in terms of the business cycle, while Bakunin, in 1842, wrote, ”The passion for destruction is a creative passion, too!”
In the same text, Bakunin opens with, “Freedom, the realization of freedom: who can deny that this is what today heads the agenda of history? … Revolutionary propaganda is in its deepest sense the negation of the existing conditions of the State, for, with respect to its innermost nature, it has no other program than the destruction of whatever order prevails at the time…. We must not only act politically, but in our politics act religiously, religiously in the sense of freedom, of which the one true expression is justice and love.” In a sense, Bakunin was one of the grandfathers of the left-libertarian school of anarchism to which modern movements like Occupy Wall Street and anarcho-syndicalism can trace their intellectual lineage.
Keep an eye out for Bernie’s Bakunin shirt while you’re watching Silver Circle, and check back right here each Thursday for more Easter eggs from the movie!
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