TEHRAN – “The Conquest of Bread”, an 1892 book by the Russian anarcho-communist Peter Kropotkin, has been published in Persian.

Afkar is the publisher of the book translated by Reza Eskandari.

The fourth in AK Press’ “Working Classics” series, “The Conquest of Bread” is Kropotkin’s most extensive study of human needs and his outline of the most rational and equitable means of satisfying them. 

A combination of detailed historical analysis and far-reaching Utopian vision, this is a step-by-step guide to social revolution: the concrete means of achieving it, and the world that humanity’s “constructive genius” is capable of creating. 

It includes a new introduction that historically situates and discusses the contemporary relevance of Kropotkin’s ideas.

In the work, Kropotkin points out what he considers to be the defects of the economic systems of feudalism and capitalism, and why he believes they thrive on and maintain poverty and scarcity. 

He goes on to propose a more decentralized economic system based on mutual aid and voluntary cooperation, asserting that the tendencies for this kind of organization already exist, both in evolution and in human society.

Originally written in French, it first appeared as a series of articles in the anarchist journal Le Revolte. It was first published in Paris with a preface by Elisee Reclus, who also suggested the title. 

Between 1892 and 1894, it was serialized in part in the London journal Freedom, of which Kropotkin was a co-founder.

Kropotkin wrote many books, pamphlets and articles, the most prominent being “The Conquest of Bread” and “Fields, Factories and Workshops”. His principal scientific offering was “Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution”, and he was also a contributor to the Encyclopedia Britannica Eleventh Edition.

“The Conquest of Bread” has become a classic of political anarchist literature. It was heavily influential on both the Spanish Civil War and the Occupy movement.

Photo: Cover of the Persian translation of Peter Kropotkin’s book “The Conquest of Bread”.

MMS/YAW