Daniel Guérin

Daniel Guérin (; 19 May 1904, in Paris – 14 April 1988, in Suresnes) was a French libertarian-communist author, best known for his work '' Anarchism: From Theory to Practice'', as well as his collection ''No Gods No Masters: An Anthology of Anarchism'' in which he collected writings on the idea and movement it inspired, from the first writings of Max Stirner in the mid-19th century through the first half of the 20th century. He is also known for his opposition to Nazism, fascism, capitalism, imperialism and colonialism, in addition to his support for the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) during the Spanish Civil War. His revolutionary defense of free love and homosexuality influenced the development of queer anarchism.

CGT, PSOP, and Libertarian Marxism

Guérin was born into a liberal Parisian family. Early on, he started political activism in the revolutionary syndicalist magazine of Pierre Monatte. He abandoned university and a literary career in 1926, traveling to Lebanon (1927–1929) and French Indochina (1929–1930) and became a passionate opponent of colonial ventures.

LGBT+ activism

Guérin, a bisexual, offers an insight into the tension sexual minorities among the Left have often experienced. He was a leading figure in the French Left from the 1930s until his death in 1988. He contributed to the homophile journal ''Arcadie''. In 1954, Guérin was widely attacked for his study of the '' Kinsey Reports'' in which he also detailed the oppression of homosexuals in France. "The harshest riticismscame from Marxists, who tend seriously to underestimate the form of oppression which is antisexual terrorism. I expected it, of course, and I knew that in publishing my book I risked being attacked by those to whom I feel closest on a political level." After coming out in 1965, Guérin was abandoned by the Left, and his papers on sexual liberation were censored or refused publication in left-wing journals. Guérin was involved in the uprising of May 1968, and was a part of the French Gay Liberation movement that emerged after the events. Decades later, Frédéric Martel described Guérin as the "grandfather of the French homosexual movement." Guérin spoke about the extreme hostility toward homosexuality that permeated the left throughout much of the 20th century. "Not so many years ago, to declare oneself a revolutionary and to confess to being homosexual were incompatible," Guérin wrote in 1975.Guérin, Daniel. 1975. "Etre homosexuel et révolutionnaire", ', no. 215, no. spécial : ‘Les homosexualités’ (August 1975), pp. 9-10.

Works

* ''Le livre de la dix-huitième année'' (poèmes), Paris, Albin Michel, 1922
* ''L'enchantement du Vendredi Saint'' (roman), Paris, Albin Michel, 1925
* ''La vie selon la chair'' (roman), Paris, Albin Michel, 1929
* ''Fascisme et grand capital. Italie-Allemagne'', Paris, Éditions de la révolution prolétarienne, 1936
** English translation by Einde O’ Callagha
''Fascism and Big Business''

* ''La lutte des classes sous la Première République, 1793-1797'', Paris, Gallimard, 2 vol., 1946 (édition abrégée : ''Bourgeois et bras-nus, 1793-1795'', 1968)
* ''Où va le peuple américain ?'', Paris, Julliard, 2 vol., 1950-1951
* ''Au service des colonisés'', Paris, Éditions de Minuit, 1954
* ''Kinsey et la sexualité'', Paris, Julliard, 1955
* ''Les Antilles décolonisées'', préface d'Aimé Césaire, Paris, Présence Africaine, 1956
* ''Trois problèmes de la Révolution'', 1958 essay
** English translation by Paul Sharkey
"Three Problems of the Revolution"
* ''Jeunesse du socialisme libertaire'', Paris, Rivière, 1959
* ''Shakespeare et Gide en correctionnelle ?'', Paris, Editions du Scorpion, 1959
* ''Le grain sous la neige'', adaptation théâtrale d'après Ignazio Silone, Éditions Mondiales, 1961
* ''Vautrin'', adaptation théâtrale d'après Honoré de Balzac, Paris, La Plume d'or, 1962
* ''Eux et lui'', illustré par André Masson, Monaco, Editions du Rocher, 1962
* ''Essai sur la révolution sexuelle après Reich et Kinsey'', Paris, Belfond, 1963
* ''Front Populaire, révolution manquée ?'', Paris, Julliard, 1963
* ''Décolonisation du noir américain'', Paris, Présence Africaine, 1963
* ''L'Algérie qui se cherche'', Paris, Présence Africaine, 1964
* ''Un jeune homme excentrique. Essai d'autobiographie'', Paris, Julliard, 1965
* ''Sur le fascisme'' : I- ''La peste brune'' ; II- ''Fascisme et grand capital'', Paris, Maspero, 1965 (réédition)
* ''L'anarchisme. De la doctrine à l'action'', Paris, Gallimard, 1965
** English translation by Mary Klopper: '' Anarchism: From Theory to Practice'', with an introduction by Noam Chomsky, New York: Monthly Review Press, 1970
* ''Ni Dieu ni maître. Histoire et anthologie de l'anarchie'', Paris, Éditions de Delphes, 1965
* ''Pour un marxisme libertaire'', Paris, Laffont, 1969
* ''Rosa Luxembourg et la spontanéité révolutionnaire'', Paris, Flammarion, 1971
* ''Autobiographie de jeunesse. D'une dissidence sexuelle au socialisme'', Paris, Belfond, 1972
* ''De l'Oncle Tom aux Panthères Noires'', Paris, UGE, 1973 (réédition : Les Bons Caractères, 2010)
* ''Les assassins de Ben Barka. Dix ans d'enquête'', Paris, Guy Authier, 1975
* ''La Révolution française et nous'', Paris, Maspero, 1976
* ''Proudhon oui et non'', Paris, Gallimard, 1978
* ''Homosexualité et révolution'', Paris, Le vent du ch'min, 1983

References

Further reading

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External links

DanielGuerin.info
Designed by activists, researchers and relatives, this site is dedicated to the life and works of Daniel Guerin
''Anarchism: From Theory to Practice''

Full text
at the Internet Archive

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guerin, Daniel
1904 births
1988 deaths
20th-century French essayists
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20th-century French historians
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