''Liberty: A Journal of Anarchist Communism'' was a monthly

anarcho-communist Anarcho-communism, also known as anarchist communism, (or, colloquially, ''ancom'' or ''ancomm'') is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that advocates communism. It calls for the abolition of private property but retains resp ...

paper published in London from 1894 to 1896, mostly comprising political essays. The paper was edited and published by

James Tochatti James Tochatti (1852 – 22 November 1928), was a Scottish anarchist agitator, merchant tailor, trade unionist, newspaper editor and public speaker. From 1894 to 1896 he was editor of the monthly anarcho-communist paper ''Liberty''. Biograph ...

from his shop in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

, London, with help from regular contributor Louisa Sarah Bevington. Tochatti launched the paper in January 1894 in response to the violent rhetoric being used in the newspaper ''

Commonweal Commonweal or common weal may refer to: * Common good, what is shared and beneficial for members of a given community * Common Weal, a Scottish think tank and advocacy group * Commonweal (magazine), ''Commonweal'' (magazine), an American lay-Cath ...

''. ''Liberty'' was to be avowedly against

political violence Political violence is violence which is perpetrated in order to achieve political goals. It can include violence which is used by a state against other states (war), violence which is used by a state against civilians and non-state actors (forced ...

and "bombastic talk", with Tochatti arguing that it only served to alienate people from the anarchist cause. Occasional contributors to the paper included

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

Peter Kropotkin Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (; russian: link=no, Пётр Алексе́евич Кропо́ткин ; 9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist, socialist, revolutionary, historian, scientist, philosopher, and activis ...

, Elisée Reclus,

Louise Michel Louise Michel (; 29 May 1830 – 9 January 1905) was a teacher and important figure in the Paris Commune. Following her penal transportation to New Caledonia she embraced anarchism. When returning to France she emerged as an important French a ...

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

Voltairine de Cleyre Voltairine de Cleyre (November 17, 1866 – June 20, 1912) was an American anarchist known for being a prolific writer and speaker who opposed capitalism, marriage and the State (polity), state as well as the domination of religion over sexuality ...

, and

Errico Malatesta Errico Malatesta (4 December 1853 – 22 July 1932) was an Italian anarchist propagandist and revolutionary socialist. He edited several radical newspapers and spent much of his life exiled and imprisoned, having been jailed and expelled from ...

. ''Liberty'' also published a series of pamphlets by, amongst others, Kropotkin, Malatesta, Morris, Reclus and Bevington. The paper ceased publication in December 1896 citing Tochatti's poor health, though finances were likely a contributing factor.

References

External links

An online archive of each issue of ''Liberty''
via

libcom.org libcom.org is an online platform featuring a variety of libertarian communist essays, blog posts, and archives, primarily in English. It was founded in 2005 by editors in the United States and the United Kingdom. Libcom.org also has a forum and ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberty Newspapers published in London Publications established in 1894 Publications disestablished in 1896 Anarchist periodicals published in the United Kingdom Monthly newspapers