The Conquest of Bread

1. Our Collective Wealth is Monopolized, Creating Poverty.

It is because all that is necessary for production—the land, the mines, the highways, machinery, food, shelter, education, knowledge—all have been seized by the few in the course of that long story of robbery, enforced migration and wars, of ignorance and oppression, which has been the life of the human race before it had learned to subdue the forces of Nature.

Immense wealth accumulated. Over centuries, humanity has amassed incredible riches through collective labor, invention, and discovery. Land has been cleared, machines built, knowledge gained – creating a vast inheritance capable of providing comfort for everyone. This capital is the product of countless generations working together.

Monopoly by the few. Despite this collective effort, the means of production and the accumulated wealth have been seized by a small minority. Taking advantage of historical injustices and legal frameworks, these few control access to land, factories, and resources, appropriating the majority of the products of current labor. This monopoly forces the masses into poverty and dependence.

Exploitation is the source. The wealth of the rich does not come from their own labor but from the exploitation of the poor. Whether through feudal rent, capitalist wages (paying workers only a fraction of their product), or speculative commerce, fortunes are built by leveraging the necessity and hunger of others. This system perpetuates inequality and prevents universal well-being.

2. Plenty for All is Possible, Hindered by Capitalism's Waste.

No, plenty for all is not a dream—though it was a dream indeed in those days when man, for all his pains, could hardly win a few bushels of wheat from an acre of land... Now it is no longer a dream, because man has invented a motor...

Productivity has soared. Thanks to scientific and technological advancements, human productive power has increased exponentially. Even with only a fraction of the population actively producing, enough goods are created to ensure comfort for everyone. Productivity grows much faster than population.

Capitalism limits production. The current system, driven by profit rather than need, deliberately limits production.

• Miners are forbidden to work full time to keep coal prices high.
• Factories stand idle while people lack clothing and goods.
• Millions are unemployed, willing to work but denied access to resources.
• Capital is invested in speculation or foreign exploitation instead of meeting local needs.

Vast energy wasted. Beyond direct limitation, immense human energy is squandered on useless or harmful activities: military spending, maintaining systems of control (police, prisons), producing luxuries for the rich, advertising, and creating harmful products. This waste prevents the potential for universal well-being from being realized.

3. Expropriation of All Social Wealth is the Necessary Means.

There must be EXPROPRIATION. The well-being of all—the end; expropriation—the means.

Well-being requires access. To achieve well-being for all, society must take possession of everything necessary for production and life: land, factories, mines, transportation, housing, and accumulated capital. This collective inheritance, built by all, must return to all.

Partial expropriation fails. Attempting to socialize only land, or only factories, or only housing will not work. The interconnectedness of the economy means that partial measures will shatter the system without providing the means to reorganize it effectively. Industry relies on agriculture, cities on the countryside, and both on infrastructure and capital.

Total expropriation is essential. Striking at private property in any form necessitates attacking it in all forms. The success of a revolution depends on its boldness in making all instruments of production and all social wealth common property. This is the only way to ensure that no one can appropriate the product of others' toil and that everyone has access to what they need to live and produce.

4. Anarchist Communism: Free Association and Distribution by Need.

It is Anarchist Communism, Communism without government—the Communism of the Free. It is the synthesis of the two ideals pursued by humanity throughout the ages—Economic and Political Liberty.

Collective production implies collective consumption. Since modern production is a complex, interdependent effort involving millions across the globe, it's impossible to measure the exact contribution of each individual. Therefore, the fruits of this collective labor should be enjoyed in common, based on need, not on a calculated wage.

Communism without the State. Unlike authoritarian communism, Anarchist Communism rejects government control. It envisions a society organized through free associations and federations of individuals and groups pursuing common aims. This structure allows for both economic equality and individual liberty.

Existing tendencies support this. Modern society already shows tendencies towards both communism (public libraries, parks, infrastructure, disaster relief) and anarchy (voluntary associations, international unions, complex systems managed without central authority). These trends demonstrate the feasibility of organizing life based on free agreement and meeting needs directly.

5. Revolution Must Immediately Guarantee Food, Housing, and Clothing for All.

Affairs must be managed in such a way that from the first day of the revolution the worker shall know that a new era is opening before him; that henceforward none need crouch under the bridges, while palaces are hard by, none need fast in the midst of plenty... that all is for all, in practice as well as in theory...

Prioritize basic needs. Past revolutions failed the people because they focused on political changes while neglecting the immediate economic needs of the masses. A social revolution must, from day one, ensure that everyone has food, shelter, and clothing.

Communalize essential stores. The first step is to take immediate possession of all food stores, housing, and clothing warehouses in the insurgent areas. This prevents waste, speculation, and famine, which historically undermine revolutionary movements.

People will organize distribution. Voluntary groups of citizens will spontaneously organize to inventory resources and distribute them based on need. This direct action is more efficient and just than relying on a new government or bureaucracy, which would inevitably lead to delays, inequalities, and discontent.

6. Work Can Be Agreeable and Voluntary, Eliminating Wages and Compulsion.

Then work will no longer appear a curse of fate: it will become what it should be—the free exercise of all the faculties of man.

Current work is often drudgery. Under capitalism, manual labor is often unhealthy, monotonous, and degrading, performed under compulsion for meager wages. This system makes work a burden to be avoided, leading to the perception that people are inherently lazy.

Laziness is often circumstantial. True laziness is rare and often a result of illness, unsuitable work, or lack of opportunity and education. When work is varied, interesting, hygienic, and performed for the well-being of the community (including oneself), it becomes a source of pleasure and fulfillment.

Voluntary work is more productive. History and current examples (voluntary associations, communal tasks) show that work done freely and collectively for a shared goal is far more energetic and productive than wage labor or forced labor. With reduced hours (e.g., 4-5 hours/day) and the integration of manual and intellectual tasks, everyone would contribute willingly, making compulsion unnecessary.

7. Society Organizes Effectively Through Free Agreement, Not Government.

Everywhere the State is abdicating and abandoning its holy functions to private individuals. Everywhere free organization trespasses on its domain.

Government is not essential for order. The belief that a central government is necessary to organize society and prevent chaos is a prejudice ingrained by history and education. In reality, much of the complex functioning of modern society occurs through free agreement and voluntary associations.

Examples of free organization:

• European railway networks coordinate schedules and traffic across borders without a central authority.
• The Red Cross organizes international aid during wars and disasters through volunteer committees.
• Learned societies, trade unions, and countless other groups form and operate based on mutual consent and shared goals.

Superiority of voluntary action. These voluntary organizations often achieve results superior to state-controlled bodies, demonstrating greater adaptability, dedication, and efficiency. They arise from the actual needs and initiatives of individuals and groups, proving that complex tasks can be managed without hierarchical command.

8. Collectivism's Wage System Perpetuates Injustice; Needs Must Guide Distribution.

For us the scale of remuneration is a complex result of taxes, of governmental tutelage, of Capitalist monopoly. In a word, of State and Capital.

Collectivism retains wage slavery. Collectivists propose abolishing private ownership of production means but retaining a wage system, often through labor-cheques, and a representative government to manage it. This system, whether based on hours worked or a scale for skilled labor, is fundamentally flawed.

Wage scales are unjust. Distinguishing between "simple" and "qualified" labor and paying them differently perpetuates the inequalities of the current system. Higher pay for skilled work is not based on "cost of production" but on monopolies of education and opportunity, sanctioned by the State and Capital.

Services cannot be measured. It is impossible and unjust to precisely measure the value of individual contributions to collective production or to society as a whole. Human interdependence means every task relies on countless others, past and present. Distribution based on "deeds" leads back to inequality and the very injustices the revolution seeks to abolish. Needs, not work performed, must be the basis for distribution in a just society.

9. True Economy Focuses on Satisfying Needs, Exposing Capitalist Waste.

Its true name should be, Physiology of Society. It constitutes a parallel science to the physiology of plants and animals, which is the study of the needs of plants and animals, and of the most advantageous ways of satisfying them.

Economy should study needs. Political Economy, as currently taught, starts with production methods (division of labor, capital accumulation) and market exchange, justifying existing inequalities. A truly scientific economy should begin by studying human needs and then determine the most efficient ways to satisfy them with minimal human energy.

Capitalism is inherently wasteful. Viewing the economy through the lens of needs reveals the immense waste under the current system.

• "Over-production" is a myth; it's under-consumption caused by poverty.
• Necessary goods are exported while the population lacks them.
• Vast resources and labor are devoted to luxuries for the few or to maintaining the exploitative system.

Needs-based production leads to Communism. When the goal is satisfying the needs of all, it becomes clear that collective ownership and organization of production and distribution are the most logical and efficient methods. This approach naturally leads to Communism as the system best suited to the "Physiology of Society."

10. Decentralization and Integrated Labor Replace Harmful Specialization.

The specialization, of which economists spoke so highly, certainly has enriched a number of capitalists, but is now no longer of any use.

Specialization is obsolete. The economic theory advocating for extreme division of labor (individuals doing one task for life) and national specialization (countries focusing on one industry) is harmful and outdated. It brutalizes workers and creates unhealthy dependencies.

Industry is decentralizing. Technological knowledge has spread globally, leading countries and regions to develop their own diverse industries instead of relying on imports. This decentralization is a natural progression, making it advantageous for every region to combine agriculture with a variety of manufactures.

Integration fosters progress. Combining different forms of labor and industry within a region fosters innovation, technical skill, and mutual support. A revolution would accelerate this trend, requiring cities to integrate agriculture and diverse trades locally to meet their own needs when cut off from external supply chains.

11. Agriculture Can Yield Abundance Through Communal Organization.

We assert that agriculture is in the same position: those who cultivate the soil, like the manufacturers, already could increase their production, not only fourfold but tenfold, and they can put it into practice as soon as they feel the need of it,—as soon as a socialist organization of work will be established instead of the present capitalistic one.

Agricultural potential is vast. Current agricultural yields are far below potential. With existing knowledge and technology (intensive cultivation, machinery, fertilizers), production could be increased dramatically, easily providing enough food for everyone.

Capitalism hinders agriculture. Like industry, agriculture under capitalism is inefficient. Peasants are exploited, lack access to modern tools and knowledge, and are burdened by rent and taxes. Production is geared towards profit and export rather than local needs.

Communal organization unlocks potential. Organizing agriculture communally, integrating it with local industry, and applying scientific methods on a large scale would transform food production. Free, voluntary labor, combined with advanced technology and a focus on satisfying local needs, would ensure abundant harvests and eliminate the specter of famine.

Last updated: May 21, 2025