
So all through history, past and modern, the sense of right and 
justice has inspired man, individually and collectively, to deeds of
self-sacrifice and devotion, and raised him far above the mean drab-
ness of every-day existence. It is tragic, of course, that this
idealism expressed itself in acts of persecution, violence, and slaughter.
It was the viciousness and self-seeking of king, priest, and master,
ignornace and fanaticism which determined these forms. But the
spirit that filled them was that of right and justice. All past experi-
ence proves that this spirit is ever alive and that it is a powerful and
dominant factor in the whole scale of human life.

The conditions of our present-day existence weaken and vitiate this 
noblest trait of man, pervert its manifestation, and turn it into
channels of intolerance, persecution, hatred and strife. But once man
is freed from the corrupting influences of material interests, lifted
out of the ignorance and class antagonism, his innate spirit of right and
justice would find new forms of expression, forms that would tend
toward greater brotherhood and goodwill, toward individual peace
and social harmony.

Only under anarchy could this spirit come into its full develop-
ment. Liberated from the degrading and brutalising struggle for our
daily bread, all sharing labour and well-being, the best qualities
of man's heart and mind would have opportunity for growth and 
beneficial application. Man would indeed become the noble work of
nature that he has till now visioned himself only in his dreams.

It is for these reasonsthat anarchy is the ideal not only of some
particular element or class, but of all humanity, because it would
benefit, in the larger sense, all of us. For anarchism is the formulation
of a universal and perennial desire of mankind.

Alexander Berkman
ABC of Anarchism (1929)
p. 16-17
