Gustav Landauer: Die Revolution (1907). S. 84-91.

 

[Where does such incredible complacence come from? There exists a natural quest for freedom. If animals knew ranks and honors, then they would strive for freedom. The answer to our question is this: at some point – caused by outside attack or internal corruption – human beings lost their freedom. They were followed by individuals who never knew freedom and had no idea how sweet it tasted. It became a habit to be complacent in servitude; and habit is stronger than nature. “The natural may be as good as it is, but it disappears if it is not nurtured. Nurture will always determine us, whatever form it may take, and regardless of our nature.” Just as fruit trees can be manipulated to bear fruits that are naturally foreign to them, so can humans be manipulated to accept the loss of freedom. Humans today do not know any better than to be subservient. They have always been that way. “They turn themselves into the property of those who oppress them, because time has made this appear inevitable. In reality, though, time never rights a wrong but multiplies it endless times.” (I repeat these words here to show that Languet – who uses them too – must have known La Boétie’s book.)

Of course, there are always some who are born with gifts that distinguish them from the masses. When they improve their naturally exceptional minds by further study, they acquire knowledge and, most importantly, they experience freedom. Freedom might be completely absent from their daily lives, but they can imagine it. They feel its spirit. However, they do not know one another. They have been robbed of the freedom to speak and act. They remain lonely in their spiritual worlds.

The second reason for servitude is that it both unnerves and softens people. The tyrants have always done everything in their power to support buggery, flirtation, playfulness, gluttony, and unmanliness among their people.

The third reason for servitude is that the monarchy has co-opted religion and has aligned itself with the priests. The crown came to be surrounded by miracles, and the king equipped with holiness and divinity. “The lies in which the people believe have always been invented by themselves.”

The fourth reason for servitude is that a special class of people has placed itself between the king and the people. The members of this class try to profit from the king, from the people, and from their peers. Tyranny creates profits for them that seem to outweigh the pleasures of freedom.]