Bakunin's Fraternity

For Bakunin, mere political equality was not enough to guarantee true liberty. He believed people must realize that the first condition of their real emancipation or of their humanization is above all a radical change in their economic situation. To achieve universal liberty and economic equality, communal fellowship cannot be paper-thin lies that cover up exploitation and injustice. For Bakunin, Rousseau's idea that the act of coming together in a social group was the moment humans lost their liberty was preposterous.