Between peasants

Between Peasants, first published in Italian (1884), is Errico Malatesta’s most widely read pamphlet and it is easy to understood why this piece is so well-received. Between Peasants is a wonderful introduction to the basic principles of anarchism marked by Malatesta’s humble tone and straightforward writing style. Though Malatesta was writing for the rural landless workers of his time, this analysis of the social problems caused by capitalism and his suggested path to a new world of freedom and justice remain relevant today— the rich still own the vast majority of the land and the means of production—they continue to hold the greater part of humanity in bondage. It remains the task of the oppressed to unite in an international mass movement, based on shared interests, to end the collective misery, through revolution. In this short work, Malatesta introduces radical concepts and revolutionary solutions in a way that will resonate with today’s English-speaking working class, just as it did for nineteenth-century Italian peasants.