Work is a crime & De Moker Group

Herman J. Schuurman (1897-1991) was one of the founding members of the group of radical youth around the magazine `De Moker. Opruiend blad voor jonge arbeiders? [Club hammer, Magazine of agitation for young workers] (end of 1923 until 1928). The very informally organised Mokergroup united some 500 young proletarians, geographically spread in small groups, mainly in the West and North of the Netherlands, who found the Dutch proletariat and especially the libertarian movement too mild and wanted to stirr it up in the direction of the revolution that they had seen happening in Russia and Germany, and which, although betrayed by repectively the bolsheviks and the social-democracy, was still within reach. `Work is a crime? can bes een as their programm. While they participated in every struggle against the ruling capitalism and militarism, they also directed their critique against representative bodies such as political parties and unions, whom they considered rather as a brake on, instead of a stimulus for the revolution. History has proven them right. Els van Daele has meticulously reconstructed the history of this very radical anarchist youth group, their ideas, their critique on the `old movement?, their internal conflicts and the contents of the renowned magazine `De Moker?. It?s good that after all there is an English translation of this text, but it is at least misleading that the publisher has chosen to add an introduction and an epilogue without indicating that these were not written by the original author but by the publisher. The additional introduction and epilogue would have never been formulated by the author, who disagrees with them. So take that in mind and let it not stop you from reading the original text.