An interview with Tom Goyens, professor of history at Salisbury University and author of Johann Most: Life of a Radical, out last year from University of Illinois Press speaking about the life and times of the atheist and propagandist (notably through his journal, Freiheit) and his development from social democrat parliamentarian to socialist revolutionary to anarchist. For the chat we talk about Mosts’s life, development and legacy, from the mid-1800’s in Bavaria up to his death in 1906.
Other links:
- Tom’s prior book on radical German immigrants in the US, Beer and Revolution: The German Anarchist Movement in New York City, 1880-1914
- Tom’s compilation of the memoir of Helene Minkin, Storm in My Heart: Memories from the Widow of Johann Most
- Tom’s wixsite: https://txgoyens.wixsite.com/tomgoyens
- Tom on facebook, instagram and bluesky
. … . ..
Featured Track:
- TFSR by The Willows Whisper
Comments
John Most and Anarchism
anarcho (not verified) Tue, 04/14/2026 - 01:04
Comrades may be interested that the current issue of Black Flag as an article on Most ("John Most and Anarchism") plus a selection of articles by him:
https://blackflag.org.uk/
Shows that Most between 1882 and 1886 was not actually an anarchist (although he was moving towards it). He only became an anarchist after Haymarket -- his earlier views were almost certainly influenced by anti-Bakunin writings by Marx and Engels.
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