Moribund Society and Anarchy · Chapter
X: The Influence of Environment explained
This chapter argues that human behavior is shaped by social environment rather than innate evil nature.
What happens
This chapter argues that human behavior is shaped by social environment rather than innate evil nature. It critiques how society, based on private property and authority, fosters competition, war, crime, and misery, while suppressing solidarity and justice. The author calls for a reorganization founded on liberty, reciprocity, and equality to allow good instincts to flourish.
Themes in this chapter
Critique of Private Property
Private property is identified as the root of competition, war, and social division, forcing individuals to hoard and compete.
Human Nature and Society
The chapter argues that human nature is not inherently evil; rather, society's institutions corrupt and suppress good instincts.
Individualism and Solidarity
Contrasts the current society based on antagonistic individualism with a proposed organization based on solidarity and mutual aid.
Characters to notice
- Unknown Narrator
The narrator presents the argument that environment, not human nature, determines morality and behavior.
- The Workman
Referenced as the worker who is forced into competition with fellow workers and exploited by masters.
- Their Masters
Described as the bourgeoisie who exploit workers and maintain privilege through division and control.
- The Anarchists
Implied as those who dream of a society based on solidarity and who critique the current order.
Key passages
“The pernicious influence of society upon the morals of the individual being discovered, it is easy to suppress the bad instincts and develop the good.”
Once we recognize that society corrupts morals, we can eliminate bad instincts and cultivate good ones.
Central thesis: social reform can reshape human behavior.
“From the present organization you reap a harvest of wars, crimes, thefts, fraud, and misery. This is the result of private property and authority; it is the influence of environment making itself felt.”
Current society produces war, crime, and misery because of private property and authority—this is the environment's effect.
Directly links social ills to institutional structures.
“You make a great outcry against the lazy, against thieves and assassins; you berate the 'fundamentally evil' side of human nature; and you do not perceive that these vices would most naturally disappear were they not supported and developed by the social organization.”
You blame individuals for laziness and crime, but these vices are actually sustained by the social system.
Rejects the idea of innate evil, blaming social organization instead.