Anarchic Scepticism: Language, Mysticism and Revolution in Gustav Landauer

Abstract

Gustav Landauer (1870– 1919), a German-Jewish anarchist and a radical thinker, was brutally murdered by the Freikorps in Munich. He was an almost forgotten figure for a long time, even though his ideas exerted a crucial influence on the development of twentieth century Jewish thought and philosophy, particularly regarding the rehabilitation of utopian, messianic, anarchical and mystical elements. Landauer was one of very few Jewish authors permitting the word ‘scepticism’ to be included in the title of one of his works—namely Skepsis und Mystik2—in my view this very term is the fil rouge running through all his political and philosophical thought. However, this feature has not received the proper attention by scholars, which focus mainly on Landauer’s singular account of anarchism and mysticism, alongside his conception of revolution and community. In this essay, I will attempt to shed light on the connection between Fritz Mauthner’s (1849– 1923) linguistic critique and Landauer’s anarchy, showing the political implications of sceptical thought. To this end, I will focus on the sceptical features of Landauer’s anarchist socialism by analysing the connection between scepticism and mysticism, the role played by scepticism in his thought of community and in his account of revolution, history and time, and the definition of his anti-political attitude as sceptical Lebensform.