Bakunin y la política como exaltación del autogobierno: potencialidades y limitaciones

In political theory, the contribution of Bakunin consists in a self governmental position which defends the autonomy of individuals and small groups to determine its collectives aims and to federate each other. Such vision is justified by means of a philosophical objectivist materialism whose conception rests in a natural libertarian human instinct. However, and in a surprising way, regarding political struggle Bakunin places himself in opposition to his own premise, conceiving an elitist and self-designated “revolutionary senior leadership”, which moves in a top-down approach and rejects accountability. In this way, and because of his intuitionist foundations, Bakunin fails to resolve the tension between self-government and hierarchy. Indeed, that philosophical point of view makes him think that he is in possession of the truth about human nature and, above all, it makes him blind about the only possible solution: the mediation of popular and democratic republicanism.