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The Conquest of Bread also known colloquially as The Bread Book, is an 1892 book by the Russian anarcho-communist Peter Kropotkin. Originally written in French, it first appeared as a series of articles in the anarchist journal Le Revolte. It was first published in Paris with a preface by Elisee Reclus, who also suggested the title. Between 1892 and 1894, it was serialized in part in the London journal Freedom, of which Kropotkin was a co-founder.
In the work, Kropotkin points out what he considers to be the defects of the economic systems of feudalism and capitalism and why he believes they thrive on and maintain poverty and scarcity. He goes on to propose a more decentralized economic system based on mutual aid and voluntary cooperation, asserting that the tendencies for this kind of organization already exist, both in evolution and in human society.
The Conquest of Bread has become a classic of political anarchist literature. It was heavily influential on both the Spanish Civil War and the Occupy movement.
The Conquest of Bread had an impact far exceeding Kropotkin's own lifetime, playing a prominent role in the anarchist militias of the Spanish Civil War as well as inspiring anarchist history, theory and praxis throughout the 20th century. After the failure of Marxism-Leninism in the Soviet Union, some thinkers came to regard the book as prophetic, with Kropotkin anticipating the many pitfalls and human rights abuses that would occur given the centralization of industry.
After the 2007-2008 financial crisis and the subsequent Occupy movement, Kropotkin's work took on increased prominence. David Graeber, one of the intellectual leaders of the Occupy movement, cited Kropotkin directly as an inspiration for the world the Occupy protesters were attempting to create. In 2015, David Priestland, writing for The Guardian, called for a renewed look at Kropotkin and The Conquest of Bread in the West, given the recent collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the global financial crisis of 2007-2008.
Since 2018, a loose group of left-leaning YouTube content creators have collectively been referred to as BreadTube, inspired by the title of the book. The term "breadpilled" refers to the act of becoming an anarcho-socialist, alluding to the red pill and blue pill from The Matrix. (wikipedia.org)
