Theory behind Propaganda Of The Deed?

[Widerstand]

What are some theoretical contributions (essays, pamphlets, books, whatever) to the concept of Propaganda Of The Deed? I know that Malatesta wrote some stuff on the topic, but what is there besides that?

[gorillafuck]

Do you mean like what is the theory, or what was written on it?

[Widerstand]

Well I don't just mean any commentary, but rather that explains how Propaganda Of The Deed is supposed to work, what is and is not correct application of the concept (eg what sets POTD apart from random vandalism/looting/rioting/murder), etc. If that makes any sense?

[ʇsıɥɔɹɐuɐ ıɯɐbıɹo]

Nothing sets Propoganda by Deed apart from other acts that are frowned upon or persecuted by the establishment, it's the motivation behind them that makes them Prop By/Of The Deed instead of terrorism but some people can't see the difference.

I could be wrong. ?

[NoOneIsIllegal]

Your best bet would look up the works of Johann Most and Luigi Galleani. Both are well known for insurrectionist influence in the United States; the former was almost tried for the Haymarket Affair, the latter deported from the Palmer Raids. Johann Most is credited for starting the early image as the anarchist welding the bomb in his coat, because it was often rumored (maybe even bragged) that Most frequently carried dynamite.
They were both contributors to the theory of propaganda of the deed in their homelands (Germany and Italy, respectively) and then eventually in the United States. They were both Anarchist-Communists who advocated insurrectionary tactics.
Most has a lot of works in German; maybe you can find them easily? As for Galleani, AK Press offers a book of selected writings titled "Anarchy Will Be! (http://akpress.com/2004/items/anarchywillbe)"

An early advocation of Propaganda of the Deed was from Carlo Pisacane (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Pisacane), written in 1857:
"Propaganda of the idea is a chimera, the education of the people is an absurdity. Ideas result from deeds, not the latter from the former, and the people will not be free when they are educated, but will be educated when they are free. The only work a citizen can do for the good of the country is that of cooperating with the material revolution: therefore, conspiracies, plots, attempts, etc., are that series of deeds through which Italy proceeds toward her goal."

[Widerstand]

Your best bet would look up the works of Johann Most and Luigi Galleani. Both are well known for insurrectionist influence in the United States; the former was almost tried for the Haymarket Affair, the latter deported from the Palmer Raids. Johann Most is credited for starting the early image as the anarchist welding the bomb in his coat, because it was often rumored (maybe even bragged) that Most frequently carried dynamite.
They were both contributors to the theory of propaganda of the deed in their homelands (Germany and Italy, respectively) and then eventually in the United States. They were both Anarchist-Communists who advocated insurrectionary tactics.
Most has a lot of works in German; maybe you can find them easily? As for Galleani, AK Press offers a book of selected writings titled "Anarchy Will Be! (http://akpress.com/2004/items/anarchywillbe)"

An early advocation of Propaganda of the Deed was from Carlo Pisacane (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Pisacane), written in 1857:
"Propaganda of the idea is a chimera, the education of the people is an absurdity. Ideas result from deeds, not the latter from the former, and the people will not be free when they are educated, but will be educated when they are free. The only work a citizen can do for the good of the country is that of cooperating with the material revolution: therefore, conspiracies, plots, attempts, etc., are that series of deeds through which Italy proceeds toward her goal."

I'm somewhat unsure I can easily find Most. I'm even more unsure what I would look for of Most, large parts of his work seem dedicated to analyzing German law and its effects on workers. It would probably be either the peculiar sounding "The Science of Revolutionary Warfare: A Little Handbook of Instruction in the Use and Preparation of Nitroglycerine, Dynamite, Gun-Cotton, Fulminating Mercury, Bombs, Fuses, Poisons, Etc., Etc." or "August Reinsdorf and Propaganda of the Deed". Hmmm.

For what it's worth I found a short text of his called Action As Propaganda (http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/bright/most/actionprop.html).

I'll look up the other two you mentioned :)

[hatzel]

"The Science of Revolutionary Warfare: A Little Handbook of Instruction in the Use and Preparation of Nitroglycerine, Dynamite, Gun-Cotton, Fulminating Mercury, Bombs, Fuses, Poisons, Etc., Etc."

Oh, I wonder what that's about...the title is just so vague...

[ComradeOm]

An early advocation of Propaganda of the Deed was from Carlo Pisacane (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Pisacane), written in 1857:
"Propaganda of the idea is a chimera, the education of the people is an absurdity. Ideas result from deeds, not the latter from the former, and the people will not be free when they are educated, but will be educated when they are free. The only work a citizen can do for the good of the country is that of cooperating with the material revolution: therefore, conspiracies, plots, attempts, etc., are that series of deeds through which Italy proceeds toward her goal."I've always loved Pisacane, if only for the manner of his death. He decided to invade Two Sicilies by commandeering a ship in Genoa, sailing down to Calabria, landing on an offshore prison, liberating the inmates there and press-ganging these criminals into some sort of 'revolutionary army'. They then hop across to the mainland and are promptly slaughtered by the Neapolitan Royal Guard. Pisacane himself escapes the rout but commits suicide in a nearby village a few days later

But, interesting deaths aside, be somewhat careful with Pisacane. He did not belong to the anarchist milieu (which would most notably embrace propaganda of the deed) but was rather one of the last gasps of the Mazzinian movement. His background was, as the quote suggests, very much of the conspiratorial secret societies. Even with the success of Garibaldi, by the 1860s this was a model that had been very much discredited through failures such as Pisacane and the Bandiera Brothers. Which is just context

More promising was Pisacane's disappointment with the petit-bourgeois Italian radicals and his reorientation towards the lower classes. Unfortunately I can recall little about the specifics of this and frustratingly can't remember which work mentioned this (:mad:). Despite his eventual end and the above context, his primary work (Guerra Combattuta in Italia Negli Anni 1845-1850) is a departure from classic conspiratorial tactics, including POTD, and recognises the need for mass participation in revolutionary activities. As I say, an interesting character

Anyways, I realise that the above is mostly rambling. To sum it all up - be careful about trying to fit Pisacane into some overall POTD narrative