Those anarchists who call themselves communists (and I am among
them) are communist not because they want to impose their specific
way of seeing or believe that it is the only means of salvation, but
because they are convinced, and will remain so unless there is
evidence to the contrary, that the more men and women, united in
comradeship, and the closer their cooperation on behalf of all, the
greater will be the well-being and the freedom that everybody will
enjoy. They believe that even where people are freed from human
oppression they remain exposed to the hostile forces of nature, which
they cannot overcome on their own, but that with the cooperation of
others, they can control and transform into the means of their
well-being. The individual who wished to supply his own material
needs by working alone would be the slave of his labours. A peasant,
for instance, who wanted to cultivate a piece of ground all alone,
would be renouncing all the advantages of cooperation and
condemning himelf to a wretched life: no rest, no travel, no study, no
contacts with the outside world … and he would not always be able
to appease his hunger.