International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest

Extract

Henri Zisly, self-labeled individualist anarchist , is considered one of the forerunners and principal organizers of the naturist movement in France and one of its most able and outspoken defenders worldwide. His political activity, primarily aimed at supporting a return to “natural life” through writing and practical involvement, stimulated lively confrontations within and outside the anarchist environment. Zisly vividly criticized progress and civilization, which he regarded as “absurd, ignoble, and filthy.” He openly opposed industrialization, arguing that machines were inherently authoritarian, defended nudism, advocated a non-dogmatic and non-religious adherence to the “laws of nature,” recommended a lifestyle based on limited needs and self-sufficiency, and disagreed with vegetarianism, which he considered “anti-scientific.” Employed by the Compagnie des Chemins de Fer du Nord in 1897, he was dismissed in 1915 and briefly imprisoned because of an anti-patriotic article that appeared in Bataille syndicaliste . He published essays in numerous anarchist periodicals in several European countries as well as in North and South America and edited La Nouvelle Humanité (1895–8), L'Ordre naturel (1905), and La Vie naturelle (1907–27). Zisly supported milieux libres , communities organized according to naturist and libertarian principles, and personally took part in the Vaux ... log in or subscribe to read full text