Most, Johann Joseph

Most, Johann Joseph (mōst), 1846–1906, German anarchist. A bookbinder by trade, he served as editor of socialist papers in Germany and Austria. His publications were suppressed, and he was frequently imprisoned for his public denunciation of religion, patriotism, and accepted moral standards. After sitting (1874–78) in the German Reichstag, he moved to France and then to England, where he served a 16-month prison term for glorifying the assassination of Russia's Alexander II. He emigrated (1882) to the United States and became a leader in the American anarchist movement. He was imprisoned a number of times for his activities, until he drifted away from anarchist politics.

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Most, Johann Joseph (1846–1906) anarchist; born in Augsburg, Germany. Product of a brutal childhood, disfigured in his youth, he became an ardent European Socialist. He edited Socialist newspapers in Switzerland and Germany (1868–78), was elected twice to the German parliament, lectured frequently, wrote many pamphlets and labor songs, and was expelled from Austria and Germany. Turning anarchist, he was expelled from the German Socialist Party (1880). His paper, Die Freiheit, published in London, was suppressed (1881) after publishing an article glorifying the assassination of Czar Alexander II. Emigrating to America (1882), he was greeted as a radical martyr, and he traveled extensively, advocating a violent overthrow of capitalists and the ruling class. A magnetic speaker filled with hatred and invective, a brilliant writer with a biting, sarcastic wit, he became the leader of an extreme faction of American anarchists and composed the declaration adopted by the Pittsburgh convention (1883) that became the manifesto of communist anarchism in America. Imprisoned several times for inciting violence (1886–1901), he repudiated violent intervention and lost his influence.