Spanish anarchist who served in the Republican government
In November 1936 she accepted a cabinet post. Her dispute with Emma Goldman over government participation exposed strategic differences among anarchists supporting the same revolution.
Spanish anarchist and writer associated with the CNT. She served as minister of Health and Public Assistance from November 1936 to May 1937. Her participation in the Republican government raised a difficult question for an anti-statist movement: could taking state office defend the revolution without compromising its principles? Her exchanges with Emma Goldman reveal disagreements over the relationship between anti-fascist war and social revolution.
Government participation and revolution
Montseny and Goldman both saw the Spanish Civil War as an opening for social revolution. They disagreed over whether joining the Republican government could protect that revolution. Goldman criticized Montseny’s ministerial role; Montseny considered such criticism insufficiently attentive to conditions in wartime Spain. Their exchange shows why anarchism cannot be treated as a single, uniform political position.
Her work in health and public assistance and the political consequences of accepting state office are related but distinct questions. Social reforms did not settle the argument over governmental participation, while criticism of participation did not mean opposition to anti-fascist resistance. Chapter 11 of Untold Stories of the Spanish Civil War examines this tension through the two women’s writings and exchanges.