The Anarchist Banker

The Anarchist Banker
Fernando Pessoa
Social Sciences
"The Anarchist Banker" is a philosophical short story by Fernando Pessoa, published in 1922, featuring a dialogue between a banker and an anonymous interlocutor. In the conversation, the banker shares his ideas on anarchism and explains how he believes his journey to financial success is the true fulfillment of anarchist ideals.
Contradictory and provocative, the banker argues that to achieve true individual freedom and free himself from social constraints, he needed to attain wealth and financial independence. According to him, the capitalist system is merely a means to reach personal freedom, which, for him, is the true goal of anarchism. Throughout the narrative, the banker deconstructs traditional arguments about anarchism, revealing an individualistic and pragmatic view that challenges conventions and prompts the reader to reflect on concepts of freedom, power, and morality.
The work is an ironic critique and a reflection on the paradoxes of ideologies, where Pessoa explores themes such as hypocrisy and rationalization to reveal the contradictions between theory and practice.
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