Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin was a well known Russian anarchist and socialist. He was best known as one of the first generation of anarchist philosophers, and has been called one of the “fathers of modern anarchism.” Bakunin's political beliefs were based on several interrelated concepts: (1) Liberty: by "liberty," Bakunin did not mean an abstract ideal but a concrete reality based on the equal liberty of others; (2) Socialism: Bakunin's socialism was a form of collectivist anarchism, in which the workers would directly manage the means of production through their own productive associations. There would be "equal means of subsistence, support, education, and opportunity for every child, boy or girl, until maturity, and equal resources and facilities in adulthood to create his own well-being by his own labor"; (3) Federalism: society would be organized "on the basis of the absolute freedom of individuals, of the productive associations, and of the communes," with "every individual, every association, every commune, every region, every nation" having "the absolute right to self-determination, to associate or not to associate, to ally themselves with whomever they wish"; (4) Anti-theism: Bakunin argued that "the idea of God implies the abdication of human reason and justice; it is the most decisive negation of human liberty, and necessarily ends in the enslavement of mankind, in theory and practice." Consequently, Bakunin reversed Voltaire's famous aphorism that if God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him, writing instead that "if God really existed, it would be necessary to abolish him"; and (5) Materialism: Bakunin denied religious concepts of "free will" and advocated a materialist explanation of natural phenomena: "the manifestations of organic life, chemical properties and reactions, electricity, light, warmth and the natural attraction of physical bodies, constitute in our view so many different but no less closely interdependent variants of that totality of real beings which we call matter." The "mission of science is, by observation of the general relations of passing and real facts, to establish the general laws inherent in the development of the phenomena of the physical and social world."

Bakunin’s methods of realizing his revolutionary program were consistent with his principles. The workers and peasants were to organize on a federalist basis, "creating not only the ideas, but also the facts of the future itself." The worker's trade union associations would "take possession of all the tools of production as well as buildings and capital." The peasants were to "take the land and throw out those landlords who live by the labor of others."Bakunin looked to "the rabble," the great masses of the poor and exploited, the so-called "lumpenproletariat," to "inaugurate and bring to triumph the Social Revolution," as they were "almost unpolluted by bourgeois civilization."

Rudolf Rocker became a socialist in his youth joining the Social Democratic Party but was expelled in 1890 for his support of the left wing group Die Jungen. His political views would soon move towards anarchism.

Observing the second congress of the Second International in Brussels in 1891, Rocker began contributing to the anarchist press in 1892 and left Germany the same year to escape police harassment, settling in Britain in 1895.

In 1918 Rocker was deported from Britain to the Netherlands and eventually returned to Germany. He became a major figure in the German and international anarcho-syndicalist movement, helping to organize the International Congress in Berlin in 1922 leading to the formation of the International Workers Association. Rocker was opposed to anarchist support for the Bolshevik Revolution after 1917 and led the libertarian socialist opposition to the growing Nazi movement in Germany.

In 1933 Rocker left Germany again to escape persecution by the new Nazi regime. Settling in the United States, he continued to work as a speaker and writer, directing his efforts against the twin evils of Fascism and Communism. He spent the last 20 years of his life as a leading figure in the Mohegan community at Crompond, New York, and was the best-known anarchist in the country until his death.

William Godwin was an English political writer and novelist, considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism, and one of the first modern proponents of anarchist philosophy; indeed he is regarded by many as the founder of philosophical anarchism and the first anarchist.

In 1793, while the French Revolution was in full swing, Godwin published his great work on political science, "Enquiry concerning Political Justice, and its Influence on General Virtue and Happiness." Based on it's influence on the thought of writers like Shelley, Kropotkin, and others, Godwin's "Political Justice" takes its place with Milton's "Areopagitica", Locke's "Essay on Education" and Rousseau's "Emile" as a seminal anarchist and libertarian text.

By the words "political justice" the author meant "the adoption of any principle of morality and truth into the practice of a community," and the work was therefore an inquiry into the principles of society, of government and of morals. For many years Godwin had been "satisfied that monarchy was a species of government unavoidably corrupt," and from desiring a government of the simplest construction, he gradually came to consider that "government by its very nature counteracts the improvement of original mind," confirming his beliefs as those that would later be understood as anarchist.

Aleksander Herzen was a major Russian writer and thinker known as the "father of Russian socialism". He is held responsible for creating a political climate leading to the emancipation of the serfs in 1861.

Herzen was a populist writer as he supported the common person's interest and fought against corrupt elites.The rise in populism by 1880 led to a favorable reevaluation of the writings of Herzen, as he reappeared as the heroic creator of the movement. The rights of Serfs made popular by Herzen's exile writings would become the most important issues facing the Russian social structure, Herzen would side with the agrarian collectivist model of social structure. This choice was a direct result from Herzen's experience of the 1848 revolutions whereby he found wealth was concentrated in too few hands despite changing governments.

Alongside populism Herzen will be remembered for his rejection of corrupt government of any political persuasion and support for individual rights. His fascination with Hegelian dialectics in his youth resulted in Herzen rejecting any specific theory or single doctrine dominating his thought. He refused to adopt any single interpretation of life or schematic theory for social well-being and recognised that these theoretical solutions had no positive real-world results. Herzen came to believe the complex questions of society could not be answered and Russians must live for the moment and not a cause, essentially life is a means in itself. Herzen found his solutions to be a dialectic compromise whereby he would remain unattached to any formal doctrine but would embrace values that are common to all. Herzen found greater understanding from not committing himself to one extreme but rather lived impartially and objectively enabling him to equally criticise competing ideologies since inevitably, grand doctrines and master narratives ultimately result in enslavement, sacrifice and tyranny.