Free agreements constituted the third leading principle of Kropotkin’s anarchist
organizational vision. As a matter of fact, in The conquest of bread he devotes a
whole chapter to this specific subject. In his age free agreements between
associations and groups had assumed an increasingly important role and were
responsible for the abandonment of many of the state’s functions. As striking
manifestations he points to the railways and postal services in various European
countries. They did not form an international railway or postal parliament,
regulating the running of trains or postal affairs by law. The national
organizations cooperated by free agreement, by exchange of letters and
proposals, and by congresses at which delegates met to discuss matters of mutual
interest. Specific issues were first discussed within the countries: