On July 27th, 2025, the Sam and Esther Dolgoff Institute (SEDI) hosted labor historian and anarchist writer Mark Leier for a riveting talk on the life and contradictions of Robert Raglan Gosden—Wobbly, saboteur, free speech fighter, draft evader, police informant, and mystic.
Drawing from extensive archival research and his biography Rebel Life, Leier traced Gosden’s trajectory from militant IWW organizer in British Columbia and San Diego, to an advocate of sabotage and general strikes, to his eventual—and deeply controversial—role as a labor spy during Canada’s post-WWI strike wave. Gosden’s story raises profound questions about class betrayal, revolutionary alienation, and the capacity of labor institutions to hold space for rage, action, and unorthodox radicalism.
Leier also drew parallels between Gosden and broader political phenomena such as the Reagan Democrat, the professionalization of the left, and the mystification of radical disillusionment in mid-century Canada. What emerges is a cautionary tale and historical mystery wrapped into one—essential listening for anyone interested in the tensions between revolutionary sincerity and political marginalization.
Mark Leier is a professor at Simon Fraser University, author of Bakunin: The Creative Passion, and a longtime contributor to the history of labor radicalism in North America.
This event was part of SEDI’s ongoing speaker series, bringing together radical thinkers, organizers, and historians to deepen our understanding of the past and sharpen our interventions in the present. Most talks are not recorded, but SEDI is working to make more of these vital conversations accessible to wider audiences.
The Sam and Esther Dolgoff Institute:
https://www.dolgoffinstitute.com/
Explore Mark Leier’s work:
Rebel Life: The Life and Times of Robert Gosden, Revolutionary, Mystic, Labour Spy - https://www.newstarbooks.com/book.php?book_id=155420058X
Works at The Anarchist Library - https://theanarchistlibrary.org/category/author/mark-leier
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