There was an absence of tradition, or rather, what pertained to the past was considered obsolete and unworthy of attention. The dominant trend, in theory, was to go all the way to anarchism and communism; in practice, it stood for non-organisation and for a free life. With it came a great fervour for propaganda, and in Paris and the provincial centres many, captivated by this atmosphere of a completely free life, flocked to the groups, which grew and became numerous. Few among them understood that these impatient spirits who were so easily drawn into the groups were, after all, few in number, and that even if a large circle of people thirsting for a free, unfettered life had been formed by the anarchists, it would have been at the cost of a great isolation from the people themselves, who watched the spectacle but took good care not to participate. Worse still, the people let themselves be beguiled by the authoritarian socialists, who demanded no intellectual or revolutionary effort from them - only their votes, that is, a surrender into the hands of new masters.