The most unpardonable sin in society is independence of thought.

The line crystallizes a recurring theme in Goldman’s anarchist critique: that social order is maintained less by overt force than by conformity, moral policing, and the fear of standing apart. Calling independent thought an “unpardonable sin” is deliberate irony—society claims to prize reason and individuality, yet often punishes those who question prevailing norms, institutions, or patriotic and religious orthodoxies. In Goldman’s framework, genuine freedom begins with intellectual self-emancipation; without it, political rights are hollow because people continue to internalize authority. The quote thus functions as both diagnosis (how conformity operates) and exhortation (to cultivate critical, self-directed judgment despite social penalties).