A Message to Garcia

“A Message to Garcia” is one of hundreds of essays penned by Elbert Hubbard, a salesman and publisher who founded an artist colony, Roycroft, in upper New York State. Hubbard also published magazines; One, The Philistine, was a periodic collection of his essays. Today, it might be a prominent blog on the Internet. One of his essays was "Garcia," which would become one of the most widely read works at the turn of the 20th century, reprinted countless times by organizations and corporations who wanted to inspire their own workers to greater achievement.

The tale of Rowan’s trek through Cuba is briefly told; most of the essay is taken up with a critique of the incompetence and laziness Hubbard observes among workers in late-19th-century America. The cure, says Hubbard, is a revival of the fortitude and can-do optimism of someone like Rowan, who carries the message to Garcia without complaint and despite many obstacles.

Hubbard was an avowed anarchist; he believed in the fundamental goodness of humans, who therefore don’t need governments to force them to behave. Hubbard also supported Socialism, although his version foresaw a future in which workers managed themselves and their companies.