Syndicalism
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Syndicalism refers to a set of ideas, movements, and tendencies which share the avowed aim of transforming capitalist society through action by the working class on the industrial front. For syndicalists, labour unions are the potential means both of overcoming capitalism and of running society in the interests of the majority. Industry and government in a syndicalist society would be run by labour union federations.
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[edit] Introduction
This emphasis on industrial organisation was a distinguishing feature of syndicalism when it began to be identified as a distinct current at the beginning of the twentieth century. Most socialist organisations of that period emphasised the importance of political action through party organisations as a means of bringing about socialism. Although all syndicalists emphasize industrial organisation, not all reject political action altogether. For example, De Leonists and other Industrial Unionists advocate parallel organisation both politically and industrially.
Syndicalisme is a French word meaning "trade unionism". This milder version of syndicalism was overshadowed by revolutionary anarcho-syndicalism in the early 20th century, which was most powerful in Spain, but also appeared in other parts of the world, as in the U.S.-centered Industrial Workers of the World.
In a model syndicalist community, the local syndicate communicates with other syndicates through the Bourse de Travail (labour exchange), which manages and transfers commodities.
Syndicalism is one of the three most common ideologies of egalitarian, pre-managed economic and labour structure, together with socialism and communism. It states, on an ethical basis, that all participants in an organized trade internally share equal ownership of its production and therefore deserve equal earnings and benefits within that trade, regardless of position or duty. By contrast, socialism emphasises distributing output among trades as required by each trade, not necessarily considering how trades organize internally. Syndicalism is compatible with privatism, unlike communism. Communism rejects government-sanctioned private ownership and private earnings in favor of making all property legally public, and therefore directly and solely managed by the people themselves.
Syndicalists often form alliances with other workers' movements, including socialism, communism, and anarchism.
[edit] Prominent syndicalists
[edit] French syndicalists
- Georges Sorel philosopher
- Fernand Pelloutier leader of the French Bourses du Travail (Labour Exchange)
- Emile Pouget Co-leader of the Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT, founded in 1895)
- Hubert Lagardelle writer
[edit] Scottish syndicalists
- John Maclean, political activist and writer
[edit] German syndicalists
[edit] Italian syndicalists
- Alceste de Ambris
- Michele Bianchi
- Enrico Leone
- Arturo Labriola
- Agostino Lanzillo
- Robert Michels - Although he was German, he moved to Italy and became a revolutionary syndicalist.
- Sergio Panunzio
[edit] Spanish syndicalists
[edit] American syndicalists
[edit] See also
- Anarchism
- Democratic socialism
- De Leonism
- Trade unionism
- Council communism
- Industrial Workers of the World (IWW, the "Wobblies")
- Anarcho-syndicalism
- National syndicalism
[edit] External links
- AnarchoSyndicalism.net
- Rudolf Rocker, a major proponent of anarcho-syndicalism
- Libertarian Communist Library Archive
- General Strikes, maps with locations where strikes have occurred; includes resource links
[edit] Bibliography
- Anarcho-Syndicalism, Rudolf Rocker, London, 1989.
- Liberalism and The Challenge of Fascism, Social Forces in England and France (1815-1870), J. Salwyn Schapiro, McGraw-Hill Book Co., NY, l949.
- The Anarchists, James Joll, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1980.
- The Syndicalist Tradition and Italian Fascism, David D. Robert, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill NC, 1979.
