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, labor 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.

Contents

[edit] Introduction

This emphasis on industrial organization 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 organizations as a means of bringing about socialism. Although all syndicalists emphasize industrial organization, not all reject political action altogether. For example, De Leonists and some 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. In Syndicalism, unions are the basis for the future society rather than simply means of attaining that society.

Syndicalists often form alliances with other workers' movements, including socialism, communism, and anarchism.

[edit] Prominent syndicalists

[edit] French syndicalists

[edit] Scottish syndicalists

[edit] Welsh syndicalists

  • Sam Mainwaring, orator & originator of the term 'anarcho-syndicalist'

[edit] German syndicalists

[edit] Italian syndicalists

[edit] Spanish syndicalists

[edit] American syndicalists

[edit] Swedish syndicalists

[edit] See also

Organized Labour Portal

[edit] External 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.
  • Lenny Flank (ed), "IWW: A Documentary History", Red and Black Publishers, St Petersburg, Florida, 2007. ISBN 978-0-9791813-5-1