Anarcho-Syndicalism
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Anarcho-syndicalism is a
political philosophy Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...
and
anarchist school of thought Anarchism is the political philosophy which holds ruling classes and the state to be undesirable, unnecessary and harmful, The following sources cite anarchism as a political philosophy: Slevin, Carl. "Anarchism." ''The Concise Oxford Dicti ...
that views
revolutionary industrial unionism Industrial unionism is a trade union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union, regardless of skill or trade, thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in ...
or
syndicalism Syndicalism is a Revolutionary politics, revolutionary current within the Left-wing politics, left-wing of the Labour movement, labor movement that seeks to unionize workers Industrial unionism, according to industry and advance their demands t ...
as a method for workers in
capitalist society Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private pr ...
to gain control of an economy and thus control influence in broader society. The end goal of syndicalism is to abolish the
wage system A wage is payment made by an employer to an employee for work done in a specific period of time. Some examples of wage payments include compensatory payments such as '' minimum wage'', ''prevailing wage'', and ''yearly bonuses,'' and remune ...
, regarding it as
wage slavery Wage slavery or slave wages refers to a person's dependence on wages (or a salary) for their livelihood, especially when wages are low, treatment and conditions are poor, and there are few chances of upward mobility. The term is often used ...
. Anarcho-syndicalist theory generally focuses on the
labour movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...
. Reflecting the anarchist philosophy from which it draws its primary inspiration, anarcho-syndicalism is centred on the idea that
power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...
corrupts and that any
hierarchy A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...
that cannot be ethically justified must be dismantled. The basic principles of anarcho-syndicalism are
solidarity ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...
,
direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...
(action undertaken without the intervention of third parties such as politicians, bureaucrats and arbitrators) and
direct democracy Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the Election#Electorate, electorate decides on policy initiatives without legislator, elected representatives as proxies. This differs from the majority of currently establishe ...
, or
workers' self-management Workers' self-management, also referred to as labor management and organizational self-management, is a form of organizational management based on self-directed work processes on the part of an organization's workforce. Self-management is a def ...
. Anarcho-syndicalists believe their economic theories constitute a strategy for facilitating
proletarian The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose only possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian. Marxist philoso ...
self-activity and creating an alternative
cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
economic system with democratic values and production centred on meeting human needs. Anarcho-syndicalists perceive the primary purpose of the state as the defence of
private property Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property and personal property, which is owned by a state entity, and from collective or ...
in the forms of
capital goods The economic concept of a capital good (also called complex product systems (CoPS),H. Rush, "Managing innovation in complex product systems (CoPS)," IEE Colloquium on EPSRC Technology Management Initiative (Engineering & Physical Sciences Researc ...
and thereby of economic, social and political privilege. In maintaining this ''
status quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...
'', the state denies most of its citizens the ability to enjoy material independence and the social autonomy that springs from it.


History


Origins

Hubert Lagardelle Hubert Lagardelle (8 July 1874 – 20 September 1958) was a pioneer of French revolutionary syndicalism. He regularly authored reviews for the Plans magazine, was co-founder of the journal Prélude, and Minister of Labour in the Vichy regime. ...
wrote that
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (, , ; 15 January 1809, Besançon – 19 January 1865, Paris) was a French socialist,Landauer, Carl; Landauer, Hilde Stein; Valkenier, Elizabeth Kridl (1979) 959 "The Three Anticapitalistic Movements". ''European Socia ...
laid out fundamental ideas of anarcho-syndicalism and repudiated both capitalism and the state in the process since he viewed free economic groups and struggle, not pacifism, as dominant in humans. In September 1903 and March 1904,
Sam Mainwaring Samuel Mainwaring (15 December 1841 – 29 September 1907) was a Welsh machinist and socialist political activist who was a founding member and key leader of the Socialist League, one of the first socialist political parties in Britain. In his ...
published in Britain two issues of a short-lived newspaper called ''The General Strike,'' a publication that criticised of the "officialism" of union bureaucracy and publicised strikes in Europe making use of
syndicalist Syndicalism is a revolutionary current within the left-wing of the labor movement that seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through strikes with the eventual goal of gaining control over the means of pr ...
tactics.


International Workers' Association

In 1910, the (CNT) was founded in the middle of the restoration in Barcelona in a congress of the
Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
trade union (Workers' Solidarity) to constitute an opposing force to the then-majority trade union, the socialist (UGT) and "to speed up the economic emancipation of the working class through the revolutionary
expropriation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
of the bourgeoisie". The CNT started small, counting 26,571 members represented through several trade unions and other confederations.Geary, Dick (1989). Labour and Socialist Movements in Europe Before 1914. Berg Publishers. Pg. 261 In 1911, coinciding with its first congress, the CNT initiated a general strike that provoked a Barcelona judge to declare the union illegal until 1914. Also, in 1911, the trade union adopted its name formally. From 1918 on, the CNT grew more substantial and had an outstanding role in the events of the ''La Canadiense'' general strike, which paralyzed 70% of the industry in Catalonia in 1919, the year the CNT reached a membership of 700,000. Around that time, panic spread among employers, giving rise to the practice of (employing thugs to intimidate active unionists), causing a spiral of violence that significantly affected the trade union. These are credited with killing 21 union leaders in 48 hours. In 1922, the
International Workers' Association International Workers' Association may refer to: * International Workingmen's Association The International Workingmen's Association (IWA), often called the First International (1864–1876), was an international organisation which aimed at ...
(IWA) was founded in Berlin, and the CNT joined immediately, but with the rise of
Miguel Primo de Rivera Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquess of Estella (8 January 1870 – 16 March 1930), was a dictator, aristocrat, and military officer who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930 during Spain's Restoration era. He deepl ...
's dictatorship, the labour union was outlawed again the following year. However, with the workers' movement resurgent following the
Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
, what was to become the modern IWA was formed, billing itself as the "true heir" of the original International. The successful
Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
-led revolution of 1917 in Russia was mirrored by a wave of syndicalist successes worldwide, including the struggle of the
Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines genera ...
(IWW) in the United States alongside the creation of mass anarchist unions across Latin America and massive syndicalist-led strikes in Germany, Portugal, Spain, Italy and France, where it was noted that "neutral (economic, but not political) syndicalism had been swept away".Vadim Damier (2009) The final formation of this new international, then known as the International Workingmen's Association, took place at an illegal conference in Berlin in December 1922, marking an irrevocable break between the international syndicalist movement and the Bolsheviks. The IWA included the
Italian Syndicalist Union Unione Sindacale Italiana (''USI''; ''Italian Syndicalist Union'' or ''Italian Workers' Union'') is an anarcho-syndicalist trade union. It is the Italian section of the International Workers' Association (IWA; ''Associazione Internazionale dei Lav ...
(500,000 members), the Argentine Workers Regional Organisation (200,000 members), the General Confederation of Workers in Portugal (150,000 members), the
Free Workers' Union of Germany The Free Workers' Union of Germany (; FAUD) was an anarcho-syndicalist trade union in Germany. It stemmed from the Free Association of German Trade Unions (FDVG) which combined with the Ruhr region's Freie Arbeiter Union on September 15, 1919. ...
(120,000 members), the Committee for the Defense of Revolutionary Syndicalism in France (100,000 members), the from Paris (32,000 members), the Central Organisation of the Workers of Sweden (32,000 members), the
National Labor Secretariat The National Labor Secretariat ( nl, Nationaal Arbeids-Secretariaat, NAS) was a trade union federation in the Netherlands from 1893 to 1940. Early years In the late 1880s and early 1890s the idea that trade unions should no longer be branches of ...
of the Netherlands (22,500 members), the Industrial Workers of the World in Chile (20,000 members) and the Union for Syndicalist Propaganda in Denmark (600 members). The first secretaries of the International included the famed writer and activist
Rudolph Rocker Johann Rudolf Rocker (March 25, 1873 – September 19, 1958) was a German Anarchism, anarchist writer and activist. He was born in Mainz to a Roman Catholic artisan family. His father died when he was a child, and his mother when he was in his t ...
, along with
Augustin Souchy Augustin Souchy Bauer (28 August 1892 – 1 January 1984) was a German anarchist, antimilitarist, labor union official and journalist. He traveled widely and wrote extensively about the Spanish Civil War and intentional communities. He was ...
and
Alexander Schapiro Alexander "Sanya" Moiseyevich Schapiro or Shapiro (in Russian: Александр "Саня" Моисеевич Шапиро; 1882 or 1883 – December 5, 1946) was a Russian anarcho-syndicalist activist. Born in southern Russia, Schapiro ...
. Following the first congress, other groups from France, Austria, Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Poland, and Romania were affiliated. Later, a bloc of unions in the United States, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Guatemala, Cuba, Costa Rica and El Salvador also shared the IWA's statutes. The IWW, biggest syndicalist union in the United States, considered joining but eventually ruled out affiliation in 1936 based on the IWA's religious and political affiliation policies. Although not anarcho-syndicalist, the IWW was informed by developments in the broader revolutionary syndicalist milieu at the turn of the 20th century. At its founding congress in 1905, influential members with strong anarchist or anarcho-syndicalist sympathies like
Thomas J. Hagerty Thomas Joseph Hagerty (ca. 1862–1920s?) was an American Roman Catholic priest and trade union activist. Hagerty is remembered as one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), as author of the influential Preamble to th ...
,
William Trautmann William Ernst Trautmann (July 1, 1869 – November 18, 1940) was founding general-secretary of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and one of 69 people who initially laid plans for the organization in 1904. He was born to German parents in ...
and
Lucy Parsons Lucy Eldine Gonzalez Parsons (born Lucia Carter; 1851 – March 7, 1942) was an American labor organizer, radical socialist and anarcho-communist. She is remembered as a powerful orator. Parsons entered the radical movement following her marriag ...
contributed to the union's overall revolutionary syndicalist orientation. Although the terms anarcho-syndicalism and revolutionary syndicalism are often used interchangeably, the anarcho-syndicalist label was not widely used until the early 1920s: "The term 'anarcho-syndicalist' only came into wide use in 1921–1922 when it was applied polemically as a pejorative term by communists to any syndicalists…who opposed increased control of syndicalism by the communist parties". Depending on the translation, the original statement of aims and principles of the IWA (drafted in 1922) refers not to anarcho-syndicalism but revolutionary syndicalism or revolutionary unionism. The ''
Biennio Rosso The Biennio Rosso (English: "Red Biennium" or "Two Red Years") was a two-year period, between 1919 and 1920, of intense social conflict in Italy, following the First World War.Brunella Dalla Casa, ''Composizione di classe, rivendicazioni e prof ...
'' (English: "Red Biennium") was a two-year period between 1919 and 1920 of intense social conflict in Italy following
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.Brunella Dalla Casa, ''Composizione di classe, rivendicazioni e professionalità nelle lotte del "biennio rosso" a Bologna'', in: AA. VV, ''Bologna 1920; le origini del fascismo'', a cura di Luciano Casali, Cappelli, Bologna 1982, p. 179. The Biennio Rosso took place in a context of economic crisis at the war's end, with high unemployment and political instability. It was characterized by mass strikes, worker manifestations, and self-management experiments through land and factory occupations. In
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
and
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
,
workers' councils A workers' council or labor council is a form of political and economic organization in which a workplace or municipality is governed by a council made up of workers or their elected delegates. The workers within each council decide on what thei ...
were formed, and many
factory occupations Occupation of factories is a method of the workers' movement used to prevent lock outs. They may sometimes lead to "recovered factories", in which the workers self-manage the factories. They have been used in many strike actions, including: *t ...
took place under the leadership of anarcho-syndicalists. The agitations also extended to the agricultural areas of the
Padan plain The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...
and were accompanied by peasant strikes, rural unrest, and guerilla conflicts between left-wing and right-wing militias. According to
libcom.org libcom.org is an online platform featuring a variety of libertarian communist essays, blog posts, and archives, primarily in English. It was founded in 2005 by editors in the United States and the United Kingdom. Libcom.org also has a forum and ...
, the anarcho-syndicalist trade union
Unione Sindacale Italiana Unione Sindacale Italiana (''USI''; ''Italian Syndicalist Union'' or ''Italian Workers' Union'') is an anarcho-syndicalist trade union. It is the Italian section of the International Workers' Association (IWA; ''Associazione Internazionale dei Lav ...
(USI) "grew to 800,000 members and the influence of the Italian Anarchist Union (20,000 members plus '' Umanita Nova'', its daily paper) grew accordingly  ..Anarchists were the first to suggest occupying workplaces". Many of the most prominent members of the IWA were broken, driven underground or wiped out in the 1920s–1930s as
fascists Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and th ...
came to power in states across Europe, and workers switched away from anarchism towards the seeming success of the Bolshevik model of socialism. In Argentina, the FORA had already begun to decline by the time it joined the IWA, having split in 1915 into pro and anti-Bolshevik factions. From 1922, the anarchist movement there lost most of its membership, exacerbated by further splits, most notably around the
Severino Di Giovanni Severino Di Giovanni (17 March 1901 – 1 February 1931) was an Italian anarchist who immigrated to Argentina, where he became the best-known anarchist figure in that country for his campaign of violence in support of Sacco and Vanzetti and anti ...
affair. It was crushed by General Uriburu's military coup in 1930. Germany's FAUD struggled throughout the late 1920s and early 1930s as the
Brownshirts The (; SA; literally "Storm Detachment") was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for Nazi ralli ...
took control of the streets. Its last national congress in Erfurt in March 1932 saw the union attempt to form an underground bureau to combat Adolf Hitler's fascists; a measure never implemented as mass arrests decimated the conspirators' ranks. The editor of the FAUD organ ''Der Syndikalist'', Gerhard Wartenberg, was killed in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Karl Windhoff, delegate to the IWA Madrid congress of 1931, was driven out of his mind and also died in a Nazi death camp. There were also mass trials of FAUD members held in Wuppertal and Rhenanie; many of these never survived the death camps. Italian IWA union USI, which had claimed a membership of up to 600,000 people in 1922, was waning due to murders and repression from
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
's fascists. It had been driven underground by 1924, and although it could still lead significant strikes by miners, metalworkers and marble workers, Mussolini's ascent to power in 1925 sealed its fate. By 1927, its leading activists had been arrested or exiled. Portugal's CGT was driven underground after an unsuccessful attempt to break the newly installed dictatorship of
Gomes da Costa Manuel de Oliveira Gomes da Costa , commonly known as Manuel Gomes da Costa () or just Gomes da Costa (14 January 1863 – 17 December 1929), was a Portuguese army officer and politician, the tenth president of Portugal and the second of ...
with a general strike in 1927 that led to nearly 100 deaths. It survived underground with 15–20,000 members until January 1934, when it called a general revolutionary strike against plans to replace trade unions with fascist corporations, which failed. It continued in a much-reduced state until World War II but was effectively finished as a fighting union. Massive government repression repeated such defeats worldwide as anarcho-syndicalist unions were destroyed in Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Japan, Cuba, Bulgaria, Paraguay and Bolivia. By the end of the 1930s, legal anarcho-syndicalist trade unions existed only in Chile, Bolivia, Sweden and Uruguay. However, perhaps the most tremendous blow was struck in the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
, which saw the CNT, then claiming a membership of 1.58 million, driven underground with the defeat of the Spanish Republic by
Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
. The sixth IWA congress took place in 1936, shortly after the Spanish Revolution had begun, but was unable to provide serious material support for the section. The IWA held its last pre-war congress in Paris in 1938; with months to go before the German invasion of Poland, it received an application from ZZZ, a syndicalist union in the country claiming up to 130,000 workers—ZZZ members went on to form a core part of the resistance against the Nazis and participated in the Warsaw uprising. However, the International was not to meet again until 1951, six years after World War II had ended. During the war, only one member of the IWA could continue to function as a revolutionary union, the SAC in Sweden. In 1927, with the "moderate" positioning of some ''cenetistas'' (CNT members), the
Federación Anarquista Ibérica The Iberian Anarchist Federation ( es, Federación Anarquista Ibérica, FAI) is a Spanish organization of anarchist militants active within affinity groups in the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) anarcho-syndicalist union. It is often ...
(FAI), an association of anarchist
affinity group An affinity group is a group formed around a shared interest or common goal, to which individuals formally or informally belong. Affinity groups are generally precluded from being under the aegis of any governmental agency, and their purposes m ...
s, was created in
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
. The FAI would play an essential role during the following years through the so-called ''trabazón'' (connection) with the CNT; that is, the presence of FAI elements in the CNT, encouraging the labour union not to move away from its anarchist principles, an influence that continues today.


Spanish Revolution

On 1 June 1936, the CNT joined the UGT in declaring a strike of "building workers, mechanics, and lift operators". A demonstration was held, 70,000 workers strong. Members of the
Falange The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FET y de las JONS; ), frequently shortened to just "FET", was the sole legal party of the Francoist regime in Spain. It was created by General Francisco F ...
attacked the strikers. The strikers responded by looting shops, and the police reacted by attempting to suppress the strike. By July, the CNT was still fighting while the UGT had agreed to arbitration. In retaliation to the attacks by the Falangists, anarchists killed three bodyguards of the Falangist leader
José Antonio Primo de Rivera José Antonio Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia, 1st Duke of Primo de Rivera, 3rd Marquess of Estella (24 April 1903 – 20 November 1936), often referred to simply as José Antonio, was a Spanish politician who founded the falangist Falange ...
. The government then closed the CNT's centres in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
and arrested David Antona and Cipriano Mera, two CNT militants.
George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...
wrote of the nature of the new society that arose in the communities: In this respect, some of the most critical communities were
Alcañiz Alcañiz () is a town and municipality of Teruel province in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. The town is located on the banks of the river Guadalope. Alcañiz is the unofficial capital of the Lower Aragon historical region. It lies som ...
, Calanda, Alcorisa,
Valderrobres Valderrobres () or Vall-de-roures () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality and the major town of the ''Comarcas of Spain, comarca'' of Matarraña in the province of Teruel, Aragon (Spain). It is located in view of the landscape of the northw ...
,
Fraga Fraga (; ) is the major town of the ''comarca'' of Bajo Cinca ( ca, Baix Cinca) in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. It is located by the river Cinca. According to the 2014 census, Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) the municipality ha ...
, or Alcampel. Not only were the lands collectivized, but collective labours were also undertaken, like the retirement home in Fraga, the collectivization of some hospitals (such as in
Barbastro Barbastro (Latin: ''Barbastrum'' or ''Civitas Barbastrensis'', Aragonese: ''Balbastro'') is a city in the Somontano county, province of Huesca, Spain. The city (also known originally as Barbastra or Bergiduna) is at the junction of the rivers Cinc ...
or
Binéfar Binéfar (, ca, Binèfar) is a municipality located in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2008 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 9,288 inhabitants. It is the home of the children's theatre group "''Los Titir ...
) and the founding of schools such as the School of Anarchist Militants. The Nationalist troops would destroy these institutions during the war. The Committee held an extraordinary regional plenary session to protect the new rural organization, gathering all the union representatives from the supporting villages and backed by
Buenaventura Durruti José Buenaventura Durruti Dumange (14 July 1896 – 20 November 1936) was a Spanish insurrectionary, anarcho-syndicalist militant involved with the CNT and FAI in the periods before and during the Spanish Civil War. Durruti played an in ...
. Against the will of the mainly
Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
CNT National Committee, the Regional Defence Council of Aragon was created. Following
Largo Caballero Francisco Largo Caballero (15 October 1869 – 23 March 1946) was a Spanish politician and trade unionist. He was one of the historic leaders of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and of the Workers' General Union (UGT). In 1936 and 19 ...
's assumption of the position of
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
of the government, he invited the CNT to join in the coalition of groups making up the national government. The CNT proposed instead that a National Defense Council should be formed, led by Largo Caballero, and containing five members each from the CNT and UGT and four "liberal republicans". When this proposal was declined, the CNT decided not to join the government. However, in Catalonia, the CNT joined the Central Committee of the Anti-Fascist Militias, which joined the
Generalitat Generalitat (, literally in English 'Generality') is the name of two major medieval and early modern political institutions and their modern-day analogues in Kingdom of Spain. The ancient Principality of Catalonia and the Kingdom of Valencia were ...
on 26 September. For the first time, three members of the CNT were also members of the government. In November, Caballero once again asked the CNT to become part of the government. The leadership of the CNT requested the finance and war ministries as well as three others but were given four posts, the ministries of health, justice, industry and commerce.
Federica Montseny Frederica Montseny i Mañé (; 1905–1994) was a Catalan Anarchism, anarchist and intellectual who served as Ministry of Health (Spain), Minister of Health and Social Assistance in the Government of the Second Spanish Republic, Spanish Republi ...
became Minister of Health, the first female minister in Spain. As minister of justice,
Juan García Oliver Joan Garcia i Oliver (1901–1980) was a Catalan anarcho-syndicalist revolutionary and Minister of Justice of the Second Spanish Republic. He was a leading figure of anarchism in Spain. Career Childhood and family Joan Garcia i Oliver was ...
abolished legal fees and destroyed all criminal files. Shortly afterwards, despite the disapproval of the anarchist ministers, the capital was moved from Madrid to
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
. On 23 December 1936, after receiving in Madrid a retinue formed by Joaquín Ascaso, Miguel Chueca and three republican and independent leaders, the government of Largo Caballero, which by then had four anarchists as ministers (García Oliver, Juan López, Federica Montseny and Joan Peiró), approved the formation of the National Defense Committee. It was a revolutionary body that represented anarchists as much as socialists and republicans. Halfway through February 1937, a congress took place in
Caspe Caspe is a municipality in the province of Zaragoza, part of the autonomous community of Aragon (Spain), seat of the comarca Bajo Aragón-Caspe. As of 2018 it had a population of 9,525 inhabitants (INE 2018) and its municipality, of 503.33&nbs ...
to create the Regional Federation of Collectives of Aragon. Four hundred fifty-six delegates, representing more than 141,000 collective members, attended the congress. The congress was also attended by delegates of the National Committee of the CNT. At a plenary session of the CNT in March 1937, the national committee asked for a motion of
censure A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. In parliamentary procedure, it is a debatable main motion that could be adopted by a majority vote. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spir ...
to suppress the Aragonese Regional Council. The Aragonese regional committee threatened to resign, which thwarted the censure effort. Although there had always been disagreements, that spring also saw a significant escalation in confrontations between the CNT-FAI and the Communists. In Madrid, Melchor Rodríguez, who was then a member of the CNT and director of prisons in Madrid, published accusations that the Communist José Cazorla, who was then overseeing public order, was maintaining secret prisons to hold anarchists, socialists and other republicans; and either executing or torturing them as "traitors". Soon after, on this pretext, Largo Caballero dissolved the Communist-controlled Junta de Defensa. Cazorla reacted by closing the offices of '' Solidaridad Obrera''. The next day, CNT's regional committee declared a
general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...
. The CNT controlled most of the city, including the heavy artillery on the hill of
Montjuïc Montjuïc () is a hill in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Etymology Montjuïc translates to "Jewish Mountain" from medieval Latin and Catalan, and remains of a medieval Jewish cemetery have been found there. Some sources suggest that Montjuïc ...
overlooking the city. CNT militias disarmed more than 200 members of the security forces at their barricades, allowing only CNT vehicles to pass through. After unsuccessful appeals from the CNT leadership to end the fighting, the government began transferring Assault Guard from the front to Barcelona and even destroyers from Valencia. On 5 May, the
Friends of Durruti The Friends of Durruti Group (in Spanish, ''Agrupación de los Amigos de Durruti'') was an anarchist group in Spain, named after Buenaventura Durruti. It was founded on 15 March 1937, by Jaime Balius, Félix Martínez (anarchist), Félix Martínez ...
issued a pamphlet calling for "disarming of the paramilitary police… dissolution of the political parties…" and declared "Long live the social revolution! – Down with the counter-revolution!" though the leadership of the CNT quickly denounced the pamphlet. The next day, the government agreed to a proposal by the leadership of the CNT-FAI that called for the removal of the Assault Guards and no reprisals against libertarians that had participated in the conflict in exchange for the dismantling of barricades and end of the general strike. However, neither the PSUC nor the Assault Guards gave up their positions and, according to historian
Antony Beevor Sir Antony James Beevor, (born 14 December 1946) is a British military historian. He has published several popular historical works on the Second World War and the Spanish Civil War. Early life Born in Kensington, Beevor was educated at two ...
, "carried out violent reprisals against libertarians". By 8 May, the fighting was over. These events, the fall of
Largo Caballero Francisco Largo Caballero (15 October 1869 – 23 March 1946) was a Spanish politician and trade unionist. He was one of the historic leaders of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and of the Workers' General Union (UGT). In 1936 and 19 ...
's government and the new prime ministership of
Juan Negrín Juan Negrín López (; 3 February 1892 – 12 November 1956) was a Spanish politician and physician. He was a leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español, PSOE) and served as finance minister and ...
. soon led to the collapse of much that the CNT had achieved immediately following the rising the previous July. At the beginning of July, the Aragonese organizations of the Popular Front publicly declared their support for the alternative council in Aragon, led by their president,
Joaquín Ascaso Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim. Given name * Joaquín (footballer, born 1956), Spanish football midfielder * Joaquín (footballer, born 1981), Spanish football winger * Joaquín (footballer, born 1982) ...
. Four weeks later, the 11th Division under
Enrique Líster Enrique Líster Forján (21 April 1907 – 8 December 1994) was a Spanish communist politician and military officer. Early life Líster was born in 1907 at Ameneiro, A Coruña. A stonemason, he spent his adolescence in Cuba, before returni ...
entered the region. On 11 August 1937, the Republican government, now situated in Valencia, dismissed the Regional Council for the Defense of Aragon. Líster's division was prepared for an offensive on the Aragonese front, but they were also sent to subdue the collectives run by the CNT-UGT and dismantle the collective structures created the previous twelve months. The offices of the CNT were destroyed, and all the equipment belonging to its collectives was redistributed to landowners. The CNT leadership not only refused to allow the anarchist columns on the Aragon front to leave the front to defend the collectives, but they failed to condemn the government's actions against the collectives, causing much conflict between it and the rank and file membership of the union. In April 1938, Juan Negrín was asked to form a government and included Segundo Blanco, a member of the CNT, as minister of education; by this point, the only CNT member left in the cabinet. At this point, many in the CNT leadership were critical of participation in the government, seeing it as dominated by the Communists. Prominent CNT leaders went so far as to refer to Blanco as "sop of the libertarian movement" and "just one more Negrínist". On the other side, Blanco was responsible for installing other CNT members into the ministry of education and stopping the spread of "Communist propaganda" by the ministry. In March 1939, with the war nearly over, CNT leaders participated in the National Defense Council's coup overthrowing the government of the Socialist Juan Negrín. Those involved included the CNT's Eduardo Val and José Manuel González Marín serving on the council, while
Cipriano Mera Cipriano Mera Sanz (November 4, 1897 – October 24, 1975) was a Spanish military and political figure during the Second Spanish Republic. Early life He had two sons (Floreal and Sergio) with his partner Teresa Gómez. A bricklayer, he joi ...
's 70th Division provided military support, and Melechor Rodríquez became mayor of Madrid. The Council attempted to negotiate peace with Franco, though he granted virtually none of their demands.


Post–World War II era

After World War II, an appeal in the ''
Fraye Arbeter Shtime ''Freie Arbeiter Stimme'' ( yi, פֿרייע אַרבעטער שטימע, romanized: ''Fraye arbeṭer shṭime'', ''lit.'' 'Free Voice of Labor') was a Yiddish-language anarchist newspaper published from New York City's Lower East Side betwe ...
'', detailing the plight of
German anarchists German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
, called for Americans to support them. By February 1946, sending aid parcels to anarchists in Germany was a large-scale operation. In 1947,
Rudolf Rocker Johann Rudolf Rocker (March 25, 1873 – September 19, 1958) was a German anarchist writer and activist. He was born in Mainz to a Roman Catholic artisan family. His father died when he was a child, and his mother when he was in his teens, so he ...
published ''Zur Betrachtung der Lage in Deutschland'' (''Regarding the Portrayal of the Situation in Germany'') about the impossibility of another anarchist movement in Germany. It became the first post-World War II anarchist writing to be distributed in Germany. Rocker thought young Germans were cynical or inclined to fascism and awaited a new generation to grow up before anarchism could bloom again in the country. Nevertheless, the Federation of Libertarian Socialists (FFS) was founded in 1947 by former FAUD members. Rocker wrote for its organ, ''Die Freie Gesellschaft'', which survived until 1953. In 1949, Rocker published another well-known work. On 10 September 1958, Rocker died in the Mohegan Colony. The Syndicalist Workers' Federation was a syndicalist group active in post-war Britain and one of the Solidarity Federation's earliest predecessors. It was formed in 1950 by members of the dissolved Anarchist Federation of Britain. Unlike the AFB, which was influenced by anarcho-syndicalist ideas but ultimately not syndicalist itself, the SWF decided to pursue a more definitely
syndicalist Syndicalism is a revolutionary current within the left-wing of the labor movement that seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through strikes with the eventual goal of gaining control over the means of pr ...
, worker-centred strategy from the outset. The
Confédération nationale du travail The CNT-F (Confédération nationale du travail) or National Confederation of Labour is a French anarcho-syndicalist union. It was founded in 1946 by Spanish anarcho-syndicalists in exile, and former members of Confédération Générale du Tra ...
(CNT, or National Confederation of Labour) was founded in 1946 by Spanish anarcho-syndicalists in exile with former members of the CGT-SR. The CNT later split into the CNT-Vignoles and the CNT-AIT, the French section of the IWA. At the seventh congress in Toulouse in 1951, a much smaller IWA was relaunched without the CNT, which would not be strong enough to reclaim membership until 1958 as an exiled and underground organization. Delegates attended, though primarily representing tiny groups, from Cuba, Argentina, Spain, Sweden, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Britain, Bulgaria and Portugal. A message of support was received from Uruguay. However, the situation remained difficult for the International as it struggled to deal with the rise of state-sanctioned economic trade unionism in the West, heavy secret service intervention as
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
anti-communism reached its height and the banning of all strikes and free trade unions in the Soviet Union bloc of countries. At the tenth congress in 1958, the SAC's response to these pressures led it to clash with the rest of the international. It withdrew from the IWA following its failure to amend the body's statutes to allow it to stand in municipal elections and amid concerns over its integration with the state over the distribution of unemployment benefits.Michael Schmidt and Lucien Van Der Walt (2009), Black Flame For most of the next two decades, the international struggled to rebuild itself. In 1976 at the 15th congress, the IWA had only five member groups, two of which (the Spanish and Bulgarian members) were still operating in exile (though following Franco's death in 1975, the CNT was already approaching a membership of 200,000). The
Direct Action Movement The Solidarity Federation, also known by the abbreviation SolFed, is a federation of class struggle anarchists active in Britain. The organisation advocates a strategy of anarcho-syndicalism as a method of abolishing capitalism and the stat ...
was formed in 1979 when the remaining SWF branch and other smaller anarchist groups decided to form a new organisation of anarcho-syndicalists in Britain. The DAM was highly involved in the
Miners' Strike Miners' strikes are when miners conduct strike actions. See also * List of strikes References {{Reflist Miners A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are tw ...
and a series of industrial disputes later in the 1980s, including the Ardbride dispute in
Ardrossan Ardrossan (; ) is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the 'Three Towns'. Ardrossan is located on the east shore ...
,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, involving a supplier to
Laura Ashley Laura Ashley (née Mountney; 7 September 1925 – 17 September 1985) was a Welsh fashion designer and businesswoman. She originally made furnishing materials in the 1950s, expanding the business into clothing design and manufacture in the 1960s ...
, for which the DAM received international support. From 1988 in Scotland, then England and Wales, the DAM was active in opposing the
Poll Tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments fr ...
. In March 1994, DAM changed to its current name, the
Solidarity Federation The Solidarity Federation, also known by the abbreviation SolFed, is a federation of class struggle anarchists active in Britain. The organisation advocates a strategy of anarcho-syndicalism as a method of abolishing capitalism and the stat ...
, having been the Direct Action Movement since 1979 and the Syndicalist Workers' Federation since 1950. The Solidarity Federation publishes the quarterly magazine ''Direct Action'' (presently on hiatus) and the newspaper ''Catalyst''. In 1979, a split over representative unionism, professional unionism and state-funded schemes saw the CNT divided into two sections, the CNT as it is today and the Confederacion General del Trabajo. After
Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...
's death in November 1975 and the beginning of Spain's transition to democracy, the CNT was the only social movement to refuse to sign the 1977
Moncloa Pact The Moncloa Pacts ( es, Pactos de la Moncloa) were economic and political agreements to address inflation and unemployment during the Spanish transition to democracy in the late 1970s. These were attended by major labour unions such as the Unió ...
, an agreement amongst politicians, political parties and trade unions to plan how to operate the economy during the transition. In 1979, the CNT held its first congress since 1936 and several mass meetings, the most remarkable one in
Montjuïc Montjuïc () is a hill in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Etymology Montjuïc translates to "Jewish Mountain" from medieval Latin and Catalan, and remains of a medieval Jewish cemetery have been found there. Some sources suggest that Montjuïc ...
. Views put forward in this congress would set the pattern for the CNT's line of action for the following decades: no participation in union elections, no acceptance of state subsidies, no acknowledgement of
works council A works council is a shop-floor organization representing workers that functions as a local/firm-level complement to trade unions but is independent of these at least in some countries. Works councils exist with different names in a variety of re ...
s and support of union sections. In this first congress, held in Madrid, a minority sector in favour of union elections split from the CNT, initially calling themselves CNT Valencia Congress (referring to the alternative congress held in this city) and later Confederación General del Trabajo (CGT) after an April 1989 court decision determined that they could not use the CNT initials. In 1990, a group of CGT members left this union because they rejected the CGT's policy of accepting government subsidies, founding '' Solidaridad Obrera''. One year before, the 1978 Scala Case affected the CNT. An explosion killed three people in a Barcelona nightclub. The authorities alleged that striking workers "blew themselves up" and arrested surviving strikers, implicating them in the crime. CNT members declared that the prosecution sought to criminalize their organization.


Contemporary times

After its legalization, the CNT began efforts to recover the expropriations of 1939. The basis for such recovery would be established by Law 4/1986, which required the return of the seized properties and the unions' right to use or yield the real estate. Since then, the CNT has been claiming the return of these properties from the State. In 1996, the Economic and Social Council facilities in Madrid were squatted by 105 CNT militants. This body is in charge of the repatriation of the accumulated union wealth. In 2004, an agreement was reached between the CNT and the District Attorney's Office, through which all charges were dropped against the hundred prosecuted for this occupation. On 3 September 2009, six members of the Serbian IWA section (ASI-MUR), including then-IWA General Secretary Ratibor Trivunac, were arrested on suspicion of international terrorism, a charge that the international and other anarchist groups heavily disputed. Shortly after their arrest, an open letter was circulated by Serbian academics criticizing the charges and the attitude of the Serbian police. The six were indicted on 7 December, and after a lengthy trial procedure, Trivunac and the other five anarchists were freed on 17 February 2010. On 10 December 2009, the FAU local in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
was effectively banned as a union following a public industrial dispute at the city's Babylon cinema. At the 14th annual congress of the IWA, which was held in
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
in December 2009, the first time the congress had been held outside Europe, motions of support were passed for the "Belgrade Six" and FAU while members of the
Solidarity Federation The Solidarity Federation, also known by the abbreviation SolFed, is a federation of class struggle anarchists active in Britain. The organisation advocates a strategy of anarcho-syndicalism as a method of abolishing capitalism and the stat ...
temporarily took over duties as Secretariat. The International's Norwegian section subsequently took on the Secretariat role in 2010. As part of the anti-austerity movement in Europe, various IWA sections have been highly active in the 2008–2012 period, with the CNT taking a leading role in agitating for the general strikes that have occurred in Spain, the USI in Milan taking on anti-austerity campaigns in the health service and the ZSP organizing tenants against abuses in rented accommodation. The most significant organised anarchist movement today is in Spain in the form of the Confederación General del Trabajo (CGT) and the CNT. CGT membership was estimated at 100,000 in 2003. The regions with the largest CNT membership are the Centre (Madrid and surrounding area), the North (Basque country), Andalucía, Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. The CNT opposes the union elections and workplace committees model and is critical of labour reforms and the UGT and the CCOO, standing instead on a platform of ''reivindicación''; that is, "return of what is due", or social revolution. The following organizations are anarcho-syndicalist and revolutionary syndicalist federations and trade unions from around the world.


Green syndicalism

Green syndicalism is a synthesis of anarcho-syndicalism and environmentalism, arguing that protection of the environment depends on decentralization, regionalism, direct action, autonomy, pluralism and federation. It primarily draws inspiration from the
green ban A green ban is a form of strike action, usually taken by a trade union or other organised labour group, which is conducted for environmentalist or conservationist purposes. They were mainly done in Australia in the 1970s, led by the Builders Labo ...
s in Australia, the efforts of workers at
Lucas Aerospace Lucas Industries plc was a Birmingham-based British manufacturer of motor industry and aerospace industry components. Once prominent, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was formerly a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In August 1996 ...
to convert their factories away from armaments production and Judi Bari's efforts in the
IWW The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines general ...
to organise timber workers and environmentalists in Northern California. Green Syndicalism has been advocated for at various times by
Confédération Nationale du Travail The CNT-F (Confédération nationale du travail) or National Confederation of Labour is a French anarcho-syndicalist union. It was founded in 1946 by Spanish anarcho-syndicalists in exile, and former members of Confédération Générale du Tra ...
, Confederación General de Trabajadores and the Central Organisation of the Workers of Sweden.


Theory and politics

Anarcho-syndicalists believe that
direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...
carried out by workers as opposed to indirect action, such as electing a representative to a government position, would allow workers to liberate themselves. Anarcho-syndicalists believe that workers' organisations that oppose the wage system will eventually form the basis of a new society and should be self-managing. They should not have bosses or "business agents"; instead, the workers alone should decide on what affects them.
Rudolf Rocker Johann Rudolf Rocker (March 25, 1873 – September 19, 1958) was a German anarchist writer and activist. He was born in Mainz to a Roman Catholic artisan family. His father died when he was a child, and his mother when he was in his teens, so he ...
is one of the most influential figures in the anarcho-syndicalist movement.
Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is ...
, influenced by Rocker, wrote the introduction to a modern edition of '' Anarcho-syndicalism: Theory and Practice''. A member of the
Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines genera ...
(IWW), Chomsky is a self-described anarcho-syndicalist, a position that he sees as the appropriate application of
classical liberal Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics; civil liberties under the rule of law with especial emphasis on individual autonomy, limited government, economic ...
political theory to contemporary industrial society:


Criticism and response

Anarcho-syndicalism has been criticised as anachronistic by some contemporary anarchists. In 1992,
Murray Bookchin Murray Bookchin (January 14, 1921 – July 30, 2006) was an American social theorist, author, orator, historian, and political philosopher. A pioneer in the environmental movement, Bookchin formulated and developed the theory of social ec ...
spoke against its reliance on an outdated view of work: Bookchin has said that it prioritizes the interests of the working class instead of communal freedom for society as a whole; this view ultimately prevents a true revolution. He argues that in instances like the Spanish Revolution, it was despite the syndicalist-minded CNT leadership that the revolution occurred. Direct action, one of the main staples of anarcho-syndicalism, would extend into the political sphere, according to its supporters. To them, the labour council is the federation of all workplace branches of all industries in a geographical area "territorial basis of organisation linkage brought all the workers from one area together and fomented working-class solidarity over and before corporate solidarity". Rudolf Rocker argued: Anarcho-syndicalism, therefore, is not apolitical but instead sees political and economic activity as the same. Unlike the propositions of some of its critics, anarcho-syndicalism is different from reformist union activity in that it aims to obliterate capitalism as " narcho-syndicalismhas a double aim: with tireless persistence, it must pursue betterment of the working class's current conditions. But, without letting themselves become obsessed with this passing concern, the workers should take care to make possible and imminent the essential act of comprehensive emancipation: the expropriation of capital".Emile Pouget in ''No Gods, No Masters: An Anthology of Anarchism'', edited by Daniel Guerin (AK Press, 2005), p. 71. While collectivist and communist anarchists criticise syndicalism as having the potential to exclude the voices of citizens and consumers outside of the union, anarcho-syndicalists argue that labour councils will work outside of the workplace and within the community to encourage community and consumer participation in economic and political activity (even workers and consumers outside of the union or nation) and will work to form and maintain the institutions necessary in any society such as schools, libraries, homes and so on. Bookchin argues:


In popular culture

* The 1975 comedy film ''
Monty Python and the Holy Grail ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' is a 1975 British comedy film satirizing the Arthurian legend, written and performed by the Monty Python comedy group (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin) an ...
'' makes reference to anarcho-syndicalism. King Arthur becomes frustrated when a character named Dennis explains the anarcho-syndicalist commune in which he lives. The situation is exacerbated when Dennis insults Arthur's claim to
Excalibur Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in th ...
and the kingship of the Britons. Arthur, fed up, assaults Dennis and leaves, an incident that Dennis refers to as "the violence inherent in the system". *
Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...
's novel ''
The Dispossessed ''The Dispossessed'' (in later printings titled ''The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia'') is a 1974 anarchist utopian science fiction novel by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin, one of her seven Hainish Cycle novels. It is one of a small number o ...
'' (1974) shows a fictional functioning anarcho-syndicalist society. The novel is subtitled "An Ambiguous Utopia". * '' Living Utopia'' (''Vivir la utopía'', a documentary film from 1997 about anarcho-syndicalism and anarchism in Spain). *
Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is ...
's ''The Relevance of Anarcho-syndicalism'' (interviewed by Peter Jay, 1976) ( an
text
.


See also

*
General strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...
*
Kronstadt rebellion The Kronstadt rebellion ( rus, Кронштадтское восстание, Kronshtadtskoye vosstaniye) was a 1921 insurrection of Soviet sailors and civilians against the Bolshevik government in the Russian SFSR port city of Kronstadt. Locat ...
*
Libertarian socialism Libertarian socialism, also known by various other names, is a left-wing,Diemer, Ulli (1997)"What Is Libertarian Socialism?" The Anarchist Library. Retrieved 4 August 2019. anti-authoritarian, anti-statist and libertarianLong, Roderick T. (201 ...
*
List of federations of trade unions This is a list of federations of trade unions currently in existence. Those federations listed under each country are also known as national trade union centres and are organizations formed by trade unions which operate, in most cases, at the ...
*
Participatory economics Participatory economics, often abbreviated Parecon, is an economic system based on participatory decision making as the primary economic mechanism for allocation in society. In the system, the say in decision-making is proportional to the impact ...
*
Wildcat strike action A wildcat strike action, often referred to as a wildcat strike, is a strike action undertaken by unionised workers without union leadership's authorisation, support, or approval; this is sometimes termed an unofficial industrial action. The legalit ...
*
Workers' self-management Workers' self-management, also referred to as labor management and organizational self-management, is a form of organizational management based on self-directed work processes on the part of an organization's workforce. Self-management is a def ...
*
Syndicalism Syndicalism is a Revolutionary politics, revolutionary current within the Left-wing politics, left-wing of the Labour movement, labor movement that seeks to unionize workers Industrial unionism, according to industry and advance their demands t ...
*
Socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
*
left-libertarianism Left-libertarianism,Bookchin, Murray; Biehl, Janet (1997). ''The Murray Bookchin Reader''. New York: Cassell. p. 170.Goodway, David (2006). '' Anarchist Seeds Beneath the Snow: Left-Libertarian Thought and British Writers from William Morris to ...
*
Anti-capitalism Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. In this sense, anti-capitalists are those who wish to replace capitalism with another type of economic system, such as s ...
* Unionism


References


Further reading

* * * * * * Black Flame: The Revolutionary Class Politics of Anarchism and Syndicalism (Counter-Power vol 1) by
Lucien van der Walt Lucien van der Walt (born 8 September 1972) is a South African writer, professor of Sociology and labour educator. His research engages the anarchist/syndicalist tradition of Mikhail Bakunin and Peter Kropotkin; trade unionism and working class ...
and Michael Schmidt AK Press. (1 April 2009). * Federation, Solidarity
''Fighting for ourselves: Anarcho-syndicalism and the class struggle - Solidarity Federation''
Freedom Press, 2012 * Flank, Lenny (ed), ''IWW: A Documentary History'', Red and Black Publishers, St Petersburg, Florida, 2007. * Rocker, Rudolf
''Anarchism and Anarcho-Syndicalism''
* Rocker, Rudolf
''Anarchosyndicalism: Theory and Practice''
* Van Deusen, David
''The Rise And Fall of The Green Mountain Anarchist Collective''
The Anarchist Library, 2015. * Van Deusen, David & West, Sean & the Green Mountain Anarchist Collective
''Neither Washington Nor Stowe: Common Sense For The Working Vermonter''
Catamount Tavern Press, 2004.


External links




What is revolutionary syndicalism?
An ongoing historical series on anarcho-syndicalism and revolutionary syndicalism from a communist perspective
Anarcho-Syndicalism 101

Anarcho-Syndicalist Review

Syndicalism: Myth and Reality


by Dan Jakopovich
Anarcho-Syndicalism texts
from the Kate Sharpley Library {{Authority control
Syndicalism Syndicalism is a Revolutionary politics, revolutionary current within the Left-wing politics, left-wing of the Labour movement, labor movement that seeks to unionize workers Industrial unionism, according to industry and advance their demands t ...
Syndicalism Syndicalism is a Revolutionary politics, revolutionary current within the Left-wing politics, left-wing of the Labour movement, labor movement that seeks to unionize workers Industrial unionism, according to industry and advance their demands t ...
Anti-capitalism Economic ideologies Far-left politics
Syndicalism Syndicalism is a Revolutionary politics, revolutionary current within the Left-wing politics, left-wing of the Labour movement, labor movement that seeks to unionize workers Industrial unionism, according to industry and advance their demands t ...
History of social movements Libertarian socialism Political ideologies Syndicalism Types of socialism