Libertarian possibilism ( es, posibilismo libertario) was a political current in early-20th-century Spanish anarchism that advocated achieving the anarchist ends of ending the state and

capitalism 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 ...

by participation in structures of contemporary

parliamentary democracy A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of t ...

. The name of the political position appeared for the first time between 1922 and 1923 within the discourse 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 ...

anarcho-syndicalist Anarcho-syndicalism is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that views revolutionary industrial unionism or syndicalism as a method for workers in capitalist society to gain control of an economy and thus control influence i ...

Salvador Seguí Salvador Seguí Rubinat (23 September 1887, in Lleida – 10 March 1923, in Barcelona), known as ''El noi del sucre'' ("the sugar boy" in Catalan) for his habit of eating the sugar cubes served him with his coffee, was a Catalan anarcho-syndi ...

when he said, "We have to intervene in politics in order to take over the positions of the bourgeoisie".

History

During the autumn of 1931, the "Manifesto of the 30" was published by militants of the anarchist trade union

Confederación Nacional del Trabajo The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo ( en, National Confederation of Labor; CNT) is a Spanish confederation of anarcho-syndicalist labor unions, which was long affiliated with the International Workers' Association (AIT). When working ...

(CNT). Among those who signed it there was the CNT General Secretary (1922–1923) Joan Peiro, Ángel Pestaña (CNT General Secretary in 1929) and Juan López Sánchez. They were called and they were calling for a more moderate political line within the Spanish anarchist movement. In 1932, they established the

Syndicalist Party The Syndicalist Party (; ) was a left-wing political party in Spain, formed by Ángel Pestaña in 1932. Pestaña, a leading member of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) trade union, formed the party in response to the growing influence ...

which participated in the 1936 Spanish general election and proceed to be a part of the leftist coalition of parties known as the

Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...

by obtaining two congressmen (Pestaña and Benito Pabon). In 1938, CNT General Secretary Horacio Prieto proposed that the Iberian Anarchist Federation transforms itself into a Libertarian Socialist Party and that it participates in the national elections.

Precedents and later cases

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 ...

ran for the French Constituent Assembly in April 1848, but he was not elected, although his name appeared on the ballots in Paris, Lyon, Besançon and Lille. However, Proudhon was successful in the complementary elections of June 4. Catalan politician

Francesc Pi i Margall Francesc Pi i Margall (Spanish: Francisco Pi y Margall) (29 April 1824 – 29 November 1901) was a Spanish federalist and republican politician and theorist who served as president of the short-lived First Spanish Republic in 1873. He was a ...

became the principal translator of Proudhon's works into Spanish and later briefly became president of Spain in 1873 while being the leader of the

Federal Democratic Republican Party The Federal Democratic Republican Party ( es, Partido Republicano Democrático Federal, PRDF) was a Spanish political party founded in 1868 during the Glorious Revolution that was active until 1912. Its ideology was federal republicanism and pro ...

. For prominent anarcho-syndicalist

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 ...

: "The first movement of the Spanish workers was strongly influenced by the ideas of Pi y Margall, leader of the Spanish Federalists and disciple of Proudhon. Pi y Margall was one of the outstanding theorists of his time and had a powerful influence on the development of libertarian ideas in Spain. His political ideas had much in common with those of

Richard Price Richard Price (23 February 1723 – 19 April 1791) was a British moral philosopher, Nonconformist minister and mathematician. He was also a political reformer, pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the French ...

, Joseph Priestly ic

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...

, Jefferson, and other representatives of the

Anglo-American Anglo-Americans are people who are English-speaking inhabitants of Anglo-America. It typically refers to the nations and ethnic groups in the Americas that speak English as a native language, making up the majority of people in the world who spe ...

intelligentsia of the first period. He wanted to limit the power of the state to a minimum and gradually replace it by a Socialist economic order". Pi i Margall was a dedicated theorist in his own right, especially through book-length works such as ''La reacción y la revolución'' (''Reaction and Revolution'', 1855), ''Las nacionalidades'' (''Nationalities'', 1877) and ''La Federación'' (''The Federation'', 1880). On the other hand, Fermín Salvochea was a mayor of the city of

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

and a president of the

province of Cádiz Cádiz is a province of southern Spain, in the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is the southernmost part of mainland Spain, as well as the southernmost part of continental Europe. It is bordered by the Spanish provin ...

. He was one of the main propagators of

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessar ...

thought in that area in the late 19th century and is considered to be "perhaps the most beloved figure in the Spanish Anarchist movement of the 19th century".Bookchin, Murray (1998). '' The Spanish Anarchists''. pp. 111–114'' In November 1936, the

Popular Front government The Popular Front ( es, Frente Popular) in Spain's Second Republic was an electoral alliance and pact signed in January 1936 by various left-wing political organizations, instigated by Manuel Azaña for the purpose of contesting that year's el ...

appointed the prominent

anarcha-feminist Anarcha-feminism, also referred to as anarchist feminism, is a system of analysis which combines the principles and power analysis of anarchist theory with feminism. Anarcha-feminism closely resembles intersectional feminism. Anarcha-feminism ...

Federica Montseny Frederica Montseny i Mañé (; 1905–1994) was a Catalan anarchist and intellectual who served as Minister of Health and Social Assistance in the Government of the Spanish Republic during the Civil War. She is known as a novelist and essayis ...

as Ministry of Health. In doing so, she became the first woman in Spanish history to be a cabinet minister. When the Republican forces lost 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 Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

, the city of Madrid was turned over to the Francoist forces in 1939 by the last non-Francoist mayor of the city, anarchist

Melchor Rodríguez García Melchor Rodríguez García (30 May 1893 —14 February 1972), also known by his nickname of ''The Red Angel'' (Spanish: ''El Ángel Rojo''), was a Spanish politician, trade unionist, and notable anarcho-syndicalist, who served as the head o ...

. In 1950, a clandestine group formed within the francophone Anarchist Federation (FA) called (OPB) led by the platformist George Fontenis.Cédric Guerin. "Pensée et action des anarchistes en France : 1950–1970"
/ref> The OPB pushed for a move which saw the FA change its name into the Fédération Communiste Libertaire (FCL) after the 1953 Congress in Paris while an article in ''Le Libertaire'' indicated the end of the cooperation with the French Surrealist Group led by

André Breton André Robert Breton (; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first '' Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') ...

. The new decision making process was founded on

unanimity Unanimity is agreement by all people in a given situation. Groups may consider unanimous decisions as a sign of social, political or procedural agreement, solidarity, and unity. Unanimity may be assumed explicitly after a unanimous vote or impli ...

as each person has a right of veto on the orientations of the federation. The FCL published the same year the ''Manifeste du communisme libertaire''. Several groups quit the FCL in December 1955, disagreeing with the decision to present "revolutionary candidates" to the legislative elections. On 15–20 August 1954, the Ve intercontinental plenum of the CNT took place. A group called Entente anarchiste appeared which was formed of militants who did not like the new ideological orientation that the OPB was giving the FCL, seeing it was authoritarian and almost Marxist."Si la critique de la déviation autoritaire de la FA est le principal fait de ralliement, on peut ressentir dès le premier numéro un état d'esprit qui va longtemps coller à la peau des anarchistes français. Cet état d'esprit se caractérise ainsi sous une double forme : d'une part un rejet inconditionnel de l'ennemi marxiste, d'autre part des questions sur le rôle des anciens et de l'évolution idéologique de l'anarchisme. C'est Fernand Robert qui attaque le premier : "Le LIB est devenu un journal marxiste. En continuant à le soutenir, tout en reconnaissant qu'il ne nous plaît pas, vous faîtes une mauvaise action contre votre idéal anarchiste. Vous donnez la main à vos ennemis dans la pensée. Même si la FA disparaît, même si le LIB disparaît, l'anarchie y gagnera. Le marxisme ne représente plus rien. Il faut le mettre bas ; je pense la même chose des dirigeants actuels de la FA. L'ennemi se glisse partout." Cédric Guérin
"Pensée et action des anarchistes en France : 1950–1970"
/ref> The FCL lasted until 1956 just after it participated in state legislative elections with tem candidates. This move alienated some members of the FCL and thus produced the end of the organization.

References

External links

Manifestoes of the Sindicalist Party in spanish
Anarchist theory Anarchism in Spain Politics of Spain Spanish Civil War Libertarian socialism

History

Precedents and later cases

See also

References

Further reading

External links