What is Anarcho-Syndicalism?
Anarcho-syndicalism combines anarchist goals with the methods of the trade union movement. The word syndicalism comes from the French syndicat, meaning a trade union. Anarcho-syndicalists believe that workers, organized in unions they control directly, can replace both employers and the state. They favor direct action, such as strikes and boycotts, over elections and political parties. In the society they hope to create, unions organized by industry and by locality would manage production and coordinate through federations from the bottom up.
Core beliefs
- Unions should be revolutionary organizations, not only bargaining agents for better wages.
- Workers should act directly through strikes, boycotts and workplace organizing.
- A general strike can bring down capitalism and the state.
- Unions should be run from below, with recallable delegates and no paid leadership class.
- After the revolution, federated unions should manage the economy.
- Workers should keep their unions independent of political parties.
History
Anarcho-syndicalism grew out of the French labor movement in the 1890s, influenced by the ideas of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon and Mikhail Bakunin. Fernand Pelloutier helped build the labor exchanges, or bourses du travail, which became centers of local union life. The French General Confederation of Labour adopted the Charter of Amiens in 1906, which affirmed union independence from parties. In Spain, the National Confederation of Labour (CNT) was founded in 1910 and became one of the largest anarcho-syndicalist unions in the world. In 1922, groups from several countries formed the International Workers' Association. Rudolf Rocker set out the movement's theory in Anarcho-Syndicalism (1938).
Variants
Some anarcho-syndicalists see unions as the only necessary revolutionary organization, while others argue that separate anarchist groups are also needed to spread ideas. Revolutionary syndicalism shares many methods but does not always reject the state on principle, and some syndicalists later moved toward other political traditions. Industrial unionism, associated with the Industrial Workers of the World in the United States, organizes all workers in an industry into one union and overlaps with anarcho-syndicalism in practice.
Criticisms
Liberal and conservative critics argue that union control of industries could create new monopolies and that the general strike as a strategy has rarely succeeded. Marxist-Leninists argued that unions alone cannot seize and hold power without a disciplined party. Some anarchists, including Errico Malatesta, warned that unions naturally focus on improving wages and conditions, which can turn them into reformist bodies. Others question how a union-run economy would serve people outside the workforce, such as consumers, retirees and the unemployed.
In practice
The strongest example is Spain in 1936 to 1939, when the CNT and allied groups organized collectivized industries and farms in Catalonia, Aragon and other regions during the civil war. Anarcho-syndicalist unions were also influential in France, Italy, Argentina, Mexico and Sweden in the early twentieth century. Some unions in this tradition still exist today, including in Spain, Sweden and other countries, and focus on workplace organizing.