Anarcho-Syndicalism, Rudolf Rocker on Anarcho-Syndicalism

Anarcho-syndicalism is a branch of anarchism focused on the labor movement. Syndicalisme is a French word derived from Greek and meaning "union spirit" - hence the qualification "syndicalism". Syndicalism is an alternative cooperative economic system. Adherents see it as a potential force for revolutionary social change, replacing capitalism and the state with a new society democratically ruled by workers. The term "anarcho-syndicalism" probably originated in Spain, where, according to Murray Bookchin, anarcho-syndicalist traits had been present in the labor movement since the early 1870s - decades before they appeared elsewhere. "Anarcho-syndicalism" refers to the theory and practice of the revolutionary industrial trade union movement developed in Spain and later in France and other countries in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

Anarcho-syndicalism school of anarchism

In the early twentieth century, anarcho-syndicalism emerged as a distinct school of thought within the anarchist tradition. More labor-oriented than previous forms of anarchism, syndicalism sees radical trade unions as a potential force for revolutionary social change, replacing capitalism and the state with a new society run democratically by workers. Anarcho-syndicalists seek to abolish the system of wage labor and private ownership of the means of production, which they believe leads to class division. The three important tenets of syndicalism are worker solidarity, direct action (such as general strikes and job restoration), and worker self-management. Anarcho-syndicalism and other communitarian branches of anarchism are not mutually exclusive: anarcho-syndicalists often align themselves with the communist or collectivist school of anarchism. Its proponents offer workers' organizations as a means to create the foundations of a non-hierarchical anarchist society within the existing system and bring about a social revolution.

Basic principles of anarcho-syndicalism

The main principles of anarcho-syndicalism are worker solidarity, direct action and self-management. They are a manifestation in daily life of the application of the libertarian principles of anarchism to the labor movement. The anarchist philosophy that inspires these basic principles also defines their purpose; that is, to be an instrument of self-liberation from wage-slavery and a means of working towards libertarian communism.

Solidarity is simply the recognition of the fact that other people are in a similar social or economic situation and act accordingly.

Simply put, direct action refers to an action taken directly between two people or groups without the intervention of a third party. In the case of the anarcho-syndicalist movement, the principle of direct action is of particular importance: refusing to participate in parliamentary or state politics and adopting tactics and strategies that firmly place responsibility for action on the workers themselves.

The principle of self-government refers simply to the idea that the purpose of social organizations should be to manage things, not to manage people. Obviously, this makes social organization and cooperation possible, while at the same time making possible the greatest possible degree of individual freedom. This is the basis of the day-to-day functioning of a libertarian communist society or, in the best sense of the word, anarchy.

Rudolf Rocker: anarcho-syndicalism

Rudolf Rocker was one of the most popular voices in the anarcho-syndicalist movement. In his 1938 pamphlet Anarchosyndicalism, he laid out a look at the origins of the movement, what was being sought and why it was important for the future of work. Although many syndicalist organizations are more commonly associated with the labor struggles of the early twentieth century (especially in France and Spain), they are still active today.

The anarchist historian Rudolf Rocker, who presents a systematic conception of the development of anarchist thought in the direction of anarcho-syndicalism in a spirit that can be compared with the work of Guerin, puts the question well when he writes that anarchism is not a fixed, self-contained social system, but rather, a certain direction in the historical development of mankind, which, in contrast to the intellectual tutelage of all church and state institutions, strives for the free unhindered unfolding of all individual and social forces in life. Even freedom is only a relative and not an absolute concept, as it constantly seeks to expand and to affect wider circles in more and more diverse ways.

Anarcho-syndicalist organizations

International Workers Association (IWA-AIT)

International Workers Association - Portuguese Section (AIT-SP) Portugal

Anarchist Union Initiative (ASI-MUR) Serbia

National Confederation of Labor (CNT-AIT) Spain

National Confederation of Labor (CNT-AIT and CNT-F) France

Straight! Switzerland

Federation of Social Anarchists (FSA-MAP) Czech Republic

Federation of Workers of Rio Grande do Sul - Confederation of Workers of Brazil (FORGS-COB-AIT) Brazil

Regional Federation of Workers of Argentina (FORA-AIT) Argentina

Free Workers Union (FAU) of Germany

Konfederatsiya Revolyutsionnikh Anarkho-Sindikalistov (KRAS-IWA) Russia

Bulgarian Anarchist Federation (FAB) Bulgaria

Anarcho-Syndicalist Network (MASA) Croatia

Norwegian Syndicalist Association (NSF-IAA) Norway

Direct Action (PA-IWA) Slovakia

Solidarity Federation (SF-IWA) UK

Italian Trade Union Union (USI) Italy

US Workers' Solidarity Alliance

FESAL (European Federation of Alternative Syndicalism)

Spanish General Confederation of Labor (CGT) Spain

Liberal Union (ESE) Greece

Free Workers Union of Switzerland (FAUCH) Switzerland

Work Initiative (IP) Poland

SKT Siberian Confederation of Labor

Swedish Anarcho-Syndicalist Youth Federation (SUF)

Swedish Workers' Central Organization (Sveriges Arbetares Centralorganisation, SAC) Sweden

Syndicalist Revolutionary Current (CSR) France

Workers' Solidarity Federation (WSF) of South Africa

Awareness League (AL) Nigeria

Uruguayan Anarchist Federation (FAA) Uruguay

International Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)