Anarcho-Syndicalist

An Anarcho-Syndicalist is a political anarchist who believes in anarcho-syndicalism, advocating for worker control of production and governance through decentralized and democratic unions.

• Context:
  • They can range from supporting Trade Unionism to advocating for Workers' Councils as a means of achieving worker control.
  • They can range from focusing on Economic Self-Management to promoting Direct Democracy in all societal aspects.
  • They can advocate for the abolition of Capitalism and State Authority, favoring decentralized decision-making.
  • They can promote Mutual Aid and Collective Ownership of resources and industries.
  • They can oppose Corporate Hierarchies and Centralized Planning.
  • They can support Worker Solidarity as a key mechanism for social and economic transformation.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • Mikhail Bakunin (1814–1876), Russian revolutionary and theorist who is considered one of the founders of anarcho-syndicalism.
  • Errico Malatesta (1853–1932), Italian anarchist propagandist and revolutionary, influential in the development of anarcho-syndicalist ideas.
  • Pierre Besnard (1886–1947), French anarcho-syndicalist and founder of the International Workers' Association.
  • Nestor Makhno (1888–1934), Ukrainian anarchist revolutionary and commander of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine.
  • Emilio López Arango (1894–1929), Argentine anarcho-syndicalist writer and editor of the newspaper La Protesta.
  • Lucía Sánchez Saornil (1895–1970), Spanish poet and anarcho-syndicalist, co-founder of Mujeres Libres.
  • Dolores Ibárruri (1895–1989), Spanish Republican leader of Basque origin, known for her role in the Spanish Civil War and association with anarcho-syndicalist movements.
  • Gaston Leval (1895–1978), French anarcho-syndicalist and historian of the Spanish Revolution.
  • José Buenaventura Durruti Dumange (1896–1936), Spanish anarchist militant and a leading figure in the anarcho-syndicalist CNT.
  • Buenaventura Durruti (1896–1936), Spanish anarchist leader during the Spanish Civil War and a prominent figure in the anarcho-syndicalist movement.
  • Camillo Berneri (1897–1937), Italian anarchist and intellectual, involved in the Spanish anarcho-syndicalist movement.
  • Diego Abad de Santillán (1897–1983), Spanish-Argentine anarchist and economist, influential in the Spanish anarcho-syndicalist movement.
  • Helmut Rüdiger (1903–1966), German anarcho-syndicalist and journalist, active in the Spanish Revolution.
  • Sam Dolgoff (1902–1990), American anarcho-syndicalist and editor of "The Anarchist Cookbook."
  • José Peirats (1908–1989), Spanish anarcho-syndicalist and historian of the CNT and the Spanish Revolution.
  • Federica Montseny (1905–1994), Spanish anarchist and Minister of Health during the Spanish Civil War, known for her contributions to anarcho-syndicalism.
  • Abraham Guillén (1913–1993), Spanish anarchist and economist, known for his writings on guerrilla warfare and anarcho-syndicalism.
  • Noam Chomsky (1928–), American linguist, philosopher, and political activist who identifies with anarcho-syndicalism.
  • ...
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Anarcho-Capitalists, who oppose collectivism and advocate for private property and markets.
  • State Socialists, who emphasize centralized planning and state control of the economy.
  • Libertarian Socialists, who may support broader communal structures beyond the workplace.
  • Minarchist Libertarians, who believe in a minimal state rather than stateless worker governance.
• See: Libertarian, Socialist, Workers' Self-Management, Trade Unionism, Mutual Aid, Direct Democracy.

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References

2013

• http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/noam-chomsky-kind-anarchism-i-believe-and-whats-wrong-libertarians
  • Michael S. Wilson: You are, among many other things, a self-described anarchist — an anarcho-syndicalist, specifically. Most people think of anarchists as disenfranchised punks throwing rocks at store windows, or masked men tossing ball-shaped bombs at fat industrialists. Is this an accurate view? What is anarchy to you?
  • Noam Chomsky: Well, anarchism is, in my view, basically a kind of tendency in human thought which shows up in different forms in different circumstances, and has some leading characteristics. Primarily it is a tendency that is suspicious and skeptical of domination, authority, and hierarchy. It seeks structures of hierarchy and domination in human life over the whole range, extending from, say, patriarchal families to, say, imperial systems, and it asks whether those systems are justified. It assumes that the burden of proof for anyone in a position of power and authority lies on them. Their authority is not self-justifying. They have to give a reason for it, a justification. And if they can’t justify that authority and power and control, which is the usual case, then the authority ought to be dismantled and replaced by something more free and just. And, as I understand it, anarchy is just that tendency. It takes different forms at different times.

     Anarcho-syndicalism is a particular variety of anarchism which was concerned primarily, though not solely, but primarily with control over work, over the work place, over production. It took for granted that working people ought to control their own work, its conditions, [that] they ought to control the enterprises in which they work, along with communities, so they should be associated with one another in free associations, and … democracy of that kind should be the foundational elements of a more general free society.

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