Anarcho-syndicalism
The foundations of anarcho-syndicalism were laid by the anti-authoritarian faction of the International Workingmen's Association (IWMA) and developed by the French General Confederation of Labour (CGT).
By the end of the 20th century, the rise of neoliberalism and the collapse of the Eastern Bloc had led to a revival in anarcho-syndicalism, with syndicalist unions once again being established throughout the globe.
The history of anarcho-syndicalism can be traced back to the anarchist faction of the International Workingmen's Association (IWA), which called for trade unions to overthrow the state in a general strike.
[3] But tensions between rank-and-file trade unionists and their social-democratic leadership eventually gave way to the development of revolutionary syndicalism, which called for workers themselves to take direct action in order to improve their own material conditions.
[4] Revolutionary syndicalism was first propagated in France, where the Bourses du Travail (English: Labour Exchanges) were established to provide mutual aid to workers and organise strike actions.
[7] But after the CGT launched a general strike, which won French workers the eight-hour day and the weekend, the union turned away from revolutionary syndicalism towards reformism.
[18] Anarcho-syndicalists in Europe, Latin America and Asia organised general strikes, sometimes reaching revolutionary proportions, but were ultimately suppressed by nationalist or communist dictatorships.
[21] With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the CNT led the defeat of the Nationalists in Catalonia, where they ignited an anarcho-syndicalist revolution that collectivised three-quarters of the Republican economy.
[23] After the war, anarcho-syndicalism experienced a rapid decline, as anarcho-syndicalist unions were either marginalised by rising social corporatism or repressed by newly-established authoritarian states.
[25] Despite the economic changes, the IWA chose to reaffirm traditional anarcho-syndicalist principles, causing its Dutch and Swedish sections to split from it.
[31] The political theory of anarcho-syndicalism is based on the foundations of libertarian socialism, as formulated by the anti-authoritarian faction of the International Workingmen's Association, while its organisational forms were adopted from revolutionary syndicalism, which was first put into practice by the French labour movement in the early 20th century.
[43] Anarcho-syndicalists argue that socialist participation in politics, rather than moving society closer to socialism, has damaged the labour movement by substituting self-help for representation.
[48] Anarcho-syndicalists consider trade unions to be the vanguard of the labour movement; they believe workers' power resides in the economic sphere, as they are responsible for producing the wealth that society relies upon.
[54] Anarcho-syndicalists believe that centralism weakens and inhibits workers' capacity to take independent action and make decisions, and that centralised organisations inevitably tend towards inertia and stagnation.
[59] Anarcho-syndicalists see this federative form of industrial organisation as the nucleus for the reorganisation of the economy and society, as it would be able to take over the management of production in every economic sector.
[62] Anarcho-syndicalism also seeks to abolish capitalism and replace it with socialism, which it does by lowering the profit margins of business owners and raising the workers' share in the product of their own labour.
[64] Anarcho-syndicalism is driven by the practice of direct action, which eschews legalistic methods in favour of workers forcing their employers to make concessions.
