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Anarcho・Syndicalism in the 20Th Century

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Anarcho・Syndicalism in the 20Th Century Translated from Russian by Malcolm Archibald FIRST ENGLISH EDITION – 2009 English translation © 2009 Black Cat Press Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication: Dam’e, V. (Vadim) Anarcho-syndicalism in the 20th century / by Vadim V. Damier ; translated from Russian by Malcolm Archibald. Original published in Russian under title: Anarkho-sindikalizm v XX veke, in 2000. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-9737827-6-9 1. Syndicalism--History--20th century. 2. Anarchism--History--20th century. 3. Spain--History--Civil War, 1936-1939. I. Archibald, Malcolm, 1943- II. Title. HD6477.D3613 2009 335’.82 C2009-904820-5 Printed by Black Cat Press, 4508 118 Avenue Edmonton, Alberta Canada T5W 1A9 www.blackcatpress.ca CONTENTS Translator’s Introduction ........................................................................ v Preface ...................................................................................................... 1 PART ONE Revolutionary Syndicalism CHAPTER 1 ...................................................................................... 5 From the First International to Revolutionary-Syndicalism CHAPTER 2 ....................................................................................13 The Rise of the Revolutionary-Syndicalist Movement CHAPTER 3 ....................................................................................23 Revolutionary-Syndicalism and Anarchism CHAPTER 4 ....................................................................................42 Revolutionary-Syndicalism during the First World War PART TWO Anarcho-syndicalism CHAPTER 5 ....................................................................................47 The Revolutionary Years CHAPTER 6 ....................................................................................64 From Revolutionary-Syndicalism to Anarcho-syndicalism CHAPTER 7 ....................................................................................87 The World Anarcho-syndicalist Movement in the 1920’s and 1930’s CHAPTER 8 ....................................................................................94 Ideological-Theoretical Discussions in Anarcho-syndicalism in the 1920’s and 1930’s PART THREE The Spanish Revolution CHAPTER 9 ..................................................................................119 The Uprising of July 19 1936 CHAPTER 10 ................................................................................124 Libertarian Communism or Antifascist Unity? CHAPTER 11 ................................................................................135 Under the Weight of Circumstances CHAPTER 12 ................................................................................143 The CNT Enters the Government CHAPTER 13 ................................................................................156 The CNT in Government: Results and Lessons CHAPTER 14 ................................................................................161 Notwithstanding “Circumstances” CHAPTER 15 ................................................................................180 The Spanish Revolution and World Anarcho-syndicalism PART FOUR Decline and Possible Regeneration CHAPTER 16 ................................................................................185 Anarcho-syndicalism During the Second World War CHAPTER 17 ................................................................................191 Anarcho-syndicalism After World War II CHAPTER 18 ................................................................................203 Anarcho-syndicalism in Russia in the Current Epoch Bibliographic Essay..............................................................................207 Acronyms .............................................................................................225 Index of Persons and Organizations ....................................................228 Translator’s Introduction n the first decade of the 21st century many labour unions Iand labour federations worldwide celebrated their 100th anniversaries. This was an occasion for reflecting on the past century of working class history. Mainstream labour organizations typically understand their own histories as never-ending struggles for better working conditions and a higher standard of living for their members – as the wrest- ing of piecemeal concessions from capitalists and the State. But there is another current of the labour movement which aims somewhat higher. The anarcho-syndicalists set as their goal no less than seizing control of society from Capital- ists and the State and instituting worker self-management in the spheres of production, distribution, and consumption. The standard work in English on anarcho-syndicalism has long been a translation of Rudolf Rocker’s slim book on the subject*, written over 70 years ago by a key figure in the movement. Since Rocker’s book was written, there have been many limited studies of the movement but nothing much in the way of an attempt to grasp the movement as a whole or cover the entire sweep of its history. Anarcho-syndicalism has always been a global movement embraced by many different cultures and indeed modes of production. Its appearance in so many different settings has created a daunting task for historians who would do justice to its scope and diversity. The source materials are found in many different languages and in widely scattered archives which have not always been accessible. The Russian historian V. Damier, author of a monumental history of the anarcho- * R. Rocker, Anarcho-Syndicalism: Theory and Practice (AK Press, 2004). This work is in print in a number of English editions with slightly different titles, including electronic versions. The work was originally written in German. syndicalist International in the 1920’s - 1930’s†, has tackled this task with great skill and the mastery of an enormous variety of material. Even in this brief survey of the history of the movement, he has had to refer to archival sources since the secondary literature is inadequate on many vital aspects of the movement. Anarcho-syndicalism in the 20th Century was first pub- lished in Moscow in 2000. For the English edition the author has provided additional material: an historiographic essay, more in-depth coverage of the Spanish Revolution, an update on contemporary Russia, etc. As a result, the English edition is at least twice as long as the original Russian book. Although addressed primarily to a Russian readership by someone active in the Russian anarcho-syndicalist movement, it is hoped that with this English edition the book will find the global audience it deserves. To assist the reader in tracking down references, where a footnote refers to previous documentation (by means of “op. cit.” or some other device), the number X of the previous note is given in brackets “(nX).” I would like to thank Vadim Damier for his generous assistance in preparing this edition; also Gail Silvius for expert editorial work. Malcolm Archibald September 2009 † Vadim Damier, Забытый Интернационал. Международное анархо- синдикалистское движение между двумя мировыми войнами. [The For- gotten International. The international anarcho-syndicalist movement between the two world wars.]: Vol. 1. От революционного синдикализма к анархо- синдикализму. 1918-1930. [From revolutionary syndicalism to anarcho- syndicalism. 1918-1930.] (Moscow, 2006), 904 pp., ill.; Vol. 2. Международный анархо-синдикализм в условиях “Великого кризиса” и наступления фашизма. 1930-1939. [International anarcho-syndicalism faces the “Great Crisis” and fascist aggression. 1930-1939.] (Moscow, 2007), 736 pp., ill. Preface narcho-syndicalism is a fundamental tendency in the Aglobal workers’ movement. It is made up of revolution- ary unions of workers (“syndicat” in French means “trade union”), acting to bring about a stateless (anarchist), self- managed society. Anarcho-syndicalism, the only mass variant of the an- archist movement in history, arose and acquired strength during a period of profound social, economic, and political changes – the first decades of the 20th century. In the countries which formed the “centre” of the global industrial-capitalist system, a transition to a developed industrial society was tak- ing place, while on the “periphery” and “semi-periphery” the process of industrialization was still only getting started. The furious pace of social change often caused much suffering for the workers, forcing them to abandon traditional occu- pations and forms of life and pushing them into factories, frequently under onerous conditions. Former agricultural labourers were uprooted from their accustomed mode of life – conditioned by centuries, while skilled craftsmen experienced anguish when they were forced into narrowly specialized or unskilled work. The workers’ consciousness was scarred by the growing alienation and atomization of the human personality under the conditions of the rise of “mass society.” The workers’ movement arose, to a significant extent, as an alternative force in relation to the industrial-capitalist system. As the Italian sociologist Marco Revelli has noted, “the modern State from the very beginning counterpoised these two forces to each other, as opposing tendencies.” [1] Of 1 M. Revelli, “Der Sozialstaat in den Brennesseln,” Die Aktion (Hamburg), no. 113/119 (March 1994), p. 1932. course, this opposition could be regarded in different
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