WHAT IS ANARCHO-SYNDICALISM? « All economy to the unions! All social administration to the communes!' - Pierre Besnard in ''Le Monde Nouveau'' (1936) The historical origins pure unionism. Indeed, politically ''neutral'' Anarcho-syndicalism is born from direct action unionism (influenced by Samuel Gomper among in the workers movement going back to the end others) tends to create a union bureaucracy of of the 19th century in the antiauthoritarian wing paid officials that act against the interests of of the first International Workingmen's rank and file members. They also tend to Association (IWA). After being expelled by Marx, collaboration with the bosses and capitalism. It this tendency created with the influence of is then needed to get organised for a Bakunin, the Jurassian Federation in revolutionary final goal. However even some Switzerland, a genuine antiauthoritarian "revolutionary unionist" anti-bureaucratic international. Later on, with Fernand Pelloutier unions tend to keep politics out of the union in France, anarchists started to get involved in (with agreements such the CGT's ''Amiens the workers movement within the Bourses du Charter'' being a classic example). Anarcho- Travail (types of Workers' Halls) and the syndicalists are opposed to bureaucracy, class Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT). At collaboration, reformism, but also struggle day- that time, it was not a question of anarcho- to-day also for a revolutionary project. syndicalism, it was rather a matter of A constructive program revolutionary unionism. This current gathered In the society anarcho-syndicalists openly both anarchists and marxists. advocate for, there would no free market The term ''anarcho-syndicalism'' itself appeared capitalist economy or so called ''socialism'' in Russia in 1907 in the writing of Novomirsky where the government manages the capitalist who was inspired by France's CGT experience. economy. Production, demand, distribution and This word was later on used in 1922 as an insult social administration of things would be within the Confédération Générale du Travail organised by both federations of self-managed Unitaire (CGT-U) by a Bolshevik called Lozovski workplaces and by free and autonomous to denigrate the minority that didn't want their territorial committees, the free communes. union to join the Profintern, Moscow's controlled Economy would be at the service of human Red International of Labor Unions (RILU). needs rather than profit in a real direct democracy. Therefore, anarcho-syndicalism has It's in opposition to RILU that the International as an end: anarchist communism. Workers Association (the anarcho-syndicalist IWA - Since means determine ends, it is a emblem is displayed to the question of getting organized here right) was created in 1922 in and now in concordance with the Berlin. In its founding society we wish to see tomorrow: documents ''revolutionary direct democracy with revocable unionism'' is still the official mandate, federalism, free reference for the movement. association, mutual aid, It's only when Pierre Besnard internationalism, etc. Likewise served as secretary that the authoritarian approaches will only IWA started to call itself as reproduce a hierarchical and unequal anarcho-syndicalist. Since then, many society. organisations and groups started referring to themselves as anarcho-syndicalists however, Today they have not all been part of the anarcho- In the past, anarcho-syndicalist organisations syndicalist IWA. could be influenced by different tendencies going from the ''revolutionary finalism'' of Emilio What is it in practice? López Arango (FORA - Argentina) to anarchist Anarcho-syndicalism is about getting organized reformism of Evert Arvidsonn (SAC - Sweden). as an economically exploited class (the working To this day, anarcho-syndicalist organisations class) to fight against the State, capitalism and have different approaches. At the end of the all oppressions. day, what matters is our practice in the present. It is a matter of struggling to improve our Beyond the fight for increasing the real wage existing conditions day-to-day in a society (relative to buying power) we also need to dominated by capitalism and the state. A wide organise in the interests of the whole of the variety of tactics have been used by the working working class: housing and neighborhoods, class and the oppressed to improve their lives consumption, unemployment, reduction of the based on direct action and solidarity. For working time without loss of income/buying example, workplace and rent strikes, boycotts, power, education, health care, migration and occupations, work-to-rule and sabotage. legal status, house work, etc. However, it is not enough to simply fight for In the same way, workers can fight against immediate gains through practicing a neutral or systematic oppressions such as colonialism, Anarcho-Syndicalist Collective for Education and Diffusion CEDASASCED.WORDPRESS.COM sexism, ecological destruction, LGBTQ+ efforts through ensuring that production does oppression, militarism, nationalism, etc. If we not reach unsustainable levels. take the example of the impending environmental catastrophe in the next fifty Popular education years. It's not enough to simply assume that The Anarcho-Syndicalist Collective for without capitalism this will be averted. However, Education and Diffusion wishes to propagate the through struggling with direct action to protect ideas and practice of anarcho-syndicalism as the environment now, workers can sow the widely as possible in the spirit of popular seeds for a future society capable of restoring education. Currently our efforts have been the planet’s living conditions with ''Green focused on translating, researching, writing and unionism''. This isn’t just abstract theory, in the distributing written material, organizing 1970s unionized Australian builders employed conferences, etc. If you are interested in those “Green Bans” to this very end by refusing to ideas, we encourage you to subscribe to our work on environmentally detrimental projects. blog, form your own autonomous anarcho- After a revolutionary upheaval, anarcho- syndicalist groups or to get in touch with us so syndicalists would hope to continue these that we can collectively create a change in the practice and revolutionary theories of our class. Some figures of anarcho-syndicalism Sam Mbah (1963-2014) Nigeria Active in the "Awareness League" Author of "African Anarchism: The History of a Movement" Pierre Besnard (1886-1947) France Fonder of the Confédération nationale du travail (CNT) Author of ''Les syndicats ouvriers et la révolution sociale'' Lucia Sánchez Saornil (1895-1970) Spain Active in the spanish CNT, poet Founder of the anarcha-feminist movement Mujeres libres Buenaventura Durruti (1896-1936) Spain Outstanding figure of revolutionary anarcho-syndicalism Vadim Damier (1959 -...) Russia Active in the Confederation of Revolutionary Anarcho-Syndicalists Author of ''Anarcho-syndicalism in the 20th Century'' Horacio Pietro (1902-1985) Spain Outstanding figure of parliamentary tendency of the CNT Promoter of spanish CNT participation in the Spain government Emilio Lopez Arango (1894-1929) Argentina Prolific writer of IWA ''working class anarchism'' tendency Rudolf Rocker (1873 -1958) Germany, England, USA Active in various anarcho-syndicalist unions Prolific author: See ''Nationalism and Culture'' and ''Anarcho-Syndicalism: Theory and Practice'' Anarchist history Living anarchist communism! The Regional Defence Council of Aragon - Spain 1936 Spain's Aragon region is the example of the most advanced realisation of anarchist communist ideal by anarcho-syndicalists in 1936. For more information, watch ''Living utopia'' documentary online. Share and read this text online by scanning the QR code .