Download Carl Levy - Anarchist Studies Network

Anarchism/Labour/Syndicalism panel - ABSTRACTS
1. INDIVIDUALS:
Carl Levy (Goldsmith’s College, London; [email protected]), ‘Errico
Malatesta’s relationship to the Italian and international labour movements.’
This paper will outline the evolution of Errico Malatesta’s relationship to the
Italian and international labour movements. It will discuss his early period in
Italy and Argentina. This will be followed by a discussion of the role of the
example of the British labour movement in shaping his position. Of
particularly importance are the New Unionism of the 1890s and the syndicalist
wave of the 1910s. The transmission of the labour ideologies and forms of
forms of labour organising will be analysed in depth. Malatesta’s position on
syndicalism and council communism will be investigated. Finally his position
on the culture and consciousness of the working class will round off the paper.
Yann Beliard (Université de Paris 13; [email protected]), ‘From Gustav
Schmidt to Gus Smith: a tale of labour integration (Hull, 1880s - 1914).’
Few people in Hull or elsewhere remember Gustav Schmidt. Yet his story is
worth recalling, if only because of the insights it offers as to how the transnational diffusion of revolutionary ideas can concretely take place. A follower
of Johann Most in his days of apprenticeship, Gustav Schmidt was a
cabinetmaker with pronounced anarchist sympathies. It was Bismarck’s
antisocialist legislation that forced him into exile, leading him first to
Scandinavia, then to Holland and eventually to Britain. From the mid-1880s
until his death in 1914, at the age of 60, Gustav Schmidt was to play a major
role in the building of the labour movement in Hull, although the local Trades
and Labour Council was as Lib-Lab as can be. How did this foreign advocate
of the class struggle manage to be accepted by the Humberside trade-unionists
? Was Gus Smith, as everybody called him, a traitor to Gustav Schmidt’s
collectivist ideals ? And what were his relationships with the local ILP and
SDF / SDP militants ? To answer those questions, one needs to turn to Gustav
Schmidt’s writings, and in particular to two series of texts which were
published in the Hull Trades Council’s monthly in the months preceding his
death and which form a kind of political diary: “How the world moves” (1912)
and “Where are we going ?” (1913). Written in a period during which the
British working-class seemed to embrace the methods which the German
activist had stood for all his life, Gus Smith’s ‘testament’ tells a fascinating
tale of integration without capitulation.
Reiner Tosstorff (Cardiff University, [email protected]), ‘Mission
impossible. Ángel Pestaña's encounter as CNT delegate with the Bolshevik
revolution in 1920’.
The CNT, the Spanish syndicalist trade union confederation, voted to
join the newly founded Communist International at its conference in 1919.
This was no expression of a shift in the general political-ideological
orientation. It was based on a support for the Bolsheviks as the
“revolutionaries of deed”. To realize this decision, the CNT sent a delegation
1
to Moscow to participate in the forthcoming second congress of the Comintern
scheduled for the summer of 1920. But only Ángel Pestaña, certainly one of
their most important leaders, succeeded in arriving there.
From the onset the irreconcilable differences became manifest during
the deliberations of the Comintern congress, though the Bolshevik leaders
professed a keen interest to win over such an important revolutionary
organisation as Trotsky himself had had a chance to see during his forced stay
in Spain in 1916 on his way to the USA. But if there was no place for the CNT
in a “political” international, i.e. a combination of parties, suddenly the
possibility arose for a rapprochement on a trade union level. Pestaña now took
active part in the foundation of an “International Trade Union Council”, the
germ of a future revolutionary trade union international. These discussions
were carried through not without difficulties. Finally a founding proclamation
was agreed upon and signed by Pestaña for the CNT.
He returned to Spain, but due to the repression on an indirect way, and
was finally arrested for some time. The more the geographical and
chronological distance to Moscow grew, the more critical he became as was
expressed in two publications from 1922, one on the direct political talks, one
about the general conditions of the Soviet republic. In the meantime another
delegation had gone to Moscow and participated in the founding of this “Red
International of Labour Unions” in summer 1921. This provoked a reaction of
the “pure syndicalist” and anarchist currents within the CNT. After a heated
confrontation, overshadowed by the general political and social climate of
violent confrontation in Spain, they finally succeeded in abrogating the earlier
decision of 1919. Pestaña played an important part in this.
The paper looks at his role, especially using both published and
archival material from Comintern & Profintern sources. It also takes a closer
look at the two reports by Pestaña which he himself re-worked a few years
later which in works on Spanish anarchism have often been confused, not the
least because of errors or maybe censorship in the reprints published in the late
Francoist time in Spain.
2. MOVEMENTS:
Guillaume Davranche (Alternative Libertaire, Paris,
[email protected]), ‘Anarchism-communism and unionism in
France, 1897-1997 (from the CGT’s Toulouse congress, the first concerted
anarchist intervention in a national syndicalist congress, to the constitution of
the SUD galaxy).’
Dieter Nelles ([email protected]), ‘Alfons Pilarski and
Anarchosyndicalism in Upper-Silesia in the inter-war years’
Of all 20th century political movements, it was in the anarcho-syndicalist
movement that the refusal of nations and states was at its most distinctive. In
my contribution, I examine Anarcho-syndicalists in Upper-Silesia tried to
realize their ideals in a region whose history in the 20th century was marked
by national conflicts between Germans and Poles. It is only little known,
however, that there existed a small but very active and militant anarchosyndicalistist movement during the Weimar republic in Upper-Silesia, which
2
had intensive contacts with Poland and Czechoslovakia. Their leading
representative, Alfons Pilarski, emigrated to Poland in 1933 and also had an
important position in the syndicalist movement there. In the biographies of
Upper-Silesian anarcho-syndicalists we can see a model of the tension
between theory and practice.
Ralph Darlington (University of Salford), ‘Syndicalism and the Influence of
Anarchism’ ([email protected])
If Marxism was a convergence of German philosophy, British political
economy and French socialism, the traditional assumption, by contrast, that
revolutionary syndicalism was simply an outgrowth of anarchism would be an
over-simplification although the two were certainly directly related in a
number of countries. This paper examines the nature of the relationship
between syndicalism and anarchism, specifically the ideological and practical
influence of the latter on the former, by providing an international comparative
analysis of the syndicalist movements in France (CGT), Italy (USI), Spain
(CNT) and America IWW).
To begin with the paper documents the way in which from the late
nineteenth century anarchists began to look to the trade unions as a potential
base for support, and increasingly entered the unions with the aim of
revolutionising them. In the process they were able to gain significant
influence within the leadership of a number of syndicalist movements and
were to be responsible in part for the syndicalist rejection of political parties,
elections and parliament in favour of direct action by the unions. However the
paper re-examines a number of common assumptions made about the
relationship between syndicalism and anarchism, including the widely
favoured explanation for the success of a distinctive anarcho-syndicalist
movement in Spain and Italy (and to a lesser extent France) - namely a logical
consequence of the countries’ social and economic backwardness. It suggests
such an assessment is only accurate in very broad terms given that there were
considerable regional variations within these countries, thereby making it
necessary to consider a number of additional social and political contributory
factors which are often ignored. It also considers why anarchist influence
played a less significant role within the more economically advanced America.
The paper proceeds by providing evidence to suggest that if the
development of revolutionary syndicalism was directly related to anarchist
ideas and organisation, it was far from simply being an anarchist invention and
it is important not to conflate the one into the other. Thus anarchists generally
were internally split in the extent of their enthusiasm for syndicalist doctrine
and methods. Moreover the influence of the anarchists was also limited and by
no means uniform, with deep tensions between ‘pure’ revolutionary
syndicalists and anarcho-syndicalists, as well as more moderate syndicalist
elements, common.
The paper argues that in reality syndicalism was always an alliance
between at least three core ideological elements. First, there was anarchism,
from which it took anti-state, anti-political action, and anti-militarist ideas, as
well as the notions of federalism, decentralisation, direct action and sabotage.
Second, Marxism also influenced it significantly, with a number of syndicalist
movement leaders inheriting the Marxist conception of the necessity and
desirability of class struggle (of which strikes were the primary expression) as
3
a means of collective resistance to capitalism that could develop the
confidence, organisation and class consciousness of workers; the utter primacy
of the working class as the sole agency of revolution that could liberate the
whole of society; and a conception of socialism arising from the need for
workers to take power themselves rather than relying on the enlightened
actions of parliamentary and trade union leaders who would reform capitalism
on behalf of workers. Third, syndicalism was influenced by the ideas of
revolutionary trade unionism, the notion that the unions should go beyond
merely attempting to improve workers’ terms and conditions of employment
within the framework of capitalist society, to become the instrument through
which workers could overthrow capitalism and establish a new society. In
other words, syndicalism represented a synthesis of these three different
ideological influences, all of which were overlaid with a singular pattern in
each respective country, often with additional distinct national ideological
influences.
Constance Bantman, Imperial College London ([email protected]),
‘From Trade Unionism to Syndicalisme Révolutionnaire to Syndicalism (18801914): The British origins of French Syndicalism’
While the influence of the French CGT’s syndicalisme révolutionnaire
in the outburst of industrial militancy in Britain between 1910 and 1914 has
been extensively emphasised, the fact that the revolutionary ideas of the CGT
were partly derived from British influences has usually been overlooked. The
British origins of French syndicalism1 have rarely been studied in-depth – and
yet, they do raise a series of comparative questions of importance. Indeed,
British trade unions may have been the oldest and most famous union
organisation at the end of the nineteenth century, but it remains paradoxical
that they ended up winning over the revolution-minded anarchists who partly
theorised revolutionary syndicalism. Even after the development of more
militant, less elitist and more numerous trade unions in the late 1880s, with the
rise of New Unionism, the French anarchists had in general expressed nothing
but distrust for these predominantly reformist and moderate institutions. In
practice, however, the influence of the British trade unions proved crucial for
the CGT at two different periods: first, in its prehistory, in the early 1890s, as
anarcho-syndicalist theories were developed by French militants strongly
connected with Britain, and very often with reference to the achievements of
unionised British workers. Two decades later, as the now-powerful CGT
entered a phase of crisis and ideological reconstruction, the British model
served again as an object of reflection and inspiration.
This paper is an examination of the process whereby the British unions
came to act as an example in the elaboration and reinventions of French
syndicalism. Special attention will be paid to the modalities whereby these
ideological transfers happened: how, where, when, through whom was this
British influence carried over to France? What were the effects of this
transfer? What kind of ideological rewritings did it require?
The term ‘syndicalism’ is used here with its original English meaning, as an equivalent for the
French term syndicalisme révolutionnaire, to refer to the upsurge of revolutionary theories based on
direct action, sabotage, the general strike, as well as a preference for amalgamated unions.
1
4
Rafal Chwedoruk (Warsaw University Institute for Political Science,
[email protected]), ‘Polish anarchism and syndicalism’.
Polish anarchism and syndicalism in XX Century.
The polish anarchism in XX Century was a attempt to incorporate the
west anarchism. The main trend of polish anarchist movements was the
anarchosyndicalism. All anarchists groups existed in social isolation. Beside
the anarchism rised the syndicalism, that constituted the original polish
movement and non-typical variant of syndicalist ideology. One could speak in
this cause about evolution from sorelians syndicalism to syndicalist model
similar spanish “treintistas”. Since 1926 to 1945 this original syndicalism had
a certain signifant in polish workers movement.
I. Polish anarchism until WWI.
-the revolutionary episod 1905-1907 in Russian state
-the anarchosyndicalism in Galicia (polish part of Austro-Hungary)
II. Anarchism in polish Second Republic(1919-1939)
-the communists-anarchists penetrate before the 1926
-Anarchists Federation of Poland(AFP)-beginning, activity, evolution to
anarchosyndicalism
-the reasons of social isolation(the questions of polish independent, the
situation in labour
movement-the divisions between socialist party and postnationalist and
christian parties,the
problems of jewish minority)
-the end of AFP- “boring from within” in polish trade unions
III. The polish syndicalism-sorelism in central Europe
-the nationalists, democratic and unsocialist roots of syndicalism“Zet”movement
-the original of Joseph Pilsudski’s movement
-the syndicalist ideology: influence of Sorel and Valois ideas, synthesis the
workers
revolution’17 and veterans revolution’19; antiliberalism, antiparlamentarism;
trade unions as the “purely” workers movement; the power of polish
people(workers, peasants and intellectualls) as the condition of polish state’s
power
-the syndicalist movement: trade unions associations(General Federation of
Labour, Union of Trade Union’s-ZZZ), youth and cultural associations; the
territorialy scope (Warsaw, Upper Silesia)-between “workers aristocracy” and
unemployeds
-evolution to polish “treintistas”-from proPilsudski movement to the
opposition
-Thomas Pilarski and anarchosyndicalists influence in ZZZ
IV. Syndicalists and anarchists against nazism
-The Association of Polish Syndicalists-the continuation of polish syndicalism
-Syndicalists Organisation “Freedom”-“boring from within” in the
underground
V. After WWII.
-communist episod of the postwar anarchists-Pilarski and others-from legality
to prisons
-reboring the polish anarchism in 1980s, from punk-rock to syndicalism
5
3. THEORY, IDEAS:
Bert Altena ([email protected]), ‘Analyzing revolutionary syndicalism: the
importance of community.’
The analysis of revolutionary syndicalism is ‘hot’. Experts are looking in
several directions in order to explain the choice of workers for this direction in
trade unionism. Often peculiarities of the workplace and of work relations are
thought to be important. Specific trades, like the construction workers, seem
prone to revolutionary syndicalism. Other, more politicized views, focus on
the uprooted worker as the basis for revolutionary syndicalism. Syndicalism
can also be seen as a conservative, or progressive, answer to the Second
Industrial Revolution or as a ‘virile’, if not anti-feminist, movement. My paper
will argue, that these analyses are misguided and cannot explain exhaustively
revolutionary syndicalism. Instead we should be careful as to the contents of
revolutionary syndicalism, look for certain characteristics of the communities
where syndicalism appears and take another view of the workplace and the
syndicalist worker, than usually is done.
Keith Hodgson ([email protected]), ‘‘The invincible phalanx which can
withstand any assault’: The Centrality of Anarcho-Syndicalism to Revolution’
Rudolf Rocker’s vivid description of anarcho-syndicalism portrays a
movement and a form of organisation no less necessary to revolution today
than when he wrote those words seventy years ago.
It is a contention of this paper that much of contemporary anarchist
thought is marked by a theoretical poverty and an antipathy to organisation,
both within the workplace and without, that guarantees its irrelevance. Too
many of today’s anarchists are either ignorant of their heritage or so hostile to
its fundamental tenets as to make them only dubious bearers of the name.
Those who attempt to re-invent anarchism without class struggle, or
who mistake it for a pottage of cynicism and single-issue campaigns, do both
themselves and the movement a disservice. This paper maintains that where
anarchism has had relevance in the modern world, it has been through the
work of anarcho-syndicalist unions. Any re-imagining of revolution must
recognise the centrality of creating workplace and community organisations
based on tried and tested anarchist ideas. It asserts that to be a credible and
effective force, anarchism must rest upon the principles which motivated those
who built and who are still building genuinely libertarian and revolutionary
organisations.
Much has changed since Rocker set down his thoughts in 1938, but the
fundamentals of capitalism and the class conflict inherent within it have not.
Revolutionaries, however imaginative they may be, cannot ignore this. The
paper will discuss the continuing validity of Rocker’s assertion that “trade
union organisation should be of such a character as to afford workers the
possibility of achieving the utmost in their struggle against the employers and
at the same time provide them with a basis from which they will be able in a
revolutionary situation to proceed with the reshaping of economic and social
life.”
6
Jason Royce Lindsey (St. Cloud State University, USA;
[email protected]), ‘Functional Representation and its Anarchist
Origins’
Recently, a number of political theorists, from various perspectives,
have developed criticisms of representation based on territory. Some of these
views are a reaction to worries over the ineffectiveness of democratic
participation in contemporary nation states. Other views on this subject stress
the need to bring together citizens of different states to address transnational
issues. In both cases, there has been a renewed call for exploring forms of
political participation and representation based on interest or function rather
than territory.
What is generally absent from these discussions is any reflection on
earlier calls for functionalist representation rooted in the Anarcho-Syndicalist
tradition. This raises an interesting question. Is this absence because these
more recent ideas about representation are substantively different from this
tradition? Alternatively, is this an oversight that should be remedied so that we
have a clearer idea about the advantages and downsides to functional
representation?
In the following paper, I will explore the similarities and differences
between these contemporary and earlier views on functional representation.
Regardless of our conclusions to the question poised above, the origins of calls
for functional representation are a rich resource we can use to sharpen our
thinking about its possible application today.
7