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In revolutionary circles a great deal of confusion exists as to the relations of Syndicalism to Anarchism, Socialism and Industrial Unionism. A few words on this subject may, therefore, be timely.
The Two Great Revolutionary Movement.— Almost since the conception of the revolutionary idea, revolutionists have divided themselves into two general schools — Anarchist and Socialist — and have organized themselves accordingly. These schools are the antipodes of each other in many respects.
The Anarchist is an individualist. He is an anti-democrat, having a supreme contempt for majority rule. He opposes authoritarianism in all its manifestations. He is an inveterate enemy of the State and its laws, and would establish a society in which they will not exist. In his tactics he is a direct actionist.
The Socialist, on the other hand, is a collectivist. He is a democrat and a firm believer in majority rule. Yet with comical inconsistency he also favors authoritarianism and always institutes strong systems of centralization in his vast organizations. He is a statist and legalitarian par excellence, and would perpetuate the State in the future society. He is a political actionist. The famed collectivist doctrine of the class struggle was formulated and propagated by him — Anarchists generally either ignoring or repudiating it.
From Impossibilism to Possibilism.— Originally both the Anarchist and Socialist movements were impossibilist. Both scorned to strive for petty concessions from capitalism and carried on a vigorous propaganda of their ideas, both believing that when they had created sufficient revolutionary sentiment capitalism would be overthrown by a sudden popular uprising.
The Socialist movement was the first to recede from this impossibilist position. Its parliamentary representatives early began bargaining with those of other parties. This bargaining and compromise has gone on until the Socialist movement has become strictly possibilist and strives for all kinds of petty reforms. This evolution from impossibilism to possibilism has produced a profound effect on the Socialist movement. It has given up its old vitalizing doctrine of the class struggle and has degenerated into a movement of the poor and discontented of all classes against the common oppressor.
Being less exposed to temptation, the Anarchist movement, as a whole, remained impossibilist much longer than did the Socialist. Its first important step toward possibilism was taken in the famed “raid”, (mentioned in following chapter) when large numbers of Anarchists joined and captured the French trade unions. This Anarchist “raid” on the labor unions brought three great movements into direct contact — viz., Anarchist, Socialist, and Trade Union. A general flux of ideals, tactics, organization forms, theories, etc., took place. The outcome of this was that the Anarchists, retaining their individualistic principles but little modified, their hatred for the State, etc., fairly incorporated the Trade Union movement into their own. They adopted the labor union as their fighting organization form, and its peculiar type of direct action as their fighting tactics. They also adopted the ex-Socialist doctrine of the class struggle — which had long been anomalous in the all-class Socialist movement — as their fighting theory. In thus adopting a new fighting organization form, tactics and theories, they gave birth to the possibilist Anarchist or Syndicalist movement which is everywhere rapidly absorbing the impossibilist Anarchist movement. Syndicalism has placed the Anarchist movement upon a practical, effective basis. It has at once given it a clear-cut aim (the emancipation of the working class) and the most powerful organizations in modern society (the labor unions) to achieve this aim. Before the advent of Syndicalism the Anarchist movement confusedly and ineffectively appealed to all society and was destitute of organization. Like the Socialist movement, the Anarchist movement has also become possibilist.
The Antagonism Between Anarchism and Syndicalism.— Syndicalism, besides its continual warfare with Socialism, which has already been sufficiently explained and described, has also an important point of quarrel with Anarchism. Though both movements are at one in the matters of principle, ideals, etc., there is much friction between them. The cause for this is not hard to find.
The Anarchist movement proper is an educational one in effect: “The misery of society is due to its ignorance. Remove this ignorance and you abolish the misery.". Consequently it places strong emphasis on its attempt to found the modern school; its educational campaigns against the State, church, marriage, sex slavery, etc. Anarchism is striving for an intellectual revolution.
The Syndicalist movement, on the other hand, is a fighting movement. It ascribes the miseries of the workers to the wages system and expends practically all its efforts to build a strong fighting organization with which to combat and finally destroy capitalism. Syndicalism is striving for an economic revolution.
The Syndicalist accepts on principle the Anarchist positions on the modern school, neo-Malthusianism, marriage, individualism, religion, art, the drama, literature, etc., that go to make up the intellectual revolution; but he expends energy upon their propagation only in so far as they contribute to the success of his bread and butter fighting organization. He opposes capitalist institutions in the measure that they oppose him. He does not combat them from any theoretical standpoint. If the church opposes him, he fights it in return. Otherwise he leaves it alone and devotes his energies to combating more active enemies. Consequently many of the intellectual favorites of the Anarchists receive scant courtesy from him. The Anarchist objects to this, calling the Syndicalist a “pork chop” revolutionist, and tries to make an “intellectual” revolutionist of him. But in vain, as the Syndicalist considers the economic revolution a hundredfold more important than the “intellectual” revolution, and is bending all his efforts to its accomplishment.
Syndicalism and Industrial Unionism.— Unlike Syndicalism, the Industrial Union movement of Anglo-Saxon countries is a product of the Socialist movement. It was officially born at the gathering of Socialist politicians who founded the I. W. W. in Chicago, 1905. Although since then it has progressed far toward Syndicalism by the rejection of political action and the adoption of direct action tactics, many traces still linger of its Socialist origin. In these it naturally differs from Syndicalism. A few of the more important ones will be briefly cited:
The Industrial Union movement is universally engaged in a utopian attempt to build a new and revolutionary labor movement independent of all other labor organizations. Industrial Unionists are in the impossibilist stage of development. Syndicalists, on the contrary, are strictly possibilists, they having emerged from impossibilism, and wherever their movement normally develops they revolutionize the old unions rather than build new ones. The Industrial Union movement is essentially democratic and statist, while the Syndicalist movement is radically opposed to democracy and the State. The Industrial Unionists propose to operate the industries in the future society by a government composed of representatives of the unions, whereas, the Syndicalists propose to exclude the State entirely from the new society. Industrial Unionists are authoritarians, their national labor unions being highly centralized and their local unions destitute of autonomy, whereas Syndicalists are anti-authoritarians, their national labor unions being decentralized and their local unions possessed of complete autonomy. Another difference between Industrial Unionism and Syndicalism is that the former puts emphasis on the industrial form of organization and the “One Big Union” idea, while the latter emphasizes revolutionary tactics. Industrial Unionists also preach the doctrine that there are no leaders in the revolutionary movement, whereas a fundamental principle of Syndicalists is that of the militant minority (outlined in Chapter IX.).
Last updated on 20 March 2023