Anarcho-Communism vs Anarcho-Syndicalism

[Sosa]

Besides anarcho-syndicalism being based around the labor sector/unions and anarcho-comm being based around the commune/community. What are the major differences between these two ideas?

[WeAreReborn]

They both call for equality and workers to own the means of production and naturally no government. The main difference lies in the economy. So Anarcho-Communism is based around a gift economy. That being take what you need as long as you contribute to society. Due to this economy, all will be equal as long as they contribute positively. Now naturally overall both systems of Anarchy are similar. Syndicalism, from what I understand, is based around a monetary system. The difference from todays economy being that it is based on what you actually provide instead of supply and demand. So in that sense it is a much more fair and equal system then Capitalism, obviously. It also seems like society will only value orthodox working jobs, though I am sure they will compensate mothers for raising children. I am not an expert on Syndicalism so if I made a mistake please correct me! But overall, I much prefer a gift economy because it would eliminate every economic crime while promoting full equality.

[devoration1]

anarcho-syndicalism being based around the labor sector/unions and anarcho-comm being based around the commune/community.

That's not really what it's about.

Syndicalism was a response to the reformism of the 2nd International. There are numerous tendencies within syndicalism, but in general they are focused on the workplace, direct action at the workplace, organizing workers into industrial labor unions, etc.

Anarcho-communism / libertarian communism is just class struggle anarchism. Again, many tendencies. Though many oppose unionism as a tool of the state, without the potential to act as vehicles for revolution (or as a reliable means to achieve better wages, benefits, etc). Emphasis is also put on direct action (strikes, pickets, occupations, etc), but rather than unions to organize the class, struggle/strike committee's, factory/workplace committee's, general assemblies, electable and recallable delegates and finally worker's councils. The place of revolutionaries is in an anarchist federation rather than a union to lobby for furthering the struggle.

[syndicat]

but rather than unions to organize the class, struggle/strike committee's, factory/workplace committee's, general assemblies, electable and recallable delegates and finally worker's councils. The place of revolutionaries is in an anarchist federation rather than a union to lobby for furthering the struggle.

there are problems with this formulation. libertarian syndicalism actually goes back to the Bakuninist wing of the first international. the largest section of the international was the Spanish union federation, organized by anarchists for the most part.

libertarian syndicalism advocates the development of organizations in struggles with the employers, in the workplaces, which the workers control so that they can self-manage their own struggles. in some situations thias has meant working to develop assembly based radical shop steward movements which are in opposition to union bureaucracies....the factory committee movement in Russia in 1917, the radical shop stewards council movement in Italy in 1919-20, etc.

therefore the opposition you see between syndicalism and "factory/workplace committee's, general assemblies, electable and recallable delegates and finally worker's councils" is false. there is no such opposition.

syndicalism is a special case of the advocacy of grassroots mass organizations of struggle as part of the strategy for building class consciousness and building a movement that the working class can use as its vehicle for liberating itself. special case because mass self-organization and mass collective struggle can also be developed in the community, as with rent strikes for example.

"Anarcho-communism" is not identical with "class struggle anarchism." There have always been some class struggle anarchists who aren't necessarily "communists" (depending on how you define that, of course...there are various definitions). Also, Bookchin's social ecologists are anarchocommunists are don't believe in class struggle.


The place of revolutionaries is in an anarchist federation rather than a union to lobby for furthering the struggle.

I don't know what this means. If it means that some anarcho-communist federation is to be the vehicle of revolution rather than the mass organizations of the working class, it's substitutiionist, and most anarcho-communists wouldn't agree with that. Are you suggesting that syndicalism is about "lobbying"? syndicalism, on the contrary, is about collective direct action and direct worker self-organization.

[Stranger Than Paradise]

Well I find it kind of bizarre to compare the two ideas because really they don't conflict. I am both a Anarcho-Communist and Anarcho-Syndicalist.

They don't conflict because Anarcho-Communism as a theory does not lay out a framework for revolution, for organisation, agitation etc explicitly. Anarchist Communist theory is based around the actual idea of a post revolutionary society without going into the process of how to actually achieve this.

The different schools confronting this are Insurrectionary and Syndicalist Anarchism. So really the VS should be these two ideas. Insurrectionary Anarchism emphasises practical engagement in building the right situation for revolution. Syndicalism emphasises workplace struggles.

[syndicat]

The different schools confronting this are Insurrectionary and Syndicalist Anarchism. So really the VS should be these two ideas. Insurrectionary Anarchism emphasises practical engagement in building the right situation for revolution. Syndicalism emphasises workplace struggles.

that's an overly narrow formulation as far as social or mass anarchism. the latter favors mass movement-building, mass organizations, in all areas of struggle of the oppressed and exploited, in the community as well as in workplaces. it's just that historically the workplace efforts were more predominant. syndicalism is the form of mass anarchism in regard to the workplace struggle. alternatively, of course, one could talk about community syndicalism, which we do sometimes in WSA, which could refer to things like tenants unions.

[Tablo]

I've always seen syndicalism as primarily a means to an end adopted by communists and collectivists. I see it as a revolutionary strategy kinda like insurrectionism(lol) is a strategy. Difference is syndicalism is based on the most important part of social anarchist theory, which is class warfare. I certainly align myself with syndicalism though I do desire to study the theory behind it more thoroughly.