the ghost of anarcho syndicalism

[violencia.Proletariat]

this work by bookchin has me scratching my head. he brings up good points about the flaws in syndicalism, and i think im at a turning point in some of my view. has anyone read it and what do you think of it?

[KptnKrill]

I don't read much bookchin... It's a tad outdated for my taste.

I think the optimal would be a combination of syndicalism and communism. All about teh balance :D
Syndicalism does have it's strong points...

[Clarksist]

Syndicalism is a good system when you think of how industries can trade. But, in the end Communism doesn't need syndicalism to work or to be better for the proletariat.

[Rural_Communalist]

From my understanding, syndiclism is basically unions bartering for what they need? I want to eliminate all bartering (except perhaps petty bartering between individuals). Bartering to me is linked to mercantilism and capitalism. This form or bartering would lead back to capitalism, because you would need values on everything anyway. Like how much is food worth compared with scrap metal? Somebody please correct me if that assumption is wrong. But I've essentially heard it a few times.

[KptnKrill]

Well I don't mean unionism so much when I say syndicalism... I mean worker organisation of the workplace. So that those who work in a bakery for instance are the ones in charge of the bakery. (democratically of course).

This system would work with a gift economy. So no bartering :)

[Rural_Communalist]

Originally posted by [email protected] 17 2005, 11:52 PM
Well I don't mean unionism so much when I say syndicalism... I mean worker organisation of the workplace. So that those who work in a bakery for instance are the ones in charge of the bakery. (democratically of course).

This system would work with a gift economy. So no bartering :)
Well unions SHOULD be workers organized for their rights. That's not always the case however, when it comes to things like the Mafia running Unions. But I know how everything would be voted upon locally into the workplace. I'm just confused about the trading aspect involved.

What's this gift economy? When I was refering to bartering, I was indirectly referencing Clarksist when he said, "Syndicalism is a good system when you think of how industries can trade." But I've heard similar things to that before when discussing syndiclism.

[KptnKrill]

Mmmk.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_economy
The anarchist faq has a little bit on how a gift economy might functional as well I believe.

[Rural_Communalist]

Originally posted by [email protected] 18 2005, 12:07 AM
Mmmk.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_economy
The anarchist faq has a little bit on how a gift economy might functional as well I believe.
Ok, I get what a gift economy is now. I've just never heard the term before. I call most communist societies redistributive societies.

So syndiclism does not promote bartering (even among work sectors) product for product essentially?

[KptnKrill]

Oh it can. Syndicalism is a very broad term though and it doesn't specify the specifics really. Like most of anarchist thought it's fairly vague and open to interpretation.

[violencia.Proletariat]

im not talking about syndicalism, becuase thats different from anarcho syndicalism. but if you guys would just read this http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archi...hin/ghost2.html (http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/bookchin/ghost2.html)

and take a look over his points. its not so much flaws but the reason why it worked so well in spain and might not be as effective or revolutionary elsewhere. as of now i feel that anarcho syndicalism should be used to take over the workplace but should not be relied on as the sole force to push the social revolution