What is De Leonism?

[Le People]

I heard about de leonism off of Wikipedia and there descrictption wasn't the best so I'ev decided to launch an invistigation in to it. Any comments, reads or links?

[Social Greenman]

Here are a few links for you:

http://deleonism.org/
http://socialismmarxdeleonforarealunion.org/
http://www.deleonism.org/deleon-editorials.htm

It a start to understand what deleonism is and is not. It's been described as libertairian socialist. The concept is to have all labor, productive and service oriented, under a single socialist union (SIU). DeLeon did contribute to socialist theory but the Socialist Labor Party has taken a "no action" stance since they feel that any sort of political action that would benefit workers would only result in "those reforms" that keep saving capitalist from revolutions. It is believed among the SLP and deleonist that "reforms" contribute apathy among the working class to be satified with the political benefits created by the "reforms."

[More Fire for the People]

DeLeonism can be best described as “anachronistic socialism”. It is a hybrid of the Marx-inspired democratic socialism of the Second International and the anarcho-syndicalist ideas of French unionist. DeLeonism also has a concept known as the “iron laws of wages” which Marx himself criticized (http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1875/gotha/ch02.htm).

DeLeonist argue that a socialist party could be elected to power in Congress and transfer all political power to the unions. This is not possible to today and unlikely to happen in the 19th Century.

[Social Greenman]

Okay, may understand how Deleonism believes in the "iron laws of wages?"

http://deleonism.org/ror.htm

DeLeon quote:

Wages, then, are the part of the product of labor which the
capitalist allows the workingman to keep, and which the capitalist
does not steal, along with the other three parts.

Now, then, for the same reason that wages are what I have said,
there can be, under Socialism, no "wages," because sticking to my
previous illustration, under Socialism that workingman must get all
the four dollars which he produces.

What are the things which compel the workingman today to
receive wages?

First - the capitalist class owns all the things necessary to
produce with; it holds the land, the railroads and the machinery with
which to labor. The working class owns none of these necessities, all
of which it needs to labor with; hence it must sell itself.

Second - The reason why the wageworker must put up with so
small a return is that under this system he is not treated as a human
being, Christianity to the contrary notwithstanding. The capitalists
are refined cannibals; they look at the workingman in no other light
than a horse; in fact, in a worse light; they will take care of a
horse, but let the workingmen die. Labor is cheap, and is treated
that way under capitalism. Under Socialism, standing upon that high
scientific plane, we see a higher morality. We see that labor should
not be treated as a chattel; it should not be treated as a commodity;
it should not be treated as shoes, and potatoes and hairpins and
cast-off clothing, but as a human being capable of the highest
intellectual development. So treating him, the wageworker of today
becomes a part owner in the machinery of production, and being part
owner in the machinery of production he then gets the full return of
his labor; he is then free from the shackles that compel him to accept
wages; he becomes the boss of the machine, whereas today he is its
appendage.

I still lack considerable knowledge of deleonism and marxism in general. However, the transference of political power to an SIU would be acceptable to most people on the board here. Unfortunately no SIU exist

DeLeon Quote:

http://www.deleonism.org/cgi-bin/text.cgi?j=19130120


Industrial Unionism bends its efforts to unite the working class upon the political as well as the industrial field, -- on the industrial field because, without the integrally organized union of the working class, the revolutionary act is impossible; on the political field, because on none other can be proclaimed the revolutionary purpose, without consciousness of which the Union is a rope of sand.

Industrial Unionism is the Socialist Republic in the making; and the goal once reached, the Industrial Union is the Socialist Republic in operation.

Accordingly, the Industrial Union is at once the battering ram with which to pound down the fortress of Capitalism, and the successor of the capitalist social structure itself.

[Severian]

Old thread on DeLeonism (http://www.revolutionaryleft.com/index.php?showtopic=34244)

Diego Armando may be thinking of Lassalle.