Council Communist Literature

[barista.marxista]

I'm currently a Leninist, but have become intrigued in Council Communism since I found Lenny Frank Jr.'s Non-Leninist Marxism (http://web.archive.org/web/20010803232303/www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1587/nonlenin.htm) online. Can anyone recommend any other Council Communist writers and philosophers that I can find works of online?

[Lamanov]

It could be said that I'm a council communist.
Check this out:

Left Communists (http://www.marxists.org/archive/index-history.htm#leftism)

Workers' Councils, by Anton Pannekoek (http://www.marxists.org/archive/pannekoe/1936/councils.htm)
Party and Class, by Anton Pannekoek (http://www.marxists.org/archive/pannekoe/1936/party-class.htm)
Theses On The Fight Of The Working Class Against Capitalism, by Anton Pannekoek (http://www.marxists.org/archive/pannekoe/1947/theses-fight.htm)
Council Communism, by Paul Mattick (http://www.marxists.org/archive/mattick-paul/1939/council-communism.htm)
Masses and The Vanguard, by Paul Mattick (http://www.marxists.org/archive/mattick-paul/1938/mass-vanguard.htm)
Mass Strike by Rosa Luxemburg. (http://www.marxists.org/archive/luxemburg/1906/mass-strike/index.htm)

[I'd Rather Be Drinking]

I like much of the council communist critique of Leninism... but I also think that council communism has been surpassed. There are left-communists who have drawn on the council communists as well as the italian left-communists (bordiga), the italian workerists and the situationists. Check out:

Aufheben (http://www.geocities.com/aufheben2/)
Riff-Raff (http://www.riff-raff.se/en/)
Wildcat (http://www.wildcat-www.de/en/eindex.htm)
or anything by Gilles Dauvé (some texts can be found at http://troploin0.free.fr/)
the classic text by Gilles Dauvé is "The Eclipse and Re-Emergence of the Communist Movement"

Here are a few online archives that have a similar perspective:

"For communism" http://www.geocities.com/~johngray/
"Class against class" http://www.geocities.com/cordobakaf/
"lib com library" http://www.libcom.org/library/
"Prole.info" http://www.prole.info/

[red_che]

I don't see any big difference between Council Communist principles and that of the old so-called revolutionary socialists which later became the social democrats of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd International. In my view, they are merely reincarnating those old thoughts already refuted by Marx, Engels and of late, Lenin.

The Worker's Council, as described by a certain Anton Pannekoek, is nothing but the social-democratic party, in a different name and dress. At least, in my understanding of their principles.

[kurt]

The Worker's Council, as described by a certain Anton Pannekoek, is nothing but the social-democratic party, in a different name and dress. At least, in my understanding of their principles.

I'm not really sure who this Anton Pannekoek, but my understanding of the worker's council is that it is not even remotely similar to a social-democratic party. A worker's council is an elected set of delegates designed to manage factory operations in place of a boss.

[Lamanov]

Originally posted by red_che
The Worker's Council, as described by a certain Anton Pannekoek, is nothing but the social-democratic party, in a different name and dress. At least, in my understanding of their principles.

Workers' councils are proletarian organizations which emerge out of trades (industry) and factory/shop committees. They are directly-democratic and self organized parallel structures (no hierarchy) with the system of political extensions through worker-representation.

Parties (especially Social-Democrat) are groups of bourgeois thugs who want to "lead" the proletariat.

Why don't you click on that link and see what Pannekoek conceives of parties.

[RevolverNo9]

I don't see any big difference between Council Communist principles and that of the old so-called revolutionary socialists which later became the social democrats of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd International.

Er... yheeesss...

'Revolutionary', may I remind you, doesn't involve bleeding the workers dry. That's a funny sort of a workers' state if you ask me.

[PRC-UTE]

I recommend Worker's Councils strongly. Pennekoek was a great writer and it's worth the effort, despite some of the mistakes and errors in his predictions.

[Lamanov]

Originally posted by [email protected] 17 2005, 12:49 AM
I recommend Worker's Councils strongly. Pennekoek was a great writer and it's worth the effort, despite some of the mistakes and errors in his predictions.
I agree.


This is my #1 recommendation for Pannekoek:

Why Past Revolutionary Movements Have Failed, by Anton Pannekoek (http://www.marxists.org/archive/pannekoe/1940/revo.htm)

[red_che]

A worker's council is an elected set of delegates designed to manage factory operations in place of a boss.

That's what social-democrats do in all likelyhood.


Workers' councils are proletarian organizations which emerge out of trades (industry) and factory/shop committees. They are directly-democratic and self organized parallel structures (no hierarchy) with the system of political extensions through worker-representation.

Same thing social democrats claim.


Why don't you click on that link and see what Pannekoek conceives of parties.

I did. And he merely rephrased some words to make it appear that this workers' council is different with socdems. But, I still see the same similarities with socdems.

[Lamanov]

LMAO @ red_che


:lol:

[red_che]

It hurts, doesn't it? :rolleyes:

[black magick hustla]

Originally posted by [email protected] 20 2005, 09:06 AM
It hurts, doesn't it? :rolleyes:
Don't worry, we all know that true communism can only emerge from Great Leaders and their magical communist powers. :lol:

Ha, workers managing factories, what a bunch of bourgeois crap! :rolleyes:

[I'd Rather Be Drinking]

I don't think "Workers Councils" is the best council communist text out there. It is one of Pannekoek's later writings. At that point he has a very tight councilist ideology, that has a lot of problems. He is also at his least Leninist, which might be why it is popular. I much prefer "World Revolutin and Communist Tactics" or other earlier works, where he is just breaking with the 3rd Internationale. Not because I disagree with the critiques of Leninism. It's just that by the time he writes "Workers Councils" he's got a strange self-managementist formalism.

Again I recommend reading communists who draw on the council communists, but are not faithful ideological councilists. (see my previous post).

[red_che]

Originally posted by Marmot+Dec 22 2005, 05:00 AM--> (Marmot @ Dec 22 2005, 05:00 AM)
[email protected] 20 2005, 09:06 AM
It hurts, doesn't it? :rolleyes:
Don't worry, we all know that true communism can only emerge from Great Leaders and their magical communist powers. :lol: [/b]
Hahaha... :lol: :lol: :lol:

Who said that, by the way? :P

It's only in your dreams that you imagine those things. :lol:

[SonofRage]

You can read the full text of Pannekoek's Workers Councils, which isn't available at Marxists.org, here:

http://www.geocities.com/~johngray/wcontitl.htm