The CNT

[MKS]

The CNT (Confederacion national del trabajo) was established 1910 in Spain, it become "famous" during the Spainsh Civil War in which it successfully established thriving collectives in Republican held Spanish territory. It also set a Libertarian precedent by allowing farmers and certain labourers to remain independent of the collective. The Anarchist cause during the war however was corrupted and ultimatley destoryed by the perversion of the Soviet Communists.

But what can modern Anarchists learn from the CNT? (which by the way is still an active organization in Spain)

[rebelworker]

The first leson is that revolutionaries must not limit themselves to eleitist and purist persuits and must engage in every day clas struggles within unions and other community organisations to fight for bread and butter victories.

The CNT only became espousedly united in its support of libertarian communism just before the outbreak of the civil war, it took years for anarchist militants to gain the respect of the mass of the membership through effectivly fighting for better conditions.


The second lesson to be learned in my opinion is that anti authoritarian methods can be succesful both in terms of mobilizing millions of people and in waging an effective military campaign against counter revolutionary forces.

The third lesson is that specific revolutionary organisations are also nessisary to defend the revolutionary direction of the struggle and to be vigilant for counter revolutionary and reformist elements within the left (communist party betrayal of the revolution, and the negative impact of the continued existancer of the reformist gobt in some areas that were under anarchist controll.

The friends of durruti group was an effort to learn from the failures of the russian revolution but unfortunately they were started to late in the game.

Fourthly the debate between the CNT(10,000 members) and the CGT(100,000 members), spains two currently existing anarchist unions, around participation in state run elections is an important question for people trying to build a revolutionary union.

[PRC-UTE]

^ good analysis, worth printing and rereading.

Have you seen that book, Lessons of the Spanish Civil War?

I think it's vital that when class struggle breaks out into revolutionary stuggle, a political tendency that can help assist the dictatorship of the proletariat, such as the type of military junta the Friends of Durruti called for be implemented as soon as possible.

[The Grey Blur]

The Anarchist cause during the war however was corrupted and ultimatley destoryed by the perversion of the Soviet Communists

Of course if someone doesn't agree with the Anarchist line their politics are perverted :rolleyes:


The third lesson is that specific revolutionary organisations are also nessisary to defend the revolutionary direction of the struggle and to be vigilant for counter revolutionary and reformist elements within the left

Agreed, the Anarchists and POUM both messed up on this - there wasn't enough vigilance during the war and Stalinist control along with reformist liberalism began to creep in un-contested

[rebelworker]

Thoight I would add this announcement for a veteran of the Spanish Civil war that will be speaking in Montreal this month.


> In 1936 the people of Spain rose up to resist a military coup, part of a
> larger wave of facism spreading across Europe.
>
> Militants of the CNT, Spains largest labour Union, openly espousing the
> ideas of anarchism, organised popular militias to both defeat the facists
> and to radically transform their country.
>
> Commemorate the Struggle against Facism and the 70th aniversary of the
> Spanish Civil war with Anarchist Veteran Georges Sossenko.
>
> George will speak about his experience in the Civil War and the part
> anarchist played in this important period of revolutionary history.
>
> The event will be held at 1710 Beaudry on thursday May 18th. Doors open at
> 6:30pm. Seating may be limited.
>
> Organised by the Montreal Local of the NorthEastern Federation of Anarchist Communists(NEFAC) as part of the Festival of anarchy.

[JC1]

The role of Anarchist's in the civil war is not much diffrent from the role they have played in the other episode's where anarchist's have actualy had some importance.

The role they played was that of "armed reformist's" not unlike the role played in Chipas, or in mahkno's ukraine.

The CNT, was just like any other left wing reformist union. While it was drapped in red and black, Anarchism did not have a huge impact on the political thinking of most of the membership. There was a union bureacracy present, that was only strugged against by isolated group's of worker's (Like Freinds of Durruti). It's leadership shamelessly participated in the popular front.

While some member's did participate in seizing some factory's, the idea of worker's control of the workplace was not put into practice at most CNT Union shop's, let alone promoted by the CNT in general society.

The CNT was not even the main base of suppourt for Spanish anarchism. There main base were petit-bourgoise peaseant's aswell as small proprietor's like barber's in Barcelona.

My point is Anarchism in Spain, much like Anarchism in general, dosen't have much to show for it.

Everything would be all good though if the "Stalinist's" or the POUM or who have you had not betrayed the reveloution, right ?

Maybe you guy's should call youreself "trotarchist's" ?

[Morpheus]

A major lesson from the CNT is what not to do. Their collaboration with the state ended up destroying the revolution and didn't even achieve its goal of defeating fascism. They would have been much better off had they refused to collaborate and waged a revolutionary war instead. Never, ever take a positoin of authority within the government. It will undermine our goals.

JC1, your Leninist propaganda is quite different from reality. Anarcho-syndicalism was widespread in the CNT from its early days. They had very little bureaucracy before they started collaborating with the state, and the Friends of Durruti was formed primarily to struggle against that collaboration not some nonexistant bureaucracy. Workplaces were collectivized on a large scale, especially in the east, and CNT members were on the forfront of collectivization. Numerous primary sources support this. The million + workers in the CNT - the main base of anarchism - were not "petty bourgeois" nor were the other anarcho-syndicalist movements around the world nor is anarchism, that's just Marxist name-calling.

[JC1]

Anarcho-syndicalism was widespread in the CNT from its early days.

Even the thread starter agree's this is not true.


They had very little bureaucracy before they started collaborating with the state, and the Friends of Durruti was formed primarily to struggle against that collaboration not some nonexistant bureaucracy.

They had bureacracy from day one, and it proliferated quite a bit after they collaborated with the republic.


Workplaces were collectivized on a large scale, especially in the east, and CNT members were on the forfront of collectivization. Numerous primary sources support this.

If numerous sources suppourt this, then cite them.

Question, if the CNT realy suppourted collectivisation, why did they not articulate this as a demand in any shape or form ?


The million + workers in the CNT - the main base of anarchism - were not "petty bourgeois" nor were the other anarcho-syndicalist movements around the world nor is anarchism, that's just Marxist name-calling.

If by " Marxist name-calling" you mean accurate description of class backround, then what I said is indeed "just Marxist name-calling" .

I did not say the CNT was petit-bourgoise, I said that it was a reformist union with red and black colour's. It may have had a signifigant minority of active anarchist's, but that doesnt say much. Lot's of Union member's vote for parties other then the party there local is affilated with, it was the same deal with the CNT.

All I said is the majority of Spainairds between 1936-39, who subscribed to the anarchist ideaology, were member's of the peaseant class or small proprietor's in barcelona (E.g. The petit-bourgoise). Tons of primary evidence suppourt's this.

[Morpheus]

Asserting that the CNT wasn't anarcho-syndicalist, or that the CNT was bureaucratic from day one doesn't make it true. You have presented no evidence to support your claims. The CNT did articulate its support for collectivization repeatedly. They reaffirmed their support for worker self-management at the national congress held prior to the revolution, and issued pamphlets supporting collectivization. During the revolution, CNT militants & locals typically took the lead in collectivization. CNT ministers in government played an active role in the collectivization decrees.

Sources that support my claims include:
Anarchist Collectives edited by Sam Dolgoff - an anthology of first hand accounts of the collectives
Anarchists in the Spanish Civil War by Robert Alexander - A lengthy two-volume study by a non-anarchist historian
Collectives in the Spanish Revolution by Gaston Leval - an account of the collectives by someone who was there
With the Peasants of Aragon by Augustin Souchy - A first hand account of rural collectives in Aragon
No Gods, No Masters (book two) edited by Daniel Guerin - contains primary on the revolution
We, The Anarchists by Stuart Christie
Anarchist Organization by Juan Gomez Casas
The Spanish Cockpit by Franz Borkenau - an interesting eyewitness account, but very hostile towards anarchism & socialism
The Spanish Civil War by Antony Beevor
http://www.struggle.ws/spaindx.html
Anarchists in the Spanish Revolution by Jose Peirats
CNT in the Spanish Revolution by Jose Peirats
Homage To Catalonia by George Orwell

[JKP]

Originally posted by [email protected] 8 2006, 07:04 PM
Asserting that the CNT wasn't anarcho-syndicalist, or that the CNT was bureaucratic from day one doesn't make it true. You have presented no evidence to support your claims. The CNT did articulate its support for collectivization repeatedly. They reaffirmed their support for worker self-management at the national congress held prior to the revolution, and issued pamphlets supporting collectivization. During the revolution, CNT militants & locals typically took the lead in collectivization. CNT ministers in government played an active role in the collectivization decrees.

Sources that support my claims include:
Anarchist Collectives edited by Sam Dolgoff - an anthology of first hand accounts of the collectives
Anarchists in the Spanish Civil War by Robert Alexander - A lengthy two-volume study by a non-anarchist historian
Collectives in the Spanish Revolution by Gaston Leval - an account of the collectives by someone who was there
With the Peasants of Aragon by Augustin Souchy - A first hand account of rural collectives in Aragon
No Gods, No Masters (book two) edited by Daniel Guerin - contains primary on the revolution
We, The Anarchists by Stuart Christie
Anarchist Organization by Juan Gomez Casas
The Spanish Cockpit by Franz Borkenau - an interesting eyewitness account, but very hostile towards anarchism & socialism
The Spanish Civil War by Antony Beevor
http://www.struggle.ws/spaindx.html
Anarchists in the Spanish Revolution by Jose Peirats
CNT in the Spanish Revolution by Jose Peirats
Homage To Catalonia by George Orwell
No organization ordered the occupations and collectivisation; it was a spontaneous reaction among the working class which unsurprisingly used Anarchistic methods in spite of their more conservative leaders.


Read this:
It was published by the most loyal anarcho-syndicalists around during the revolution.

http://www.revolutionaryleft.com/index.php...4529&hl=durruti (http://www.revolutionaryleft.com/index.php?showtopic=44529&hl=durruti)

Lest my criticism be taken out of context, I find that it is highly arrogant and pretentious to denounce the CNT while the Leninist and reformist socialist parties were OVERTLY waging a counter revolution.

[rebelworker]

I just had dinner with a spanish civil war vet last night.

He went to spain a marxist but after spending timee in an anrchist zone, and also after seeing the betrayal by the stalinists he changed his mind.

He spoke of first hand witnessing anarchist run factories of thousands of workers.
The first major town he came across from france, he was an international brigde volunteer from paris, was "anarchist controlled". All the major manufacturing was done by workers council, all the large estates were collectivised, though he said some small farmers were allowed to keep their land for self subsistance.

Was most of the collectivisation done spontaniously by the workers? yes, but it was the widespread ideals of anarchism among peasants and workers, largely the work of the CNT-FAI that helped with this process.

The problem as some have put it is that the CNT, although it had collectively taken a position in favor of libertarian communism at the last general assembly before the civil war(this is a vote by all delegeates, showing the widespread support for anarchism among the membership), the CNT was not a revolutionary Anarchist communism org, thus lareg areas off indicisiveness especially around working with the state.

Supporting of spontaneous seizures of workplaces is good, but a revolutionary(anti authoritarian) organisation is needed to help insure those workplaces stay in the hands of the workers.

[rebelworker]

just thought Id include a picture of me and some comrades with George Sossenko, Anarchist veteran of the International brigades who fought for some time in the durrutti column, when he came to town last week to speak at the Montreal Anarchist Bookfair.

This was taken after the event we organised last thursday night.

He was such a cute old man, and tough as hell, very inspiring still active after 87 years on the planet. His biography is availabe in spanish if any of you want to check him out.
After the Civil war he joined the french free forces and fought in North Africa, Italy and France, before returing to his new home in Argentina where he was imprisoned under the Peron regeim. Continued to work for freedom after his release, he supported the popular movements of Nicaragua and Guatamala.

He is currently the Atlanta president of Veterans for peace.

[Removed by Additives free - Don't post pictures of yourselves]

[rebelworker]

Heres a clearer picture, but george apears to be cheking out his camera :lol:

Im the guy behind him with the backwards baseball cap.

[Removed by Additives free - Don't post pictures of yourselves]