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Title: Anarchism and Ireland
Author: Workers Solidarity Movement
Date: 1989
Language: en
Topics: Ireland, Workers Solidarity Movement, anarchist movement, 1980s
Source: Retrieved on 9th October 2021 from http://struggle.ws/once/anar_irl.html
Notes: This text is now quite old and some of the examples that were once common knowledge are not likely to be familar. Weâve added brief explanations in between {} The figures in the text are from the 1980âs.
In the intervening four years since the Workers Solidarity Movement
first published Anarchism and Ireland the reasons for doing so again
have been more than demonstrated. Despite the great technological
advances, the huge wealth and resources that now exist throughout the
world, millions continue to die from starvation and from four major
preventable diseases.
Ireland is no exception to the injustice and inequality that prevails.
The standard of living has dropped for most working class people in the
last three years, while unemployment has gone higher and emigration
increased. The government has used the climate of despondency to push
through its own cuts in the health service and in education â putting
the squeeze, more and more, on those less well off. But meanwhile huge
profits are being made, not just by multinationals but also by some of
Irelandâs own capitalists like Tony OâReilly and Michael Smurfit.
That this situation must be changed is beyond doubt. Capitalism survives
not just by physical force but also by making people feel and believe
that they are powerless to do anything about it. It convinces us that
âthis is the way things will always beâ. Our real power to resist the
inequality and injustice around us, and ultimately to radically change
the way things are run, is obscured from us. But it is none the less
there.
Anarchism and Ireland aims to make this clearer, to show the long
tradition of ideas and action â our history â that has sought radical
change by abolishing capitalism and replacing it with a better society
based on socialism and freedom.
Anarchist ideas are not new, though in Ireland they have only a short
history. The WSM aims to further popularise these ideas, to convince as
many as possible that the solution to the problems around us will not be
found in electing a âsocialistâ government to the Dail or any other
parliament. Rather it lies in our own industrial and social power as
workers. It lies in our ability to organise in unions, to stop
production to further our aims. Ultimately it lies in the fact that it
is we and not the bosses who create the wealth of the world.
Kevin Doyle
---
The Workers Solidarity Movement is anarchist organisation. We believe in
a revolution by the working class which will overthrow the bosses and
their governments, and create a society run and controlled by those who
actually produce the wealth of the world. We believe that it is possible
to live without government and to put in its place councils and
assemblies where the âordinary peopleâ can decide what happens to this
wealth. We believe in the equality of all and that maximum solidarity is
needed between workers and other oppressed groups if we are to defeat
those who live off our sweat.
When you hear about anarchists you are led to believe that we are mad
bombers. Every other group that lets off a bomb is immediately labelled
âanarchistâ whether they are nationalists, socialists or even fascists.
The myth is created that we believe in violence for the sake of it. The
other myth is that anarchism is chaos. It is claimed by politicians,
bosses and their hacks in the media that if there was no government
there would be chaos. But did you ever wonder about society today and
come to the conclusion that perhaps we are already living in chaos? At
the moment thousands of builders are on the dole yet homeless people
need housing to live in {In the 1980âs unemployment was in double
figure, now the builders are working but homelessness is higher then
ever}. The price of butter is scandalously dear yet every year the EU
has to deal with a butter mountain. Thousands of people are dying of
starvation around the world yet millions of pounds are spent every day
on nuclear arms with the potential for wiping us and the world out.
You might ask why is this so? We say that there is one big reason â
PROFIT! At the moment we live in a society in which there are two major
classes â the bosses and the workers. The bosses own the factories,
banks, shops, etc. Workers donât. All they have is their labour, which
they use to make a living. Workers are compelled to sell their Labour to
the boss for a wage. The boss is interested in squeezing as much work
out of the worker for as little wages as possible so that he/she can
maintain high profits. Thus the more wages workers get the less profits
the bosses make. Their interests are in total opposition to each other.
Production is not based on the needs of ordinary people. Production is
for profit. Therefore although there is enough food in the world to feed
everyone, people starve because profits come first. This is capitalism.
There are other classes in society such as the self-employed and small
farmers but fundamentally there are workers and bosses whose interests
are in opposition to each other. For workers needs to be fully met we
must get rid of the bosses. But this is no easy task. The bosses are
organised. They have the media on their side. They also have the State
and the force of the army and police that go with it. We only have to
look at the minerâs strike in Britain to see how the forces of the state
can be used against the working class {in 1984/5 the miners were on
strike for a year and the police literally occupied the mining
communities} . We only have to look at the North to see to what extent
the ruling class are prepared to go to protect their interests.
The state (i.e. governments, armies, courts, police, etc.) is a direct
result of the fact that we live in a class society. A society where only
7% of the people own 84% of the wealth.
The state is there to protect the interests of this minority, if not by
persuasion then by force. Laws are made not to protect us but to protect
those who own the property. Look at how the Ranks workers were flung
into jail when they decided to fight for their jobs {Ranks saw a bitter
strike in the 1980âs where the workers occupied their workplace}.
Compare this with the treatment handed out to the multi-nationals who
were able to take 500m in profits out of the country tax free without
the government even knowing about it. If you think that the state is
there to protect you, think about the fact that PAYE workers pay 88% of
all income taxes while the rest â farmers, self-employed, and
multi-nationals pay only 12% between them. {all 1980âs figures for ones
compiled in 1999 see Social partnership â Let it die with the
Millennium}.
We are led to believe that the state is run in our interests. Donât we
have elections to ensure that any government not behaving itself can be
brought to task? Their democracy is about putting numbers on a piece of
paper every four years. We are given a choice all right but between
parties who all agree with the system of a tiny minority ruling the
country.
People often say that if we really want to change things we should run
in elections. Take a good look at this idea and it becomes clear that it
cannot be done if we are to remain true to our anarchism.
Electioneering inevitably leads to revolutionaries forsaking their
revolutionary principles. Look at the so-called Labour Party. First of
all they do not go to the people with a clear socialist message. They go
for whatever is popular and will ensure that they get elected. This
becomes more important to them than educating people about the meaning
of socialism. It also means that they look on the mass of voters as mere
spectators. People are seen as voters, not as people who can be actually
involved in politics and bringing socialism about. We do not accept that
we should hand over the running of our lives to 160 odd people who are
not accountable and can basically do whatever they like.
There is another reason why we do not stand for election. Socialism
cannot come through the Dail. If we look at a country like Chile we can
see why. In 1973 the people elected a moderate socialist government led
by President Allende. This democratically elected government was toppled
by a CIA backed military coup. Repression followed in which the workers
movement was smashed and thousands of militants lost their lives.
This happened for two reasons. The Chilean socialists did not understand
that real power is not in the parliament but in the boardrooms of the
multinationals. It is those who have the money who hold real power.
Socialism does not come through electing socialists to the Dail but
through the direct action of workers taking control of the factories and
land. For us socialism can only come from below, not from the top.
This point is not understood by the so-called socialist parties of
Europe, which are in government at the moment. In France, Spain and
Greece âsocialistâ governments are pushing working class peoples living
standards down because international banks want loans repaid and
multinationals want to maintain profits.
The second reason is that the Chileans did not smash the state but tried
to capture it peacefully. We must understand that the army and police
are against us. They are there to protect the wealth of the ruling
class. To make a revolution it will be necessary to use violence, not
because we believe in violence for the sake of it, but because we
recognise that the ruling class will not give up its wealth without a
fight. Allende refused to arm the workers and so made the job of the
military much easier.
From the moment we are born we are taught that we must give up control
of our lives to those more capable of running things â that we must put
our faith and loyalty in government to organise our lives. In school, in
the papers and on television the working class are portrayed as sheep
who need to be led and governed over. Even in the unions, the
organisation of the working class, workers are discouraged from taking
any initiative by themselves. Instead they are {managed} by the union
bureaucracy supposedly on the workersâ behalf.
However, capitalists in their mad rush for profits are forced to keep
workersâ pay and conditions at the lowest possible level. In times of
recession, competition between capitalists increases, and if profits are
to be maintained, capitalists argue that workers must accept cuts in
their pay and conditions. It is when workers are forced into conflict
with their bosses, when they go on strike, that they realise their own
strength.
Without labour all production grinds to a halt. The bosses simply cannot
run the factories by themselves. Workers who go on strike begin to rely
on their own collective strength, they realise that if they are going to
win they must stick together. They become more aware of what they can
achieve and they become open to new ideas. This was seen in the 1984/5
British minerâs strike. Before the strike most miners believed that a
womensâ role was in the home minding the children. But as the strike
began, women took the initiative and set up support groups to aid the
strike. Women actively took part in picketing as well as fund-raising.
Faced with this many miners changed their sexist ideas. Their ideas
about the police and the courts also changed. In conflict, they realised
that the main purpose of the police and courts was to protect the bosses
and smash the strike.
This is not to say that workers going on strike set out with socialist
goals in mind. However when workers win on âbread and butterâ issues,
their confidence increases and so does their faith in their own ability
to organise themselves. That is one of the reasons for the WSM being
involved in supporting strikes â to build the links between workersâ
day-to-day struggles and our aim of a truly equal society.
Central to our politics is the belief that ordinary people must make the
revolution. Every member of the working class (workers, unemployed,
housewives, etc.) has a role to play. Only by this participation can we
ensure that anarchism is made real. We believe in a revolution that
comes from the bottom up and is based on factory and community councils.
Freedom cannot be given, it has to be taken.
This is where we disagree with what is called the ârevolutionary leftâ.
While they say that they agree with all that weâve said so far, they
still hold to a belief that a party is necessary to make the revolution
for the people. Most of them base their ideas on Lenin who believed that
workers were only capable of achieving what he called âtrade union
consciousnessâ. According to him they needed a party of professional
revolutionaries to make the revolution for them. The result of this
thinking is to be clearly seen in the Eastern Europe of today.{No longer
of course as these regimes were overthrown in 1989. North Korea, China
and Cuba are the surving examples}. What we saw in Russia was nothing to
do with socialism. Power rested in the hands of a tiny party elite. The
state was the boss and the workers were still exploited and told what to
do. This was state capitalism. Workers did not control their workplaces.
All power was held by the bureaucracy. A workers revolution remained
necessary to overthrow this bureaucratic elite and bring in true
freedom.
Of course the likes of the so-called Workers Party have no problem
supporting the Soviet system because that is what they aspire to. They
were very quiet when Solidarnosc {trade union} was suppressed in Poland.
They support the Russian system up to the hilt so they decided for the
sake of electoral advantage to stay quiet and not say anything. The
reason for their attitude is that their vision of socialism is one where
the state controls all. Socialism will come through nationalising
everything. They would have no problem turning Ireland into a satellite
of the state capitalists in Moscow.
So we say it is up to ordinary people. Some ask: âIs this possible?
Would it not be chaotic?â Of course not. At the moment capitalism would
collapse without the support of the working class. We make everything,
we produce all the wealth. It is possible to organise production so that
the needs of all are met. It is also possible to create structures that
allow everyone to participate in making the decisions that affect them.
As already stated society would be based on factory and community
councils. These would federate with each other so that decisions could
be made covering large areas. Delegates could be sent from each area and
workplace. They would be recallable, i.e. if those who voted them in are
not happy with their behaviour they can immediately replace them with
someone else. With the new technology it will be much easier to involve
lots of people in making quick decisions.
Within this society there would be genuine individual freedom.
Individuals would have to contribute to society but would be free to the
extent that they do not interfere with the freedom of others.
Fundamentally we believe that people are good and if they won freedom
would not easily give it up or destroy it.
So where does the Workers Solidarity Movement fit into all this? We are
a new organisation â small in numbers but rich in ideas. We donât set
ourselves up as âthe leaders who know it allâ. We believe that our ideas
are good and are worth trying out. We believe it is necessary for those
agreeing with them to organise together so that our ideas will spread
and be understood by a lot more people. To us it is important that those
revolutionaries active in different areas are brought together so that
experiences can be shared and learned from. We believe that in day-today
struggles or in campaigns it is important that the message is driven
home that only a revolution made by the working class can give us the
freedom to run society so that all our needs are met. We see our role as
encouraging the initiative of working people and arguing for structures
that will allow people to take part in local or workplace activities.
We do not believe that the revolution is around the corner. We believe
that making it is a slow process during which there may be huge jumps
forward. Overall though it is a slow process of spreading ideas and
building peoples confidence to bring about change. We accept that
winning reforms and short-term demands are all part of this process.
Below we set out some of our ideas in relation to the Irish society of
today.
The Trade Unions are defence organs of the working class. They are not
revolutionary organisations. Today the majority of unions have become
conservative institutions with a lot of emphasis being placed on the
role of the full time officials as problem solvers and negotiators.
Whole sections of the trade union bureaucracy have become outright
defenders of the status quo. This is typified by the use of the two-tier
picket (where groups of workers from another union in the same job are
encouraged to pass pickets). Within the unions decision making has
shifted from the shopfloor to the bureaucrats. With this the rank and
file have become more isolated from control of their unions and thus
more apathetic.
For us the unions have to be made into real fighting organisations that
are run and controlled by workers on the shop floor. We do not think you
can change the unions by capturing the full-time jobs at the top. Our
role is to encourage the self-activity of as many workers as possible.
The bureaucracy itself has to be torn down.
We believe in building a rank and file movement that will embrace
workers from different workplaces and areas of work. Its main function
would be to encourage solidarity between all workers. It would support
all strikes, fight for the election of all full-time officials so that
they are responsible to the workers, fight for equal rights for women
and ultimately resist any attempts by the bosses to make us pay for
their crisis.
We see the organised labour movement as an essential area of activity
for revolutionaries. Politics havs to be brought into the workplaces and
unions as it is here that we have strength and can inflict real damage
on the bosses.
Unemployment is always a direct effect of living under capitalism, it is
used by the bosses to depress wages âthere are plenty of people out
there who work for less money than youâ is a common threat as is âbehave
yourselves or Iâll close downâ. The chaotic nature of capitalism also
leads to regular crisisâs which cause massive unemployment.
Unemployment will not be stopped while the capitalist system exists but
there are immediate demands that can be put forward. Any workplace
threatened with closure should be occupied as the workers in Ranks and
Clondalkin Paper Mills did. The workers should demand continued
employment whether it is to be under a new owner or by nationalisation.
We believe it makes little difference because, for us, nationalisation
is not a cure-all. It is no guarantee of better wages or job security
and it does not bring us any nearer to socialism. There is no essential
difference between a boss who is a civil servant and one who is a
private employer. We also call for a shorter working week, an end to
systematic overtime and double jobbing and an end to all productivity
deals. Basic wages should be high enough to ensure that workers do not
need to work excess hours.
We believe that the unemployed should accept no responsibility for the
situation. Dole payments should be increased substantially. Where
possible, the unemployed should organise themselves to defend their
rights and link up with the broader trade union movement.
We believe that women are oppressed as a sex. They are denied equal
rights, such as the right to control their own fertility and the right
to work, and thus cannot fully participate in society. They have been
assigned the role of cooks and child minders, their place is in the
home. This kind of thinking is reinforced in Ireland by the Roman
Catholic Church that controls the educational system. The church can
flex its muscle when it pleases and clearly showed its strength during
the campaign to change the constitution in relation to abortion.
We believe that the root of womenâs oppression lies in the division of
society into classes, and the economic and social relationships that
this created. We thus believe that for women to be really free we have
to smash capitalism and build a society based on anarchism. We disagree
with those feminists who think that all you have to do is for women to
become bosses and politicians to achieve equality. We want to destroy
the existing power structures. We also disagree with those who think
that men are the cause of womenâs oppression. We do not deny that men
gain from this but we identify the source of this oppression as the
class system, not individual men.
Womenâs oppression is not purely a struggle for women as it is a class
issue but we hold that women have the right to organise separately
because it is they who suffer the oppression. Though, we do believe,
that the priorities of the womanâs movement have reflected the fact that
it largely consists of middle class women. We believe that it must
become more relevant to working class women. Our priorities are those
issues that immediately effect thousands of working class women e.g.
work, childcare, housing, etc.
We believe in the right of women to control their own fertility. Women
must be free to decide to have children or not, how many and when. Thus
we believe in the right to free contraception and to abortion on demand.
For these demands to be won, as many working class women as possible
must be brought together to build confidence and defeat the isolation
that comes from being in the home. Thus in campaigns to win these
demands our emphasis is on building in workplaces and on the estates
where women are directly affected.
[This section is very dated, see the Irish âPeace Processâ for our
analysis of the last decade]
This country was partitioned to suit the interests of the ruling classes
of Britain and Ireland. It divided the working class in this country â a
division that has yet to be overcome.
The Northern state was artificially created with an in built Protestant
majority. It is a sectarian state where marginal privileges are offered
to Protestant workers in return for loyalty. Unionist workers see their
interests as tied up with those of the ruling class in the North.
The British army was not sent into the North to keep the Catholics and
Protestants from tearing into each other but to protect the interests of
the establishment. They have stayed because it is not possible for the
British (and Irish) governments to come up with a solution which will
ensure stability in the North. The British do not want an area of
instability so close to their own front door.
We believe that the British troops must get out and that the Orange
state must be destroyed. We believe that it is only possible to do this
on the basis of anarchism. It is no longer possible to unite the country
on a capitalist basis. We must go forward on the basis of anarchism and
the class interest of the working class.
We reject Sinn Feinâs notion that we must unite the country before we
can have socialism. Their basic belief is in âNational Liberationâ. They
put the ânationâ before the working class. They organise around the
slogan of âOne Nation â One Peopleâ. In this country there is not one
people â there is a ruling class and there is a working class. Their
interests are not the same, in fact they are in total opposition to each
other. What the Provoâs want is state capitalism of the sort found in
Cuba or some of the third world countries.
We believe that to defeat British imperialism the maximum working class
unity is needed. We accept that most Protestant workers are tied to
loyalism which is reactionary and has nothing to offer them as workers.
We also believe that the objective conditions are there to act as a
basis for building workers unity in the North. Protestants are suffering
from the crisis as well. This is not to say that we are so naive as to
think that Protestant workers will automatically take up their common
cause with their Catholic counterparts. It will be a hard struggle.
The spread of multinationals though out the 32 counties has undermined
to some extent the traditional patterns of employment in the country as
a whole and in the North in particular. There is a need to build on the
basis of âbread and butterâ issues. This does not mean hiding the fact
that we are against the British army, U. D.R. and R.U.C. or that we
forsake our anti-imperialism as the Workers Party have done.
We do not accept that minorities of any sort can bring about socialism.
That includes armed ones. We recognise the need for self-defence but as
an offensive strategy, the armed struggle cannot win. The movement to
get the British out must be based on the organised working class, North
and South.
This is but a very basic outline of our ideas on these main issues. We
do not see them as separate from each other. They are obviously related.
One role for our organisation is to make the links between the
struggles. That is why we say that real liberation for workers, women,
gays or any grouping oppressed by the present system can only come
through social revolution.
---
You probably agree that what you have read so far are mostly good ideas.
You probably accept that the wealth of society should be distributed
equally and also that ordinary people should have more say in the
running of their lives.
Like most people who hear about Anarchism you probably believe that âit
is a good set of ideas but unfortunately it would never work. People are
naturally greedy and selfish, if there was no government to look after
our interests there would be complete chaosâ.
It has already been stated that we believe capitalism is chaos. It does
not and never can meet the needs of ordinary people. On the other hand,
a society run by those who actually produce can. This kind of society is
not myth we have dreamed up. At various stages of our history it has
become a reality. Working people have taken their destinies into their
own hands and made a success of it. Far from being naturally greedy and
selfish these experiences actually show that given the right conditions
people can co-operate and act in a spirit of mutual aid.
As Anarchists we trace our tradition back to the first International
Working Mens [sic] Association where the Anarchists formed a distinct
tendency influenced mainly by the ideas of Michael Bakunin. Since then
Anarchism has always been deeply rooted in the working class. Contrary
to popular belief Anarchists do not spend their time plotting in back
rooms. For most, their activity means bringing their politics into the
daily struggles of the factories, the offices, and the communities.
Anarchists have been involved in all major modern revolutions. They have
been there arguing and fighting for the right and necessity of working
people running society as opposed to any so-called âsocialist partyâ or
bureaucratic elite.
âWe say to the Russian workers, peasants, soldiers, revolutionists:
above all continue the revolution. Continue to organise yourselves
solidly and unite your new organisations: your communes, your
committees, your soviets. Continue, with firmness and perseverance,
always and everywhere to participate more extensively and more and more
effectively in the economic life of the country, continue to take into
your hands, that is into the hands of your organisations, all the raw
materials and all the instruments indispensable to your labour. Continue
the revolution. Do not hesitate to face the solution of the burning
questions of the present. Create everywhere the necessary organisations
to achieve these solutions. Peasants, take the land and put it at the
disposal of your committees. Workers, proceed to put in the hands of and
at the disposal of your own social organisations â everywhere on the
spot â the mines and the subsoil, the enterprises and the establishments
of all sorts, the works and the factories, the workshops and the
machinesâ.
Golos Truda Russian Anarchist-Syndicalist paper August 25^(th) 1917.
The Russian Revolution was truly a turning point in modern history. For
the first time, workers took control and asserted their right to run
society. At the time of the revolution there were about 10,000 active
Anarchists in Russia, not including the movement in the Ukraine led by
Nestor Makhno. There were at least four Anarchists on the Bolshevik
dominated Military Revolutionary Committee that engineered the seizure
of power in October. More importantly, Anarchists were involved in the
Factory Committees which had sprung up after the February Revolution.
These were based in workplaces, elected by mass assemblies of the
workers and given the role of overseeing the running of the factory and
co-ordinating with other workplaces in the same industry or region.
Anarchists were particularly influential among the miners, dockers,
postal workers, bakers and played an important part in the All-Russian
Conference of Factory Committees which met in Petrograd on the eve of
the October Revolution. It was to these factory committees that the
Anarchists looked as the basis for a new self--management that would be
ushered in after the revolution. They resisted all efforts to undermine
the Committees and take away their power.
The Anarchists had co-operated with the Bolsheviks in seizing power from
the ruling class, believing that once captured power could be diffused.
It was not long before they saw that the real intention of the
Bolsheviks was to take power and keep it. Their concept of socialism did
not allow them to trust in the ability of ordinary people to run society
in their own interests. Power was wrested away from the Factory
Committees and placed in the hands of bodies controlled by the
Bolsheviks. Firstly they were subjected to control by Bolshevik
dominated trade unions. These unions were then put under the thumb of
the state, which was totally dominated by the Bolsheviks. Once the
Anarchistsâ usefulness to them had ended the Bolsheviks ensured they
were suppressed. Their papers were closed down and many of the activists
arrested.
Anarchist influence here was dominant right up to 1921. An insurgent
army led by Nestor Makhno played a central role in defeating the local
counter-revolutionary forces and the numerous armies of foreign
intervention. The Red Army led by Trotsky signed a treaty of
co-operation and Lenin talked of giving the Ukraine over as an
experiment in building an anarchist society. The Makhnovists were hailed
as heroes of the revolution by the Bolshevik press.
However as soon as the threat of invasion had been overcome the
Bolshevik leadership tore up the treaty and declared war on the
Anarchists as if they were an army of reaction. This stab in the back
led to the destruction of the Makhnovist forces at the hands of the same
Red Army which attacked the naval base at Kronstadt and murdered the
revolutionaries who had been in the forefront of the struggle against
the Tsar and the Provisional Government. Their âcrimeâ was to resist the
new elite and demand workers power and freedom for all revolutionary
organisations.
The achievements of the Makhnovists were not only military. As their
army moved through the Ukraine they encouraged and helped the setting up
of collectives among the peasantry and farm labourers. Often this had to
take second place to the need to fight and defeat the varied foreign
armies of occupation. What was important was that it was proved, even in
the conditions of war and invasion, that production could be organised
to benefit all rather than to line the pockets of a few.
The Russian experience also shows that the fake socialists and their
parties cannot be trusted. If socialism is to triumph, power must stay
with those who produce societyâs wealth. No party, no matter how well
intentioned, can deliver socialism on a plate. Workers must take power
and build the new order themselves.
Of all the western countries Spain is where the Anarchist influence
predominated. Introduced in the last century it rapidly spread
throughout the country. This led to the formation of the Anarchist Union
C.N.T. (National Confederation of Labour) in 1911. In the years up to
the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 the CNT had over two
million members. It was the major union in the most industrialised
areas, especially Catalonia and its capital Barcelona. It also had a
large base among day labourers and small peasants in most provinces.
The CNT was a revolutionary union of workers (usually described as
Syndicalist or anarcho-syndicaIist). Its role was twofold. Firstly to
fight to improve conditions for workers and secondly to organise for the
overthrow of capitalism. Its beliefs were translated into action at
every opportunity and this militant tradition attracted workers in their
hundreds of thousands.
The CNT organised itself from the place of work. Each workplace joined
in a federation with other workplaces in their region to form a regional
committee. These regional committees were then federated on a national
basis and formed a national committee. Within each particular industry
there was also a regional and national federation.
Assemblies of workers were the core of the CNT. These made the decisions
and elected delegates to regional and national level. All delegates
could be recalled and replaced by the assembly if the members were not
satisfied with their conduct. Thus no decisions could be made without
consulting the rank and file membership. There were no full-time union
bureaucrats beyond the control of the workers.
The number of full-time officials was minimal. They were elected for
specified periods after which they had to stand down and return to their
previous job. At all times they were subject to control by the rank and
file. The experience and organisation of the CNT shows that contrary to
popular belief Anarchists are not anti-organisation. In reality
Anarchism is highly organised and allows for the participation of all.
Nor are we against centralisation. What is important is that those at
the centre are recallable and directly responsible to those they are
elected to represent.
The Civil War started with an attempted fascist coup following the
victory of the Popular Front (an alliance of liberal, republic,
socialist, and Stalinist parties) in the 1936 elections. In response to
the coup the workers mobilised to defeat fascism. Popular militias were
formed by the unions and workers seized factories. Peasants took over
land that had been abandoned by the landlords. This marked the beginning
of the revolution for the Anarchists. They believed that the Civil War
had to be not just a fight against fascism but also against the
capitalist system that had spawned fascism in the first place. Thus they
set about seizing factories and ranches and turning them over to workers
control.
In the zones controlled by the Anarchists, workers self-management
became a reality. In Catalonia there were at least 2,000 industrial and
commercial collectives. At least 60% of ârepublicanâ Spainâs agriculture
(that part controlled by anti-fascist forces including the Anarchists)
was collectivised.
In the workplaces councils or âcomiteâ elected by assemblies of workers
and representing all sectors of the enterprise, were given the task of
administering the collectivised factory. Collectivised enterprises in
each sector of industry were represented in an Economic Federation. This
in turn was topped by a General Industrial Council that would closely
control the whole industry.
Here is a description of the organisation of gas, electricity and water
in Barcelona.
âEach type of job (e.g. fitters) set up a section consisting of at least
fifteen workers. Where there were not the numbers to do this workers
from different trades got together to constitute a general section. Each
section nominates two delegates that are chosen by assemblies of the
workers. One of the delegates will be of a technical calibre and will
participate in the âcomiteâ of the workplace. The other will be
entrusted with the management of work in the section.
The âcomiteâ of the building or plant comes next. It is nominated by the
delegates of the sections and consists of a technician, a manual worker
and an administrator. The manual worker has to solve difficulties that
might arise between different sections. He or she receives suggestions
from workers in the different trades and the sections give him or her
daily reports on the progress of work. Periodically the delegate calls
the sections to general meetings. At these proposals and initiatives
which are likely to improve production and productivity are studied as
well as ones to improve the workersâ situation. A copy of the
deliberation is sent to the Council for Industry.
The delegates with administrative functions supervises the arrival and
warehousing of materials, records requirements details with book-keeping
for supplies and reserves, and keeps an eye on the state of income and
expenditure. S/He also deals with correspondence and it is his/her
responsibility to see that balance sheets and reports addressed to the
Council for Industry are prepared.
The delegate with technical functions supervises the activities of his
section, and uses every endeavour to increase productivity. To lighten
the workersâ burden by introducing new methods. S/He checks on
production at the power stations, the state of the network, prepares
statistics and charts indicating how production is developing. At the
summit there are the Councils of Industry. One each for gas, electricity
and water, Each is composed of eight delegates, four from the U. G. T.
(the socialist trade union) and four from the C.N.T. These are capped by
the General Council of the three industries, which is also made up by
eight delegates drawn equally from the two unions.
This Council co-ordinates activities of the three industries; attunes
the production and distribution of raw materials from a regional,
national and international point of view; modifies prices; organises
general administration; indeed takes and uses all initiatives useful to
production and the workersâ needs. Meanwhile it is obliged at all times
to submit itsâ activities to the scrutiny of local and regional union
assembliesâ
This account is taken from âCollectives in the Spanish Revolutionâ by
Gaston Leval.
The achievements of collectivisation in Barcelona were many. Take for
example the tramways. Out of the 7,000 workers 6,500 were members of the
CNT. Because of the street battles, all transport had been brought to a
halt. The transport syndicate (as unions of the CNT were known)
appointed a commission of seven to occupy the administrative offices
while others inspected the tracks and drew up a plan of repair work that
needed to be done. Five days after the fighting stopped 700 tramcars,
instead of the usual 600, all painted in the black and red colours of
the CNT, were operating on the streets of Barcelona.
With the profit motive gone, the trams had belonged to a Belgian company
before the workers took over, safety became more important and the
number of accidents was reduced. Fares were lowered and services
improved. In 1936, 183,543,516 passengers were carried. In 1937 this had
gone up by 50 million. The trams were running so efficiently that the
workers were able to give money to other sections of urban transport.
Wages were equalised for all workers and increased over the previous
rates. For the first time, free medical care was provided for the
workforce.
As well as giving a more efficient service the workers found time to
produce rockets and howitzers for the war effort. They worked overtime
and Sundays to do their share for the anti-fascist struggle. To further
under-line the fact that getting rid of the bosses and rulers would not
lead to a breakdown of order, it can be pointed out that, in the three
years of collectivisation there were only six cases of workers stealing
from the workshops.
The countryside also saw collectivisation. In Aragon, near the
front-line during the war, collectivisation took root and spread like
wildfire. In February 1937 there were 275 collectives totalling 80,000
members. Three months later there were 450 collectives with 180,000
members. Often the peasants and farm labourers went further than their
counterparts in the towns and cities. Not only was production
collectivised but in rural areas consumption too. In many of these areas
money was abolished.
Large estates were taken over by landless labourers, small holders put
their land together so that it could be worked more efficiently by the
use of machinery. Collectives were based around the villages and
federated on a regional basis.
Usually the decision to collectivise was made at an assembly (a meeting
of the entire village). It meant handing over land, livestock, tools,
seed, stocks of wheat and other produce. The land was then divided into
sectors, each of which was assigned to a work group of about a dozen who
elected their own delegate. Produce went into the âpileâ for communal
consumption. Each would produce according to their ability, each would
consume according to their needs.
Collectivisation did not only apply to the land. In the villages,
workshops were set up where all the local trades people would produce
tools, furniture, etc. for the village and also carry out repairs to the
collectivists houses. Bakers, butchers, barbers and so on were also
collectivised.
The lot of rural workers and peasants was improved by the introduction
of machinery. Living standards rose, in the words of one collectivist
âthose who had less now ate more and better â no one went shortâ.
Education became a central concern and young children who had never been
to school were given the education denied to them by the landlords and
their system.
Gains were also made by women. In relation to their role during the
Civil War observers have pointed out that they played a full part in the
anti-fascist resistance. They were present everywhere â on committees,
in the militias, in the front line. In the early battles of the war,
women fought alongside men as a matter of course. It was not merely a
case of women filling in for men who were away at the front. (Which is
usually the case in wartime. When the war is over and women are no
longer needed in the labour force, they are pushed back into the home).
They were in the militias and fought alongside the men as equals. They
were organising the collectives and taking up the fight against the
sexist attitudes of the past, which have no place in any real
revolution.
The Anarchist womenâs organisation, Mujeres Libres (Free Women), had
30,000 members. It had been active before the Civil War organising women
workers and distributing information on contraception. During the war
abortion was legalised in the ârepublican zoneâ. Centres were opened for
women, including unmarried mothers and prostitutes.
From all accounts there truly were changes in attitudes towards women.
One female participant in the Civil War has said: âIt was like being
brothers and sisters. It had always annoyed me that men in this country
didnât consider women as beings with full human rights. But now there
was this big change. I believe it arose spontaneously out of the
revolutionary movementâ Margorita Balaguer quoted in âBlood of Spainâ
ed. Ronald Fraser. page 287
This sort of thing is common to most revolutionary situations. When
people begin to throw off the old ideas and start creating a new
society, their views on many things change. This is not inevitable
though and does not negate the need for propaganda and activity against
sexism, not only in society as a whole but also within the revolutionary
movement itself.
This account of the collectivisation is, of necessity, brief. The main
point is that given the right conditions mutual aid and co-operation
will flourish â Problems did arise in Spain as is inevitable. The
Anarchists made mistakes. In our opinion they hesitated in carrying out
their programme â Instead of seizing power and making a direct appeal to
the workers to take control of economic and social affairs, they
collaborated with the Popular Front and ended up joining the government.
They were also attacked by the Communist Party, who preferred defeat by
the fascists to the victory of anarchism. The Communists were tied to
the needs of Stalinâs foreign policy, which meant not upsetting the
Western powers. To them, the restoration of the capitalist order was
preferable to seeing the working class take power. And that should come
as no surprise as the Stalinist system in Russia is no more than another
form of capitalism.
History is not neutral. What we learn in school is the necessity for
government, rulers and capitalism. What we do not learn is that many
times it has been shown that this government is not necessary. People
are not inherently bad. Given the right conditions a spirit of mutual
aid and co-operation can grow. People are not naturally evil and greedy.
We only have to look at the response from ordinary people to the appeal
for aid to Ethiopia to see this.
Economic conditions determine peoplesâ behaviour. How we act is related
to the structure of society and the dominant value system within it.
When structures are changed and oppression and exploitation is done away
with the âgoodnessâ that is in most of us comes through and flourishes
as it did when the workers held the reigns in Russia and Spain. The
experience of self-management is not limited to these countries but is
something that has been seen in most countries at some stage. In the
early 1920âs creameries, farms, Cork Harbour and Kilkenny gasworks were
taken over and run as Soviets (the Russian word for workers councils).
What Anarchists are saying are not just nice ideas. History shows us
that these ideas can work. A new society can be created with the workers
in control. But it wonât happen spontaneously â We must organise for it.
That is why we need revolutionary organisation. An organisation that
draws together all those fighting for workers control. An organisation
that gives us the chance to exchange ideas, experiences, and to learn
from the lessons of history. An organisation that facilitates our
struggle together for a new society.
We do not need a group of leaders and their passive followers. We do
need an organisation working towards mobilising the masses of ordinary
people in the process of making the revolution. The Workers Solidarity
Movement is such an organisation. If you like what you have just read,
you should join us.