Posted by Phil Dickens on 31/12/2010 · 3 Comments
The seventh and final part of a series exploring anarcho-syndicalism, its aims and principles, and the practicalities of enacting them in the real world. The basic foundation of anarcho-syndicalism is that ordinary people, through solidarity and direct action, have the power to improve our own lives. We do not need bosses, bureaucrats, or political parties … Read more
Filed under What is anarcho-syndicalism? · Tagged with activism, anarchist communism, anarcho-syndicalism, community organising, democratic centralism, dictatorship of the proletariat, from each according to his ability to each according to his need, Industrial Workers of the World, IWW, libertarian, mass participation, organisation, rank-and-file control, revolutionary leadership, revolutionary unionism, self-organisation, social centres, SolFed, solidarity, Solidarity Federation, solidarity networks, squatting, strike, trade unions, unions, vanguard of the proletariat, workers' assemblies, workers' self-organisation
Posted by Phil Dickens on 29/11/2010 · 4 Comments
The sixth part of a series exploring anarcho-syndicalism, its aims and principles, and the practicalities of enacting them in the real world. In part five of this series, I examined how to rebuild the community consciousness and sense of solidarity that once defined the working class. Here, I want to look at building upon that … Read more
Filed under What is anarcho-syndicalism? · Tagged with Anarchist Federation, anarcho-syndicalism, Anton Pannekoek, community, community organisation, community unions, direct action, Don't Vote - Organise!, Glasgow Rent Strike, IWW, Lewisham Bridge occupation, libertarian, non-hierarchical organisation, Poll Tax rebellion, radical, rent strike, Seattle Solidarity Network, sit-in, solidarity, solidarity networks, squatting, strike, working class
Posted by Phil Dickens on 31/08/2010 · 3 Comments
The third part of a series exploring anarcho-syndicalism, its aims and principles, and the practicalities of enacting them in the real world. Although it isn’t limited to workplace struggles as traditional syndicalism is, industry remains an important battleground for anarcho-syndicalism. After all, it is here that the working class create the wealth of the world, … Read more
Filed under What is anarcho-syndicalism? · Tagged with anarchist communism, anarcho-syndicalism, bread-and-butter issues, bureaucracy, casualisation, disposable workforces, FAU-B, general strike, industrial disputes, IWW, Kronstadt, mass meetings, mikhail bakunin, Paris Commune, revolutionary unionism, Russian Revolution, scabs, Solidarity Federation, Spanish Revolution, Starbucks union, striving for the impossible, trade unions, workers' assemblies, workers' self-organisation, ZSP
Posted by Phil Dickens on 15/08/2010 · 4 Comments
Charity, defined biblically, is an unlimited loving kindness towards others. It’s a virtue, and one that is recognised far beyond the Christian faith. After all, who could argue that giving to those less fortunate is wrong? Anarchist communism would seem to be precisely the philosophy that encourages charity. The basic mantra of “from each according … Read more
Filed under Debate and discourse · Tagged with abolish wage slavery, anarchist communism, Big Society, Capitalism, charity, community organisation, cooperatives, credit unions, CrimeThinc, David Cameron, fire your boss, Infoshop, IWW, LibCom, libertarian communism, Liverpool Solidarity Federation, Merseyside Anarchists, Molly McClure, mutual aid, PCS, politicians, radicalism, reformism, Rolling Thunder, self-managed exploitation, solidarity, Spanish Revolution, the Commune, vultures, workers collectives
Posted by Phil Dickens on 31/07/2010 · 3 Comments
The second part of a series exploring anarcho-syndicalism, its aims and principles, and the practicalities of enacting them in the real world. In The Union Makes Us Strong? the Anarchist Communist Federation (ACF, now Anarchist Federation) offered “a critical analysis” of “syndicalism, including its anarcho variety.” In it, they painted anarcho-syndicalists as “dismissive of the … Read more
Filed under What is anarcho-syndicalism? · Tagged with Anarchist Communist Federation, Anarchist Federation, anarcho-syndicalism, CNT, community organising, Gaston Leval, Hannah Kay, industrial unionism, Industrial Workers of the World, industry, International Workers Association, IWA, IWW, LibCom, revolutionary syndicalism, Rudolph Rocker, Sam Dolgoff, SolFed, Solidarity Federation, Spain, syndicalism, unions, Wobblies
Posted by Phil Dickens on 18/12/2009 · Leave a Comment
One of the basic rights of workers in the industrialised world is the right to organise. Under the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948,workers “have the right to establish and, subject only to the rules of the organisation concerned, to join organisations of their own choosing without previous authorisation.” … Read more
Filed under Capitalism · Tagged with propaganda model, revolution, trade unions, labour struggles, IWW, Industrial Workers of the World, union militancy, strikes, industrial action, Mr Block, BA strike, pro-business media, anti-worker attitudes, class consciousness, communism from below, the Commune, reformism
