After i have read about the Spanish Civil War in Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell i was aware of the bad blood within the anti-fascist coalition. Yet, anarchists, socialists, and republicans had enough reasons to unite against the fascist putsch initiated by Franco. But what was happening behind the fronts in newly organized collectives in countryside and cities was not what non-anarchists of the anti-fascists understood as ‘well-done’ democracy. Therefore the temporary fruits of those undertakings is still largely unknown or even forgotten. In Stockholm, i have picked up a book in the local political bookshop—The Anarchist Collectives: Workers’ Self-Management in Spain 1936-39 by Sam Dolgoff—featuring a compilation of firsthand experiences from those days in many collectives. While i was reading it i was constantly reminded of the vision of participatory economics (or: Parecon) by Michael Albert. It seems to me very inspiring what those Spanish peasants and factory workers have attempted under such harsh conditions. On their agenda stood not only the defeat of the fascists but also of the bourgeoisie and anybody who sought pocketing their fight for freedom. They have created a temporary zone of self-managed collectives where a glimpse of how libertarian socialism can look like was lived by many Spanish anarchists. They have refused to work under further suppressive conditions in the factory or on the field. Instead they have chosen to self-manage their workplaces and turn them into collectives where everybody was involved in decision making processes. Instead of putting each other into competition they have sought cooperation, solidarity, and mutual aid. And just as within the balanced job complexes, as proposed (or better: concluded) by Albert, in many collectives the workers took turns and switched between pleasant and rather discomforting tasks. In the closing chapter the creative potential of ‘ordinary’ peasants and workers is stressed, which leads to those requirements for workers’ self-management:

• self-rule by excluding rule over others
• sanctions must be applied from within the collective
• integration of all workers in the management of the workplace

To fulfill such requirements, it is necessary to bear in mind the following “three inseperable principles”

• faith in the constructive and creative capacity […] of the masses
• autonomy of the collective within its sphere
• decentralization and coordination through the free agreement of federalism

While those requirements and principles might look like rules, they seem to be some important thoughts to keep in mind for setting up a just way of working and living together.

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 2nd, 2005 at 10:45 pm and is filed under reading, english, antiwar, selfrule. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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