Devan Pillay (University of the Witwatersrand), in Amandla ("SA's new progressive magazine, covering politics and more. Now stocked at more than 80 booksellers nationwide!"), Issue 13 March / April 2010
"For those who have learnt about anarchism only through the writings of Marxists and Leninists, this volume gives fascinating insight into the early world of anarchism. It is a highly readable synthesis of a wide range of secondary sources, covering events and personalities in many different countries. It deserves to be read by all those on the Left seeking to understand the diverse contributions to democratic socialist thinking and practice.
"The word ‘anarchist’ for some conjures up notions of violent and extremist behaviour ... anti-government and anti-capitalist ‘rabble-rousers’ who ... fight the police, or smash the windows at MacDonalds. They are also known for provocative slogans, such as ‘Eat the Rich’ – direct, in your face, but in the end achieving little ...
"These pictures of anarchism are, however, anathema to journalist Michael Schmidt and Wits sociologist Lucien van der Walt, authors of a new book that both narrows the boundaries of what ‘anarchism’ is, and also paints a much more complex picture of anarchism and its trade union variant, syndicalism... the book clears the decksby throwing out all variants of ‘anarchism’ that are not explicitly “a type of socialism” that is “against capitalism and landlordism”, but unlike “classical Marxism” is also a libertarian type of socialism” that privileges “individual freedom” in a context of “democracy and equality”. To achieve this, “class struggle and revolution” are necessary to achieve a social order based on “common ownership, self-management, democratic planning from below, and production for need, not profit” (p.6).
"... anarchism begins with the Russian revolutionary Mikhail Bakunin, a contemporary of Karl Marx, and Pytor Kropotkin, who from the 1860s laid the foundations for anarchist thinking and political practice ... Nevertheless, for the authors anarchists owe an enormous debt to both Proudhon, who first outlined an anarchist vision of radical working class democracy in the early nineteenth century, and Marx, for his analysis of capitalism ...
"The book identifies two main variants of anarchism, namely the insurrectionist approach, that seeks liberation through violence and assassination, and the mass anarchist approach, particularly syndicalism – the belief in the trade union movement as the centre of working class organisation (which includes unions fighting non-workplace battles, as well as forming tactical and strategic alliances with other socialist organisations, including political parties). The book has clear sympathies towards the latter approach, which involves building strong, accountable organisations – including, for the authors, the need for a democratically accountable revolutionary core that directs the struggle towards a communist end.
"While anarchism has not featured prominently in the recent history of South Africa, elements of syndicalism reared its head in the 1970s trade union movement. Syndicalist-type ideas formed part of the complicated shop-floor tradition in the early revival of trade unionism in the 1970s, forming a key pillar of the Federation of SA Trade Unions (Fosatu), and to an extent the General Workers Union and the Food and Canning Workers’ Union in the Western Cape. The unions were wary of forging close links with political actors, and refused to join the ANC-aligned United Democratic Front (UDF) in 1983. Whether these union activists were aware of the anarchist-syndicalist roots of aspects of their thinking or not is unclear. Some of their thinking came from the rank-and-file movement in 1970s Britain – which itself has roots in the early syndicalist movement. Other ideas came from the anti-Soviet New Left of the 1960s, which in part drew on participatory-democratic anarchist and syndicalist thinking.
"‘Syndicalists’ were lumped together with economistic unionism under the broad label ‘workerism’ by their SA Communist Party (SACP) detractors, for allegedly refusing to participate in political struggles against the apartheid state. They were accused of favouring workplace struggles against capital. The ‘syndicalists’, on the other hand, denied that they were ignoring the anti-apartheid struggle. They insisted, however, that in order to challenge the apartheid state, it was necessary to build strong, democratically accountable organisations that could both survive state repression, as well as ensure that the working class actually leads the anti-apartheid struggle. This differed sharply from the SACP’s notion of working class leadership, which meant that the working class party, namely the SACP, leads.
"Syndicalist thinking and practice is clearly evident in what some call ‘social movement unionism’ – namely a combination of both democratic workplace organisation and struggle, as well as action against the state outside the workplace, often in alliances with other organisations ... to this day Cosatu asserts its independence, a clear legacy of syndicalist thinking, even if many decry its drift towards a more incorporated political unionism in recent years...
"There is much to be learnt from this impressive volume, which deals mainly with the early history of anarchism, in particular its “glorious period” from the mid-1890s to the mid-1920s- although significant movements operated long before and long after then too. Anarchists, particularly syndicalists ... in many countries were more popular than Marxist organisations. For example, how many are aware that May Day began as an annual commemoration of the Haymarket Martyrs – five American anarchist labour leaders – executed in 1887 after the 8-hour day struggle? Or that “An Injury to One is an Injury to All” is a slogan developed by the syndicalist IWW?
"... for those who come from a libertarian Marxist perspective, there is much common ground beween mass anarchism, particularly syndicalism, and an open Marxism (as opposed to Marxist-Leninism). Indeed, for many who promoted independent but engaged social movement unionism, it is fascinating to learn about the early anarchist contribution to such thinking. With the failure of so many statist experiments in building socialism, and the search for a truly democratic political praxis that avoids the pitfalls of statism, mass anarchism has much to offer ...
"For those who have learnt about anarchism only through the writings of Marxists and Leninists, this volume gives fascinating insight into the early world of anarchism. It is a highly readable synthesis of a wide range of secondary sources, covering events and personalities in many different countries. It deserves to be read by all those on the Left seeking to understand the diverse contributions to democratic socialist thinking and practice."
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