What is syndicalism?

Ideology

Syndicalism is a type of economic system proposed as a replacement for capitalism and an alternative to state communism. Syndicalism makes use of confederations of collectivised trade unions or industrial unions. It is a form of socialist economic corporatism that advocates interest aggregation of multiple non–competitive categorised units to negotiate and manage an economy.

For adherents, labour unions are the potential means of both overcoming economic aristocracy and running society fairly in the interest of the majority, through union democracy. Industry in a syndicalist system would be run through co–operative confederations and mutual aid.

It holds that all participants in an organised trade internally share equal ownership of its production. In syndicalism, unions exist independent of the state rather than needing the state’s micromanagement and central planning.

Syndicalists believe that a stateless society can be achieved with their system, despite the fact that they intend to use a chartered corporations and cartelised unions. Unfortunately for syndicalists, a politicised economic system will only result in misallocated resources, shortages, and famine.

Followers

Syndicalists support maximum cultural freedom and heavy restrictions on economic freedom. Syndicalists support the abolition of the state. Syndicalists oppose most private property rights and most uses of money.

Allies

Syndicalists will ally themselves with other socialists, known as useful idiots, for as long as they derive utility from the association. Once their usefulness ends, syndicalists will betray their allies, often with deadly force.

As they lean toward the libertarian side of the political spectrum, syndicalists will view socialists on the authoritarian side of the spectrum with suspicion and mistrust. As such, they are less likely to ally with these socialists.

Enemies

Syndicalists consider liberals and capitalists to be their enemies and seek to destroy them utterly for daring to end the tradition of collectivism that was practiced for most of human history. Syndicalists will employ entryist strategies to infiltrate and subvert liberal and capitalist organisations so as to destroy them from within.

Location on the political spectrum

Syndicalism is located at the far-bottom centre-left of the political spectrum. It is bordered by libertarian socialism, liberalism, mutualism, anarcho-communism, and democratic socialism. As it is a fringe ideology, syndicalism does not occupy as much space on the spectrum as more mainstream ideologies.