AUT: Syndicalism vs. Fascism

[Jamal Hannah <jah@xxxxxxx>]

Guy Debord has repeated a common falicy, which is that some Italian
syndicalists became fascists, and thus implying that fascism has some
relation to syndicalism. No doubt there arte autonomists who have become
fascists.. does this mean that autonomism leads logicaly to fascism?  In
debord's logic, it does.

Syndicalists are syndicalists based on several basic principles:

1) relying on direct-action, not the voting process which brings
beuracrats to political power.

2) decentralization of duties and responsibilities within any syndicalist
organizations, so that no-one has a monopoly on power and members remain
autonomous.

3) Reliance on the general strike to bring industry to a halt and usher in
a worker-run economy.

4) An organizational structure that is intended to be the structure that
replaces capitalism... decentralized, democratic, libertarian and
autonomous.

5) A reliance on libertarian labor unions as the revolutionary force.

6) An internationalist, anti-nationalist orientation.

While, on the other hand, the Fascists, Falangists, and Nazis of
Italy, Spain, and Germany consisted of:

1) A reliance on an all-powerful leader.

2) An extreme nationalism and worship of country and it's myths.

3) A partnership with sympathetic corporations which funded the movement

4) Heavy links to the catholic church

5) An intense hatered of Marxism.. not on the basis that it promoted
authoritarian structures, but on the basis that it promoted a "brotherhood
of man" which was degenerative and against national intertests.


Thus, even if someone called themselves a "syndicalist", but they followed
fascist ideals, they could not be considered a syndicalist.  The practice
of fascists using words like "socialism" or "syndicalism" was clearly
intended to trick working class people into supporting their causes.  They
always used the word "natuional" in conjunction with the words
"syndicalist" and "socialist" to make it clear that they were in fact
nationalists.

Mussolini was an editor of a major SOCIALIST newspaper before he became a
fascist leader, and never claimed to be a syndicalist.

 - Jamal



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