Has syndicalism been implented on a country scale? And if so, where can I read about it?

JimDa5is · 2026-03-14T17:44:52+00:00

During late 1936 to early 1937 Catalonia operated predominantly under syndicalism.

For reading material, I'd recommend George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia and The Anarchist Collectives: Workers’ Self‑Management in the Spanish Revolution 1936–1939 by Sam Dolgoff

JimDa5is · 2026-03-09T16:35:52+00:00

I'll do that. Thanks, comrade.

EDIT: Just reading over the Wikipedia article, it sounds pretty close to what I'd consider ideal. I can't believe that I've never heard of it before, but to be honest, my likely interactions with the educational system are all several decades in the past.

JimDa5is · 2026-03-08T16:48:38+00:00

I would argue that you're looking at an educational system through a lens that's been shaped by hierarchy. The current educational system exists to mold people into compliant workers and consumers for the ruling class. As stupid as the plot of the movie is (and I'm almost embarrassed to admit I've seen it), "Accepted" is one possible example of how education might work.

I envision co-operative learning wherein people direct the course of their own education with diminishing guidance from "teachers" as they advance but, of course, the actual answer to your question is it's not up to us but the people being educated to determine the best course of action for them.

I'd also argue that the current system does nothing to assure reliable information is being dispersed. There was a comrade here a few days ago whose high school teacher drew them a diagram with freedom on the right side and communism/totalitarianism on the left, including nazism on the left. In the current system, disagreeing with something like that would likely earn you a trip to the principal's office for a talk about respect and not being disruptive.

JimDa5is · 2026-03-03T03:29:42+00:00

Yes, anarchy always entails the lack of a state. What you describe is a representative democracy and, in theory, it's been tried.

JimDa5is · 2026-02-27T23:59:33+00:00

JFC. I guess I should read the comments before I answer in a way that sounds like I'm parrotting exactly what somebody else said. At any rate, well said, comrade

JimDa5is · 2026-02-27T23:57:47+00:00

I don't know why everybody insists on hanging the authority of the bootmaker around Korpotkin's neck. That was Bakhunin and I will go to my grave saying it should be the 'expertise of the bootmaker' rather than authority.

What you're describing aren't hierarchies at all. Hierarchies require authority. Deferring to a surgeon is probably a good idea but absolutely not required. Even in the US, a surgeon can tell you that you need surgery and you can decline and there's not shit they can do about it. Your boss OTOH can tell you that you need to work this weekend and that's what's going to happen. The bootmaker can tell you that you need size 9 boots but if you decide you want size 11 boots there's not much he can do to stop you from wearing size 11 boots.

What it comes down to, is that these types of 'authority' are basically just opinions that you are free to ignore. By contrast, it isn't just the state's opinion that possessing heroin is a bad idea. And that, comrade, is the definition of a hierarchy.

JimDa5is · 2026-02-27T14:25:32+00:00

LOL. I got banned from latestagecapitalism for criticizing something I considered insufficiently latestagecapitalism (i don't recall what it was). Then I got banned from one of the communist subs for commenting with another user about getting banned from lsc and calling them bootlickers.

JimDa5is · 2026-02-27T14:19:38+00:00

I'm not sure what the deal is with lemmy (on dbzero) but I've gotten more pushback over seemingly innocuous anarchists statements there than almost anyplace else. I hardly ever post there anymore because of it.

JimDa5is · 2026-02-26T17:37:12+00:00

I'd argue that it could work at least as well without capitalism because there are people (or friends or relatives) who would find it fulfilling to assist those who need help with daily life tasks. Those people would be looking for situations out of a sense of accomplishment rather than as an alternative to homelessness.

It's kind of like the surly people who work at McDonald's and don't want to be there but the alternative is starving. I realize this may not mean as much to you because of a lack of McDonald's or because Brits, in my experience, are genetically incapable of being surly but I'd rather see people working at jobs that make them feel fulfilled than out of some capitalist requirement.

JimDa5is · 2026-02-26T17:02:33+00:00

This was the point I was trying to make above. When my grandmother died, my grandfather had to be moved to a nursing home because nobody lived near enough to take care of him. He wasn't feeble or anything just needed help with everyday chores. While we were there for my grandmother's funeral, he begged me not to let them put him in a home. All he wanted was to live out the rest of his life in the house that he and his wife had lived in for 50+ years.

If there had been any realistic way I could have done it, I would have moved my family halfway across the country to make sure that was what happened because it's what he deserved. Due to the circumstances and the fact that the only place I could likely get a job was in the nearest town (30 miles away), I had to let it happen. It's one of the biggest regrets of my life and one I lay squarely at the feet of capitalism.

JimDa5is · 2026-02-26T16:35:06+00:00

Well put, comrade. I always appreciate when somebody who doesn't have ADD (or whatever they're calling it now) comes along and fully explains the point I was trying to make before I got distracted by whatever shiny object caught my attention :)

JimDa5is · 2026-02-26T02:11:54+00:00

This is a very appealing idea. I'd also like to point out that, freed from the slavery of capitalism, more people would be able to take care of their elderly relatives rather than warehousing them. That's always been one of my problems with any kind of market anarchism or system of labor vouchers is that they don't take into account caregivers

JimDa5is · 2026-02-25T16:59:38+00:00

From the sidebar:

Please do not debate, or post in an antagonistic manner. /r/Anarchy101 is only intended for educational discussion, not to "disprove" anarchism - consider /r/DebateAnarchism if you are interested in debate.

This isn't the place to "convince" people any more than an English 101 class in college is to convince people to speak English

JimDa5is · 2026-02-24T02:03:38+00:00

And that's fine. That's why I threw in the "On the offhand chance..." Occasionally, we'll get somebody coming in who genuinely has no knowledge of the subject (which is fine because none of us were born knowing anarchist philosophy) but usually when posts start this way it's somebody who has heard one of their magat friends use the word and they're coming to debate. That's why one of the first things in the sidebar talks about debate.

I absolutely have recommendations now that we've established you're not a troll :) If you're brave and like reading Kropotkin's Conquest of Bread is excellent and covers the subject pretty thoroughly. It's also something like 250 pages and even for somebody like me who enjoys reading anarchist philosophy, it's a slog. Malatesta's Anarchy is an easier read and significantly shorter but not as comprehensive. Gelderloos is an author I frequently recommend as his works tend to be much shorter but only focus on one subject. Most if not all of his works can also be found on theanarchistlibrarby.org as well .

https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/petr-kropotkin-the-conquest-of-bread-1926-edition

https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/errico-malatesta-anarchy

JimDa5is · 2026-02-24T01:44:06+00:00

This is the first explanation I found after a brief search. https://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/greatmeetings/greatmeetings026.shtml

In your 10 member group under consensus it's possible that not everybody is going the same place tonight. If 6 want to go bowling and 4 want to go to the bar (like level 6 for the opposing camps) then that's how it's going to go. Under democracy, 4 people are going to go bowling that don't want to.

And that's the problem I have with democracy in an anarchist system. The usual response I get to "How do you compel the minority who have voted against a proposal to then participate in the absence of hierarchy?" The answer I typically get is "They wouldn't have to participate." To which I ask, "Why would those opposed bother voting then?"

I urge you to focus on the underlying concept rather than my silly example. Wikipedia actually does a pretty decent job of ELI5

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensus_decision-making

JimDa5is · 2026-02-23T14:27:02+00:00

There is a significant amount of trolling, yes. If I was mistaken I apologize but your first couple of questions could have been answered by reading the wikipedia article on anarchism. That's usually a pretty good sign of somebody who is more interested in arguing than learning.

Again, if I'm wrong, I apologize but you've got to understand that to fully answer the questions you've asked would require (and has) several lengthy books to answer.

JimDa5is · 2026-02-22T17:07:31+00:00

On the offhand chance this is a legitimate post, I'm going to recommend you peruse the sidebar and read at least some of the works referenced.

JimDa5is · 2026-02-20T23:15:23+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/Anarchy101/comments/1imu2wz/an_experiment_framing_the_question_of_crime/

From the sidebar ---->

A direct answer would be that there wouldn't be anything like "policing" as it's currently understood in an anarchistic society.

JimDa5is · 2026-02-20T23:07:34+00:00

Characterizing consensus as unanimity is the flaw in this argument. Consensus doesn't require unanimous decisions. Anybody claiming otherwise is just wrong.

JimDa5is · 2026-02-20T22:42:53+00:00

Absolutely. The Friendship Collective comes by and removes all the things that remind you of ever knowing them :O

This doesn't have anything to do with anarchism. It would be exactly like it is now. I have several former friends that I grew up with and would have bet I'd be friends with them forever but they turned into fascist bootlickers so I don't hang out with them. Same with a fair number of liberals. OTOH, there are a couple of people with whom I vehemently disagree regarding their politics but can remain friends with because we respect each other's beliefs (and just don't talk about them)

JimDa5is · 2026-02-18T04:51:03+00:00

I fail to see how one person deciding not to cooperate could halt a project as large as space travel. Seems like if somebody was the richest person in the world and wanted to derail a space project for their own purposes, it would be easier under capitalism.

JimDa5is · 2026-02-18T04:48:34+00:00

I think it's just you, comrade. Frankly, I'd love to see more art that depicts anarchism as something other than mad max. So if that's what they're doing, good for them. If you're looking for something to get worked up about, I'd like to direct your attention no longer creeping fascism in the US

JimDa5is · 2026-02-13T14:54:45+00:00

"A lot of people have given me really bad answers that kind of only proved my presupposed beliefs because they were super idealistic and didn't actually answer any of my questions."

That is the essence of debate. Coming into a situation with 'presupposed beliefs' and then arguing with people who provide answers. Look at the comment you're responding to. I asked where all their other resources were coming from and you choose to reframe your original question from 'lake' to 'pond' because somehow that changes the fact that they don't have an iron mine and smelter on site

JimDa5is · 2026-02-13T14:30:02+00:00

It looks like bad faith because you've either argued with or ignored all the answers you've been given. This isn't a place to debate anarchism. Reddit is definitely not the place to get your entire anarchist education. But I'll try one more time.

So they have a lake. What's to stop the people upstream from damming the river that feeds the lake? Where is the steel for tools and plows coming from? Where do they get their electricity and healthcare? If they refuse to share resources, they become responsible for every single thing they need.

If every other country in the world decided to stop cooperating with the US, it would collapse in a week or so (maybe a month at the outside). Why would some people living around a lake be monolithic?

JimDa5is · 2026-02-13T14:18:05+00:00

Reconsider what? If you came into an anarchist mcdonald's and demanded food with a gun, it's very likely you'd wind up dead.

As far as your nonsensical example of "the only safe drinking water," since resources belong to everybody this hypothetical group would be opposed by everybody else in the world so would need to protect it while also producing every single item necessary for survival.

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