A good buddy of mine who is of the socialist vein is subscribing to this Anarcho Syndicalism stuff. I'm going to read up on it just because I want to have an inside view of this "interesting" idea. I guess I'm just confused on how it's supposed to work...I guess if every person involved cared about each other...it would MAYBE work...but it sounds so crazy and far-fetched. His dad works in a warehouse so he's of that vein of hating all successful people...bosses...blah blah. And naturally, hates the wage system...calling it "institutionalized slavery."
So what are ya'll's take on Anarhco Syndicalism? I'm just haven't read too many rebuttals to Anarcho Syndicalism in the Mises daily archives.
THANKS!
It is basically a way for people to advocate anarchy and still meet the anal retentive demands of statists. Syndicalism is where interactions are largely enforced by contracts.These contracts ensure that everyone follows through on their promises. If one breaks a contract, it is typically assumed this person will be blacklisted and others will refuse to make contracts with them, effectively shutting them out of society.
The actual outcome of an anarchist society may be somewhat syndicalist. It really depends on the risk-tolerances and other subjective factors of whatever population this is applying to. In all probability, some transactions would make use of contracts and some wouldn't. I don't think many of us feel like signing a 20 page document each time we get gas, but you could. It all depends on how uptight everyone is. I think the only reason Anarcho Syndicalism exists is because statists typically like for everything to be locked down . Statists need the government to control everything so that life can be perfect in imaginationland. Anarcho Syndicalists exert mimic this anal-retentive-control through the bureaucracy of contracts. By making this appeal, Anarcho Syndicalists do not seem so radical. Basically, they are anarchists who are control freaks.
Tyler:A good buddy of mine who is of the socialist vein is subscribing to this Anarcho Syndicalism stuff.
"It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes. But the half-wit remains a half-wit and the emperor remains an emperor." ~Dream
Look no further then Human Action, Ch 33 : SYNDICALISM AND CORPORATIVISM
Am I an idiot for not checking Human Action? Yes. Apologies...haha.
Part of me really wants to actually read the whole book...but it's so freakin' huge!
Tyler: Am I an idiot for not checking Human Action? Yes. Apologies...haha. Part of me really wants to actually read the whole book...but it's so freakin' huge!
I'm on page 15, and plan on reading 10-20 pages a day. So far, it's amazing. I expect (most) of the rest of the book to be this good.
The appeal to "charity" is a truly ironic one. First, it is hardly "charity" to take wealth by force and hand it over to someone else. -Rothbard
Read chapter reviews and/or summaries of the book before tackling it, methinks. AFAIK, the mises website should have some sort of chapter reviews, study guides in PDF form accompanying the web version of the text (they did for Rothbard's Power & Market, at least, which has come in handy after losing the book a few months ago). This is what I eventually plan to do concerning Marx's capital: before actually bothering reading all 3 Volumes (regardless of the content, the amount of pages is staggering in of itself), I plan to eventually finish Thomas Sowell's "Marxism", & the Marx's Kapital for Beginners (part of a nice little "for beginners" & "introducing" book series I've found at my local used book store) to get some general overview of the volumes themselves so that when I actually get down to reading it all, I'm not overtly confused by terminology, writing style, & the sheer length of the pages. Have you ever considered trying to attend some sort of offline or online study groups for Human Action? AFAIK, Doug Mataconis of TheLibertyPapers is conducting such, although I forget what locale the offline meetings are taking place.
WARNING: This signature violates Rule 5. Stay classy!
No...maybe when I finish college sometime. I'm actually a Music Business major at Belmont University in Nashville, TN. I'm a super senior...but I'd like to maybe get my MBA with an emphasis in economics. I'll still probably pursue a career in music...but that doesn't mean I can't write columns one day! :-)
Nitroadict:Read chapter reviews and/or summaries of the book before tackling it, methinks. AFAIK, the mises website should have some sort of chapter reviews, study guides in PDF form accompanying the web version of the text (they did for Rothbard's Power & Market, at least, which has come in handy after losing the book a few months ago).
Tyler: No...maybe when I finish college sometime. I'm actually a Music Business major at Belmont University in Nashville, TN. I'm a super senior...but I'd like to maybe get my MBA with an emphasis in economics. I'll still probably pursue a career in music...but that doesn't mean I can't write columns one day! :-)
To be honest, you might be able to carve out a niche in subtly combining austrian econ analysis with music (as far as the music industry, business of profiting from music, etc.). I had been considering such an endeavor myself as I am also into music as well... My advice would be to establish some sort of blog to jot down such possible musings that could be the basis for some sort of more solid and/or more formal column writing one day, if not to at least chronicle your advancement in a career of music with a certain economic school (austrian econ, human action etc.) focus :)
That's a great idea! I just don't know where I'd begin with it! I'd have to study into the way a lot of business is done. The days of the huge record label are more than likely coming to an end for the most part, and the same goes for huge recording studios since anybody can go to guitar center, buy recording gear, and cut a record in their house. It's evolving like crazy! Any ideas?
It seems to be trade-unionism. At least that is the etymology of the syndicalist part.
The anarcho part comes as a result of the fact that the working classes are supposed to realize that the democracy and the state don't server worker ends. In fact, because democracy involves the other types of voters: in the middle and upper classes. George Sorel, among others, thought it would destroy unionism if the middle and upper classes were philanthropic or seen as somehow empathetic or having similar interests. And thus would ruin the "mythology" of the General Strike. Which is important for solidarity and the final goal of taking over the means of production. And like white supremacists fear mixing of the races, syndicalists fear the mixing of classes.
In this opinion, the workers should form their own governance without the state. It's basically democracy at the workplace level, from what I can tell.
Chomsky is not as dogmatic as Sorel was. He says that other classes can be moral, but that richer people have a greater responsibility to fight power. Either through academia, media, using the advantages of relatively freer speech in the first world, etc.
and while I am a music business major...I'm more of a production emphasis...studio stuff...so I don't actually study the business side that much.
John Ess:Chomsky is not as dogmatic as Sorel was. He says that other classes can be moral, but that richer people have a greater responsibility to fight power. Either through academia, media, using the advantages of relatively freer speech in the first world, etc.
I just got Sorel's Reflections on Violence and so far...I don't think anyone can be as dogmatic as Sorel.
'It is difficult to imagine any normal person wishing to meet Marx for a third time.' - Alexander Gray, The Socialist Tradition
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