SYNDICALISM Though the term syndicalism is widely used on the left today, often as a term of abuse.

The term Syndicalism has been derived from the French syndicats, associations of workingmen uniting members of the same trade or industry for the furtherance of common economic interests. Syndicalism may be defined as that form of social theory which regards the trade union organisation as the foundation of the new society and the instrument whereby it is to be brought into being. Loosely defined, syndicalism holds that, "the workers must control the conditions under which they work and live; the social changes they need can be achieved only by their own efforts, by direct action in their own associations, and through means suited to their peculiar needs." Syndicalism was a movement committed to destroying capitalism through revolutionary industrial struggle. The road to the emancipation of the working class, according to syndicalism, lay through direct action, solidarity, and finally the general strike which would lead to the working class seizing the means of production. The efforts of theorists like Fernand Pelloutier and Georges Sorel and many others have also gone into the making of Syndicalism as a revolutionary movement. Syndicalists were opposed to all forms of state and they believed in the inevitability of its gradual disintegration as class consciousness grows among the workers. Like the Marxists they regard the state as arbitrary and oppressive in nature. They consider the state as a bourgeois institution working for the rich and acting as an instrument of exploitation. According to them the state arose to protect the economic interests of the capitalists. It perpetuates social injustice and permits the exploitation of the workers. It is a central organisation which tends to uniformity and to routine, to lack of imagination and initiative, and distrust of local development and enterprise. The coercive power of the state kills all initiative. The syndicalists are opposed to the state on the ground that though it represents and safeguards the interests of the consumers, it cannot claim itself as the guardian of the producers. The syndicalists insist upon producer's control over the economic and political life of the community and, opposes all forms of government. They not only want to improve the living conditions of the working class but also desire to install workers in positions of authority in society. The syndicalists have no faith in parliamentary and peaceful methods. They do not favour piecemeal reforms which only deceive the workers. The syndicalists stand for violent and revolutionary methods of direct action. They believe in catastrophic and revolutionary upsurge. The methods advocated by the syndicalists are strike, sabotage, boycott and libel. Among these methods their greatest emphasis was on strike. According to them, strikes must be encouraged whenever possible. There must be strikes for better wages and for shorter hours of work. These strikes are to be regarded as merely rehearsals for the general strike, which is to be resorted to in the long run for the purpose of ousting the capitalists and capturing the machinery of the state. The doctrine of general strike as the final weapon for the overthrow of the capitalist system. The general strike need not be a strike by all the workers. It must be a strike by a sufficiently large number of persons engaged in key industries to secure the collapse of capitalism.