Anarcho-Syndicalism

Description

Theory and Practice

By Rudolf Rocker
Introduction by Nicolas Walter
Translated by Ray E. Chase
AK Press

In 1937, under the shadow of rising authoritarianism, and at the behest of Emma Goldman, Rudolf Rocker penned Anarcho-Syndicalism to champion the ideals of equality, voluntary cooperation, and mutual aid, which were fueling the Spanish Revolution and igniting resistance to capitalism the world over. In this political masterpiece, Rocker offers a clear introduction to anarchist ideas; a history of the international workers’ movement; and an outline of the syndicalist tactics of direct action, sabotage, and the general strike. This essential text rejects both capitalist exploitation and authoritarian state socialism, charting the way for a radical alternative of freedom through solidarity.

“The publication of Rudolf Rocker’s Anarcho-Syndicalism is an event of much importance for people who are concerned with problems of liberty and justice. Rocker expresses throughout his faith in the capacity of ordinary people to construct for themselves a world suited to their inner needs, to create and participate in an advancing culture of liberation in free communities, to discover through their own thought and engagement the institutional arrangements that can best satisfy their deeply rooted striving for freedom, justice, compassion and solidarity, at a particular historical moment. This vision remains as inspiring as when it was written a half century ago, and no less valid as a stimulus to our thinking and our constructive action.”—Noam Chomsky (from the Preface of a previous edition), co-author of Consequences of Capitalism