SYNDICALISM, broadly speaking, is a branch of the general socialist move ment which has as its object a complete reorganization of society on a co-opera tive basis. The first concept of Social ism was that the workers should own and control the industries through a pro letarian state, or government, now known as State Socialism. This idea, well il lustrated in Bellamy's famous book, "Looking Backward," presented unpleas ant features to many persons otherwise inclined in favor of radicalism and even revolutionary methods. As a reaction against this ideal, which suggested the dangers of a gigantic state bureaucracy, the Syndicalist movement appeared, first in France, in the early 80s of last cen tury, taking its name from the French syndicates, or trade unions. Its chief ex ponent has been the French writer of Sorel, who again has been strongly in spired by the philosophy of Henri Berg son.
The central idea of the Syndicalist is that, not the state, or government, but the workers, organized in bodies follow ing the lines of the big industries, shall assume control of production. It is an enlargement of the old concept of the Early English Christian Socialists, who were obsessed of the idea that the work ers should own their own tools, regard less of the fact that under a moderate system of production industrial organi zation is much more complicated than it was in the days of handicrafts, when hand tools were employed in the manu facture of commodities. Concretely il lustrated, the idea is that the railway workers should own and control the railroads, the coal miners should own and control the coal mines, the postal em ployees should have charge of the post office service, and the teachers should be in control of the schools. The fallacy
in the idea is the assumption that the purpose of industry is to supply jobs to the workers, whereas the only legitimate aim of industry is to supply the necessi ties and pleasures of life to society at large, to the people, as consumers.
Outside of France, Syndicalism has made comparatively little headway, and even there it went completely to pieces as a movement during the World War, because of the split among the members as to whether they should support the government against Germany or not. One of the fundamentals of Syndicalism is that government may be almost com pletely, if not entirely, eliminated.
In the United States the Syndicalist idea is represented by the Industrial Workers of the World, but this is an organization which has had very little influence in the general American labor movement. In England Syndicalism has practically disappeared in the Guild So cialist movement, which resembles Syn dicalism in that it would place control of the industries in the hands of the labor organizations, but would vest the government with the power of veto, as representing the general body of con sumers.