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The Anatomy of a General Strike

Understanding the historical evolution and strategic significance of collective industrial action.

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Historical Context

Precursors and Early Concepts

The concept of a general strike has roots in ancient traditions like the Jewish Sabbatical and Jubilee years, and the Roman Republic's secessio plebis. Early modern thinkers like Étienne de La Boétie and Jean Meslier proposed similar ideas. During the French Revolution, radicals like Jean-Paul Marat and Sylvain Maréchal advocated for widespread societal work stoppages as a tool for change.

Key figures and their contributions:

  • Constantin François de Chassebœuf: Proposed a strike involving all useful professions against government agents.
  • Thomas Attwood & Louis Auguste Blanqui: Further developed early concepts of the general strike.
  • William Benbow: Formulated the idea in 1832 with his pamphlet Grand National Holiday and Congress of the Productive Classes, proposing worker-funded holidays and elected councils.

Industrial Revolution & Chartism

The early Industrial Revolution saw worker unrest, with ill-defined strikes. The 1835 Philadelphia General Strike achieved a ten-hour workday. The Chartist movement in Britain adopted Benbow's general strike platform, planning a "national holiday" in 1839, though it was suppressed. The 1842 general strike in Britain, starting in Staffordshire coal mines, spread widely, becoming the first in a capitalist country, but was ultimately crushed by government forces.

  • 1842 British General Strike: A significant, though ultimately unsuccessful, uprising demanding better conditions and political reform.
  • 1855 Catalan General Strike: The first in Spanish history, arising from labor unrest after initial progressive reforms.

International & Ideological Debates

The First International (IWA) debated the general strike extensively. Marx saw it as a tool for building class consciousness, while anarchists like Bakunin advocated for a revolutionary general strike to overthrow capitalism and the state. This ideological divide contributed to the International's eventual collapse. The rise of revolutionary syndicalism, particularly in France and Spain, further cemented the general strike as a core tactic.

  • Brussels Congress (1868): César De Paepe proposed general strikes to prevent war and transition to socialism.
  • Hague Congress (1872): Marx's faction expelled Bakunin's anti-authoritarian faction, highlighting the split over revolutionary tactics.
  • Anarcho-syndicalism: Advocated for unions to organize general strikes for social revolution and workers' control.

Formulating the Strategy

Benbow's Blueprint

William Benbow's 1832 pamphlet, Grand National Holiday and Congress of the Productive Classes, laid out a systematic plan for a general strike. He envisioned a month-long "holiday" funded by workers' savings and contributions, with elected workers' councils managing societal functions and electing delegates to a congress for reform.

Syndicalist Vision

Revolutionary syndicalism, championed by figures like Pierre Monatte and adopted by unions like the French CGT, viewed the general strike as the ultimate weapon to dismantle capitalism. The strategy involved workers occupying workplaces and taking control, educating themselves with the necessary skills to manage industry democratically post-revolution.

  • Objective: Overthrow capitalism and establish a stateless society with a socialist economy.
  • Mechanism: Unions organize general strikes, leading to workers' self-management of the means of production.
  • Training: Workers educate themselves in technical and managerial knowledge for post-strike governance.

Political vs. Revolutionary

Debates within socialist and anarchist movements distinguished between general strikes aimed at achieving political reforms within existing systems and those intended as revolutionary acts to overthrow capitalism and the state. This distinction often led to strategic disagreements, particularly within the Second International.

Manifestations of Action

Political Strikes

These strikes aim to achieve specific political and economic reforms. They often involve broad coalitions of labor, social, and political organizations, utilizing tactics beyond simple work stoppages, such as rallies, boycotts, and civil disobedience.

Revolutionary Strikes

The most radical form, aiming for a complete societal transformation by overthrowing capitalism and the state. This aligns with anarcho-syndicalist and some revolutionary socialist ideologies, envisioning a fundamental shift in power structures.

Symbolic Strikes

Often observed on International Workers' Day (May 1st), these strikes serve as demonstrations of global proletarian solidarity and a unified front against prevailing economic and political systems.

Ideological Divides

Socialists vs. Anarchists

A key debate within the Second International centered on the general strike. Socialists generally favored political participation and electoral strategies, viewing revolutionary general strikes with skepticism due to potential repression. Anarchists, conversely, championed the general strike as a primary tool for social revolution and the abolition of the state.

Effectiveness Debates

Critics, like Errico Malatesta, questioned the efficacy of the general strike against state military power and its ability to sustain workers through prolonged conflict. Others, like Bill Haywood of the IWW, saw it as a necessary step towards industrial democracy, achievable through organized industrial unions.

Legal Ramifications

In the United States, the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 significantly altered the legal landscape, outlawing solidarity strikes and effectively making prolonged general strikes illegal. This shifted the practice towards shorter, coordinated days of mass action rather than sustained work stoppages.

Landmark Actions

May 1968, France

Considered the largest general strike in an advanced industrial country, involving eleven million workers for two weeks. It nearly toppled the de Gaulle government, demonstrating the profound disruptive power of widespread industrial action.

1926 UK General Strike

Initiated in the coal industry and spreading to transport and steel sectors, this strike involved 1.75 million workers. Despite its scale, it was ultimately suppressed by the government.

Seattle & Winnipeg (1919)

These North American strikes highlighted the growing power of organized labor. The Seattle General Strike, called by the AFL's Central Labor Union, and the Winnipeg General Strike demonstrated the potential for widespread industrial action, though the AFL later moved to curb such activities.

Velvet Revolution (1989)

In Czechoslovakia, a general strike played a pivotal role in the peaceful overthrow of the communist government, showcasing the general strike's potential as a catalyst for political change.

Scholarly Foundations

Key Texts and Authors

The study of general strikes draws from extensive historical and theoretical works. Scholars like William Benbow, Karl Marx, Mikhail Bakunin, Ralph Chaplin, and historians such as Philip S. Foner and Gerhart Niemeyer have significantly contributed to understanding its origins, evolution, and strategic implications.

  • Adams, Matthew S. (2018). "Anarchism and the First International".
  • Carpenter, Niles (1921). "William Benbow and the Origin of the General Strike".
  • Damier, Vadim (2009). Anarcho-syndicalism in the 20th Century.
  • Dubofsky, Melvyn (2000). We Shall Be All: A History of the Industrial Workers of the World.
  • Foner, Philip S. (1997, 1998). History of the Labor Movement in the United States (Vols. 1, 4).
  • Graham, Robert (2018). "Anarchism and the First International".
  • Mather, F. C. (1974). "The General Strike of 1842".
  • Niemeyer, Gerhart (1966). "The Second International: 1889–1914".
  • Nomad, Max (1966). "The Anarchist Tradition".
  • Prothero, Iorwerth (1974). "William Benbow and the Concept of the "General Strike"".
  • Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty (2014). "General strike".
  • van der Walt, Lucien & Schmidt, Michael (2009). Black Flame: The Revolutionary Class Politics of Anarchism and Syndicalism.
  • Zimmer, Annette (2018). "General Strike".

Related Concepts

Understanding the general strike necessitates exploring related concepts within labor history and political theory. These include direct action, civil disobedience, syndicalism, industrial unionism, and the broader labor movement.

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References

References

  1.  Carpenter 1921, p. 499; Prothero 1974, p. 147.
  2.  Prothero 1974, pp. 160–161; Spivak 2014, p. 9.
  3.  Carpenter 1921, pp. 491–492; Prothero 1974, pp. 133–134; Spivak 2014, p. 10.
  4.  Carpenter 1921, p. 497; Prothero 1974, pp. 133.
  5.  Carpenter 1921, p. 497; Prothero 1974, pp. 133; Spivak 2014, p. 10.
  6.  Tuñón de Lara 1977, pp. 67–68, 105.
  7.  Tuñón de Lara 1977, pp. 106–108.
  8.  Tuñón de Lara 1977, pp. 108–118.
  9.  Graham 2018, p. 332; Spivak 2014, p. 10.
  10.  Graham 2018, pp. 334–335; Spivak 2014, p. 10.
  11.  Graham 2018, p. 337; van der Walt & Schmidt 2009, p. 155.
  12.  Graham 2018, p. 337; Nomad 1966, p. 69; van der Walt & Schmidt 2009, pp. 154–155.
  13.  Graham 2018, p. 337; Nomad 1966, p. 69.
  14.  Spivak 2014, p. 11; Zimmer 2018, pp. 355–356.
  15.  Damier 2009, pp. 19–20; Niemeyer 1966, p. 100.
  16.  Damier 2009, pp. 17–18; van der Walt & Schmidt 2009, p. 276.
  17.  Nomad 1966, p. 81; van der Walt & Schmidt 2009, p. 276.
  18.  Nomad 1966, pp. 83–84; van der Walt & Schmidt 2009, pp. 181–182.
  19.  Nomad 1966, pp. 85–86; van der Walt & Schmidt 2009, p. 183.
  20.  Nomad 1966, p. 86; van der Walt & Schmidt 2009, p. 183.
  21.  Nomad 1966, p. 87; van der Walt & Schmidt 2009, p. 216.
  22.  van der Walt & Schmidt 2009, pp. 23, 216–217.
  23.  Keith Laybourn, The General Strike of 1926 (1993)
  24.  Sheet Metal Workers' Journal, Amalgamated Sheet Metal Workers' International Alliance, Volumes 24–25, Chicago, Illinois, 1919, pages 265–267
  25.  Niemeyer 1966, pp. 99–100; Spivak 2014, p. 11.
  26.  Bill Haywood, The General Strike (Chicago, n.d.), pamphlet, published by Industrial Workers of the World, from a New York City speech delivered March 16, 1911.
A full list of references for this article are available at the General strike Wikipedia page

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