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The Anarchist Collectives: Workers' Self-Management in Spain 1936-39
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The Anarchist Collectives: Workers' Self-Management in Spain 1936-39 Customer Reviews
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A nice collection of material on a little known side of the Spanish "Civil War"
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This is an odd but interesting volume. Sam Dolgoff edits a volume, using primary sources, to discuss a little known aspect of the Spanish Civil War. Indeed, partisans would say that the term "Civil War" is wrong, and that what is described in this volume is actually a "Revolution."
The work begins with a useful essay by Murray Bookchin on the Spanish context. He outlines the dizzying array of groups with a stake in the conflict between the Republic and General Franco's forces. The focus of this book is the anarchist collectives--and how they functioned--after the start of the Civil War/Revolution until the eventual triumph of Franco and his allies.
The first part of the book is a set of readings that Dolgoff puts together to present the background and context of the "Revolution" (anarchists describe the conflict as a "Revolution," while others use the term "Civil War"). Among subjects covered: the trend toward workers' self-management (also referred to as syndicalism), the rural collectivist tradition, and so on.
The heart of the book is a set of essays by actors of the time (as well as some quick essays by Dolgoff himself): Augustin Souchy, Diego Abad de Santillan, Gaston Leval, and Jose Peirats). Focal points include urban collectivization (e.g., the efforts by the anarchist unions to collectivize Barcelona) and rural collectives.
This volume ends with an essay by Gaston Laval written many years ago as well as a concluding essay by Dolgoff.
The work is useful, as it describes what was going on in parts of Spain that were not often reported upon by reporters or others at the time. George Orwell (if memory serves) was with POUM, the Trotskyite organization), although he wrote of the anarchists in his "Homage to Catalonia." It provides a somewhat different perspective on the events in Spain in the mid-1930s that helps fill out the picture of the desperate struggle between different groups--from fascists to Republicans to various Marxist groups to anarchists. A fascinating period of time. . . . Too sanguinary for my tastes, but still fascinating.
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