Weekend Economists: What Goes Up....June 1-3, 2012

[bread_and_roses]

56. Shades of early 20th Century Spanish Anarchist Collectives!

Years and years ago, reading something by my hero, Noam Chomsky, he threw in an off-hand reference to villages in Spain keeping everyone fed and alive during the privations of the Civil War by acting as a Collective. I had never in those days heard of, read or been taught anything at all - of course - about this particular chapter in human history. (Noam, out of his vast knowledge, will do that now and again - throw in a reference that lingers in the brain - like an off-hand comment in something to the effect that "the Haitians could teach the US a few things about real Democracy" (this one, too, from years and years ago).

I never followed it up with any sort of scholarly discipline, but it lingered and I've noted the few references I came across over the years. Something in one of the WEE digests a few weeks ago brought it back to mind, and I've been sporadically reading on it here and there on-line.

from Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism_in_Spain

... Anarchists played a central role in the fight against Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War.[citation needed] At the same time, a far-reaching social revolution spread throughout Spain, where land and factories were collectivized and controlled by the workers. All remaining social reforms ended in 1939 with the victory of Franco, who had thousands of anarchists executed.

...1936 Revolution
Main article: Spanish Revolution

Along with the fight against fascism was a profound anarchist revolution throughout Spain.

Much of Spain's economy was put under worker control; in anarchist strongholds like Catalonia, the figure was as high as 75%, but lower in areas with heavy socialist influence. Factories were run through worker committees, agrarian areas became collectivized and run as libertarian communes. Even places like hotels, barber shops, and restaurants were collectivized and managed by their workers. George Orwell describes a scene in Aragon during this time period, in his book, Homage to Catalonia:

­"I had dropped more or less by chance into the only community of any size in Western Europe where political consciousness and disbelief in capitalism were more normal than their opposites. Up here in Aragon one was among tens of thousands of people, mainly though not entirely of working-class origin, all living at the same level and mingling on terms of equality. In theory it was perfect equality, and even in practice it was not far from it. There is a sense in which it would be true to say that one was experiencing a foretaste of Socialism, by which I mean that the prevailing mental atmosphere was that of Socialism. Many of the normal motives of civilized life—snobbishness, money-grubbing, fear of the boss, etc.--had simply ceased to exist. The ordinary class-division of society had disappeared to an extent that is almost unthinkable in the money-tainted air of England; there was no one there except the peasants and ourselves, and no one owned anyone else as his master."

The anarchist held areas were run according to the basic principle of "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." In some places, money was entirely eliminated, to be replaced with vouchers. Under this system, goods were often up to a quarter of their previous cost. Many today believe that unemployment and industrial production in Catalonia worsened dramatically after collectivization.[15] Yet this is severely untrue, with industrial productivity doubling almost everywhere across the country and agricultural yields being "30-50%" larger, demonstrated by Emma Goldman, Ausgustin Souchy, Chris Ealham, Eddie Conlon, Daniel Guerin and numerous other sources.

Despite the critics clamoring for maximum efficiency, anarchic communes often produced more than before the collectivization. The newly liberated zones worked on entirely libertarian principles; decisions were made through councils of ordinary citizens without any sort of bureaucracy. (The CNT-FAI leadership was at this time not nearly as radical as the rank and file members responsible for these sweeping changes.)

In addition to the economic revolution, there was a spirit of cultural revolution. For instance, women were allowed to have abortions, and the idea of "free love" became popular. In many ways, this spirit of cultural liberation was similar to that of the "New Left" movements of the 1960s.

I have no idea how accurate the production figures cited in this article are - the sources cited are not exactly disinterested or without ideological agenda. But then, of course, neither is the mainstream economic/social history we are all taught. And Noam's approval speaks loudly to me.

I also liked a slogan of the Anarchists quoted in a different section of the article:

The national focus on Republic and reform led the anarchists to cry

"Before the ballot boxes, social revolution!"

In their view, liberal electoral reforms were futile and undesirable, and impeded the total liberation of the working classes.

(my emphasis added)

I have not read "Homage to Catalona" - should have. Should do so.

When I read the following I thought: "OMFG" - even though I've read Labor History, and Noam, and thus learned that we are are utterly deprived of the real history of the intelligence, energy, and heroism of ordinary working class people - both industrial and agrarian - still, this is stunning.

Just a few snippets:

http://libcom.org/library/collectives-leval-2

CHAPTER V
THE ARAGON FEDERATION OF COLLECTIVES

On February 14 and 15, 1937 the Constitutive Congress of the Aragon Federation of Collectives took place in Caspe, a small town in the province of Saragossa which had been freed of the fascists by forces coming from Catalonia. (1) Twenty-four cantonal federations were represented. The list is as follows...

... (1) Abolition of money within the Collectives and the constitution of a common fund by a general contribution of goods and financial resources for use in exchanges with other regions and countries. A ration book to be issued which will be valid for all collectivists. (2)

(2) The examination of the structures of organisation gave rise to what constituted an innovation, by assigning the most important role to the communal organisation: "We accept the communal organisation because it makes it easier for us to supervise activities as a whole in the villages."

Then the traditional geographic-administrative limits were modified on the basis of the needs of the revolution and the logic of a social economy opposed to the arbitrary and capricious carving up by the historic State.

(3) The text adopted on this subject specified that: "In constituting the cantonal federations, as well as the regional Federation, it will be necessary to eliminate the traditional limits between the villages themselves; on the other hand, all working tools will be held in common and raw materials put at the disposal of Collectives requiring them, without any kind of discrimination."

... The third big theme on the agenda was that of the position to be adopted towards the small landowners who refused to enter the Collectives. A Study Commission had been nominated. It consisted of F. Fernandez of the Canton of Angues, Julio Ayoro of Montono, R. Castro of Alforque, R. Bayo of Gudar, E. Aguilar of Pina, and M. Miro of Ballobar. By six votes to one the following Resolution was proposed by the Commission and adopted by the majority:

(1) The small landowners who wish to remain outside the Collective must therefore consider themselves able to be self-sufficient by their own work; they will therefore not be able to benefit from the services of the Collective. Nevertheless their right to act in this way will be respected on condition that they do not interfere with the interests of the Collective.

(2) All agrarian or urban properties as well as the assets of fascists which have been seized, will be held in usufruct by the workers' organisations that existed at the time of the seizure, o n condition that those organisations accept the Collective.

(3) All the estates of landowners which had hitherto been worked by farmers or share-croppers will be transferred to the Collective.

(4) Any smallholder who has remained outside the Collective will only retain as much land as he can cultivate by his own efforts; the employment of workers is absolutely forbidden.

(my emphasis added)

minor edits for grammar and inadvertent erasures