De Leonism
Encyclopedia
De Leonism, occasionally known as Marxism-Deleonism, is a form of syndicalist
Marxism
developed by Daniel De Leon
. De Leon was an early leader of the first United States
socialist political party, the Socialist Labor Party of America
.
De Leon combined the rising theories of syndicalism
in his time with orthodox Marxism
. According to De Leonist theory, militant industrial unions
(specialized trade union
s) are the vehicle of class struggle
. Industrial Unions serving the interests of the proletariat
(working class
) will bring about the change needed to establish a socialist system
. The only way this differs from some currents in anarcho-syndicalism
is that, according to De Leonist thinking, a revolutionary political party is also necessary to fight for the proletariat on the political field.
The De Leonist victory at the polls would be accompanied by a transfer of control of the factories, mines, farms and other means of production
to workers councils organized within the industrial unions. De Leonists distinguish this event from the general strike
to take control of the workplaces advocated by anarcho-syndicalists, and refer to it instead as a general lockout of the ruling class.
The existing government would then be replaced with a government elected from within the Socialist Industrial Unions, and the newly elected socialist government would quickly enact whatever constitutional amendments or other changes in the structure of government needed to bring this about, adjourning "sine die". Workers on the shop floor would elect local shop floor committee
s needed to continue production, and representatives to local and national councils representing their particular industry.
Workers would also elect representatives to a central congress
, called an All-Industrial Congress, which would effectively function as the national government
. These representatives would be subject to a recall vote
at any time. De Leonism would thus reorganize the national government along industrial lines with representatives elected by industry, not by geographic location.
tradition of communism
. Its adherents are generally opposed to the policies of the former Soviet Union
, and those of the People's Republic of China
, and other communist state
s, and do not consider them socialist, but rather state capitalist
or following 'bureaucratic state despotism'. The highly decentralized
and democratic
nature of the proposed De Leonist government is in contrast to the democratic centralism
of Marxism–Leninism and what they see as the dictatorial
nature of the Soviet Union.
The success of the De Leonist plan depends on achieving majority support among the people both in the workplaces and at the polls, in contrast to the Leninist notion that a small vanguard party
should lead the working class to carry out the revolution. De Leonism's stance against reformism means that it is referred to by the label 'impossibilist
', along with the Socialist Party of Great Britain
.
De Leonist political parties have also been criticized for being allegedly overly dogma
tic and sectarian
. Despite their rejection of Leninism and vanguardism, De Leonism also lies outside the 'democratic socialist
and social democratic
tradition. Daniel De Leon and other De Leonist writers have issued frequent polemics against democratic socialist movements, especially the Socialist Party of America
, and consider them to be reformist
or "bourgeois
socialist". De Leonists have traditionally refrained from any activity or alliances viewed by them as trying to reform capitalism
, though the Socialist Labor Party in De Leon's time was active during strikes and such, such as social justice
movements, preferring instead to concentrate solely on the twin tasks of building support for a De Leonist political party and organizing Socialist Industrial Unions.
Syndicalism
Syndicalism is a type of economic system proposed as a replacement for capitalism and an alternative to state socialism, which uses federations of collectivised trade unions or industrial unions...
Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
developed by Daniel De Leon
Daniel De Leon
Daniel DeLeon was an American socialist newspaper editor, politician, Marxist theoretician, and trade union organizer. He is regarded as the forefather of the idea of revolutionary industrial unionism and was the leading figure in the Socialist Labor Party of America from 1890 until the time of...
. De Leon was an early leader of the first United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
socialist political party, the Socialist Labor Party of America
Socialist Labor Party of America
The Socialist Labor Party of America , established in 1876 as the Workingmen's Party, is the oldest socialist political party in the United States and the second oldest socialist party in the world. Originally known as the Workingmen's Party of America, the party changed its name in 1877 and has...
.
De Leon combined the rising theories of syndicalism
Syndicalism
Syndicalism is a type of economic system proposed as a replacement for capitalism and an alternative to state socialism, which uses federations of collectivised trade unions or industrial unions...
in his time with orthodox Marxism
Orthodox Marxism
Orthodox Marxism is the term used to describe the version of Marxism which emerged after the death of Karl Marx and acted as the official philosophy of the Second International up to the First World War and of the Third International thereafter...
. According to De Leonist theory, militant industrial unions
Industrial unionism
Industrial unionism is a labor union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union—regardless of skill or trade—thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in bargaining and in strike situations...
(specialized trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s) are the vehicle of class struggle
Class struggle
Class struggle is the active expression of a class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote "The [written] history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle"....
. Industrial Unions serving the interests of the proletariat
Proletariat
The proletariat is a term used to identify a lower social class, usually the working class; a member of such a class is proletarian...
(working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
) will bring about the change needed to establish a socialist system
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
. The only way this differs from some currents in anarcho-syndicalism
Anarcho-syndicalism
Anarcho-syndicalism is a branch of anarchism which focuses on the labour movement. The word syndicalism comes from the French word syndicat which means trade union , from the Latin word syndicus which in turn comes from the Greek word σύνδικος which means caretaker of an issue...
is that, according to De Leonist thinking, a revolutionary political party is also necessary to fight for the proletariat on the political field.
Tactics
According to the De Leonist theory, workers would simultaneously form Socialist Industrial Unions in the workplaces, and a socialist political party which would organize in the political realm. Upon achieving sufficient support for a victory at the polls, the political party would be voted into office, giving the De Leonist program a mandate from the people. It is assumed that at that point, the Socialist Industrial Unions will have attained sufficient strength in the workplaces for workers there to take control of the means of production.The De Leonist victory at the polls would be accompanied by a transfer of control of the factories, mines, farms and other means of production
Means of production
Means of production refers to physical, non-human inputs used in production—the factories, machines, and tools used to produce wealth — along with both infrastructural capital and natural capital. This includes the classical factors of production minus financial capital and minus human capital...
to workers councils organized within the industrial unions. De Leonists distinguish this event from the general strike
General strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
to take control of the workplaces advocated by anarcho-syndicalists, and refer to it instead as a general lockout of the ruling class.
The existing government would then be replaced with a government elected from within the Socialist Industrial Unions, and the newly elected socialist government would quickly enact whatever constitutional amendments or other changes in the structure of government needed to bring this about, adjourning "sine die". Workers on the shop floor would elect local shop floor committee
Committee
A committee is a type of small deliberative assembly that is usually intended to remain subordinate to another, larger deliberative assembly—which when organized so that action on committee requires a vote by all its entitled members, is called the "Committee of the Whole"...
s needed to continue production, and representatives to local and national councils representing their particular industry.
Workers would also elect representatives to a central congress
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different nations, constituent states, independent organizations , or groups....
, called an All-Industrial Congress, which would effectively function as the national government
Central government
A central government also known as a national government, union government and in federal states, the federal government, is the government at the level of the nation-state. The structure of central governments varies from institution to institution...
. These representatives would be subject to a recall vote
Recall election
A recall election is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office through a direct vote before his or her term has ended...
at any time. De Leonism would thus reorganize the national government along industrial lines with representatives elected by industry, not by geographic location.
Comparison to other forms of socialism
De Leonism lies outside the LeninistLeninism
In Marxist philosophy, Leninism is the body of political theory for the democratic organisation of a revolutionary vanguard party, and the achievement of a direct-democracy dictatorship of the proletariat, as political prelude to the establishment of socialism...
tradition of communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. Its adherents are generally opposed to the policies of the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, and those of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, and other communist state
Communist state
A communist state is a state with a form of government characterized by single-party rule or dominant-party rule of a communist party and a professed allegiance to a Leninist or Marxist-Leninist communist ideology as the guiding principle of the state...
s, and do not consider them socialist, but rather state capitalist
State capitalism
The term State capitalism has various meanings, but is usually described as commercial economic activity undertaken by the state with management of the productive forces in a capitalist manner, even if the state is nominally socialist. State capitalism is usually characterized by the dominance or...
or following 'bureaucratic state despotism'. The highly decentralized
Decentralization
__FORCETOC__Decentralization or decentralisation is the process of dispersing decision-making governance closer to the people and/or citizens. It includes the dispersal of administration or governance in sectors or areas like engineering, management science, political science, political economy,...
and democratic
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
nature of the proposed De Leonist government is in contrast to the democratic centralism
Democratic centralism
Democratic centralism is the name given to the principles of internal organization used by Leninist political parties, and the term is sometimes used as a synonym for any Leninist policy inside a political party...
of Marxism–Leninism and what they see as the dictatorial
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
nature of the Soviet Union.
The success of the De Leonist plan depends on achieving majority support among the people both in the workplaces and at the polls, in contrast to the Leninist notion that a small vanguard party
Vanguard party
A vanguard party is a political party at the forefront of a mass action, movement, or revolution. The idea of a vanguard party has its origins in the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels...
should lead the working class to carry out the revolution. De Leonism's stance against reformism means that it is referred to by the label 'impossibilist
Impossibilism
Impossibilism is an interpretation of Marxism. It emphasizes the limited value of reforms in overturning capitalism and insists on revolutionary political action as the only reliable method of bringing about socialism.-Origins of the concept:...
', along with the Socialist Party of Great Britain
Socialist Party of Great Britain
The Socialist Party of Great Britain , is a small Marxist political party within the impossibilist tradition. It is best known for its advocacy of using the ballot box for revolutionary purposes; opposition to reformism; and its early adoption of the theory of state capitalism to describe the...
.
De Leonist political parties have also been criticized for being allegedly overly dogma
Dogma
Dogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, or a particular group or organization. It is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted, or diverged from, by the practitioners or believers...
tic and sectarian
Sectarianism
Sectarianism, according to one definition, is bigotry, discrimination or hatred arising from attaching importance to perceived differences between subdivisions within a group, such as between different denominations of a religion, class, regional or factions of a political movement.The ideological...
. Despite their rejection of Leninism and vanguardism, De Leonism also lies outside the 'democratic socialist
Democratic socialism
Democratic socialism is a description used by various socialist movements and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation...
and social democratic
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
tradition. Daniel De Leon and other De Leonist writers have issued frequent polemics against democratic socialist movements, especially the Socialist Party of America
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
, and consider them to be reformist
Reformism
Reformism is the belief that gradual democratic changes in a society can ultimately change a society's fundamental economic relations and political structures...
or "bourgeois
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
socialist". De Leonists have traditionally refrained from any activity or alliances viewed by them as trying to reform capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
, though the Socialist Labor Party in De Leon's time was active during strikes and such, such as social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
movements, preferring instead to concentrate solely on the twin tasks of building support for a De Leonist political party and organizing Socialist Industrial Unions.
Political parties
- Socialist Labor Party of AmericaSocialist Labor Party of AmericaThe Socialist Labor Party of America , established in 1876 as the Workingmen's Party, is the oldest socialist political party in the United States and the second oldest socialist party in the world. Originally known as the Workingmen's Party of America, the party changed its name in 1877 and has...
- Industrial Union PartyIndustrial Union PartyThe Industrial Union Party was a US DeLeonist political party. The party proclaimed itself on 7 July 1933 at 1032 Prospect Avenue, Bronx, Branch headquarters of its predecessor Industrial Union League...
- League for Socialist ReconstructionLeague for Socialist ReconstructionLeague for Socialist Reconstruction was a DeLeonist political organization with sections in New York City and Michigan. Joseph Brandon, Louis Lazarowitz, Sam Brandon and other LSR members had been active in the Industrial Union Party after mass expulsion of the Socialist Labor Party's Section...
- New Union PartyNew Union PartyThe New Union Party is a small political party in the United States. It was originally formed in 1974 as the New Unionists, several of whom had been members of Section Minneapolis of Socialist Labor Party of America . As with many such departures since the 1920s, they claimed SLP had become...
- Socialist Labour Party (UK, 1903)Socialist Labour Party (UK, 1903)The Socialist Labour Party was a socialist political party in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1903 as a splinter from the Social Democratic Federation by James Connolly, Neil Maclean and SDF members impressed with the politics of the American socialist Daniel De Leon, a Marxist...
- Socialist Labour Party (Canada)Socialist Labour Party (Canada)The Socialist Labour Party was a political party in Canada that was formed by Canadian supporters of the ideas of American socialist Daniel De Leon and the Socialist Labor Party of America. The party never won any seats...