Issue #0

The Anarchist collectives

workers' self-management in the Spanish Revolution, 1936-1939

Plot

The Anarchist Collectives reveals a very different understanding of the nature of radical social change and the means of achieving it. Sam Dolgoff, editor of the best anthology of Bakunin's writings, has now produced an excellent documentary history of the Anarchist collective in Spain. Although there is a vast literature on the Spanish Civil War, this is the first book in English that is devoted to the experiments in workers' self-management, both urban and rural, which constituted one of the most remarkable social revolutions in modern history. - Paul Avrich The eyewitness reports and commentary presented in this highly important study reveal a different understanding of the nature of socialism and the means for achieving it. - Noam Chomsky Table of Contents Introduction, by Murray Bookchin Part One: Background 1. The Spanish Revolution The Two Revolutions The Trend Towards Workers' Self-Management 2. The Libertarian Tradition The Rural Collectivist Tradition The Anarchist Influence The Political and Economic Organization of Society 3. Historical Notes The Prologue to Revolution The Counter-Revolution and the Destruction of the Collectives 4. The Limitations of the Revolution Part Two: The Social Revolution 5. The Economics of Revolution Economic Structure and Coordination A Note on the Difficult Problems of Reconstruction Money and Exchange 6. Workers' Self-Management in Industry 7. Urban Collectivization Collectivization in Catalonia The Collectivization of the Metal and Munitions Industry The Collectivization of the Optical Industry The Socialization of Health Services Industrial Collectivization in Alcoy Control of Industries in the North 8. The Revolution of the Land 9. The Coordination of Collectives The Peasant Federation of Levant The Aragon Federation of Collectives: The First Congress 10. The Rural Collectives A Journey Through Aragon The Collectivization in Graus Libertarian Communism in Alcora The Collective in Binefar Miralcampo and Azuqueca Collectivization in Carcagente Collectivization in Magdalena de Pulpis The Collective in Mas de Las Matas 11. An Evaluation of the Anarchist Collectives The Characteristics of the Libertarian Collectives Conclusion Bibliography Index Appendix Photographs and Posters