Chicago idea
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The Chicago idea is an ideology combining anarchism and revolutionary unionism. It was a precursor to anarcho-syndicalism professed by Chicago anarchists, especially Albert Parsons and August Spies, in the mid-1880s.
Description and application
Associated with
The Chicago idea featured prominently in the 1883 Pittsburgh Congress of the International Working People's Association, where the role of revolutionary trade unionism was endorsed but not ultimately reflected in its Pittsburgh Manifesto.[3] Parsons and Spies built a large following for the idea between the 1883 congress and 1886 Haymarket affair, though they did concede their absolute condition that the unions would only pursue revolution instead of reform. Offering immediate reforms was far more agreeable for building wide support.[4]
This ideology shared much in common with what would be called anarcho-syndicalism at the turn of the century. Anarcho-syndicalism advocated for the union as the cell for revolutionary agitation, while similarly spurning central authority and political action. The Chicago idea did not address sabotage or the general strike, though historian
References
- ^ a b Avrich 1984, p. 72.
- ^ Avrich 1984, pp. 72–73.
- ^ Avrich 1984, pp. 73–74.
- ^ a b Avrich 1984, p. 73.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0-691-04711-9.
- Salerno, Sal (1990). "Anarcho-syndicalism". In Buhle, Mari Jo; Buhle, Paul; Georgakas, Dan (eds.). Encyclopedia of the American Left. Garland Reference Library of Social Science (1st ed.). New York: Garland. pp. 38–40. OCLC 20997216.
- Zimmer, Kenyon (2018). "Haymarket and the Rise of Syndicalism". In Levy, Carl; Adams, Matthew S. (eds.). The Palgrave Handbook of Anarchism. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 353–370. ISBN 978-3-319-75619-6.
