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title = "syndicalism in the 21st century"
summary = "syndicalism is dead because the labor industry is dead. it's been replaced by the service industry today"
date = 2018-01-03T19:42:00-06:00
source = "https://mastodon.social/@trwnh/99289017794408922"
+++

> Is syndicalism relevant in the 21st century?

there's a reason why crimethinc call themselves an "ex"-worker collective. syndicalism is dead because the labor industry is dead. it's been replaced by the service industry today. factories are either on the decline or they're being exported. so i guess in that sense, syndicalism can still live in china, or wherever else production is a significant part of the economy so that a general strike can bring it to its knees

or, alternatively, i suppose all food servers and retail employees could go on strike but the capitalist powers have created an abundance of unemployed people ready to bust that strike

i see it as much more likely that the masses will revolt wholesale, before any trade-unionist path could ever make itself viable again

very likely within the next 20 years, and almost certainly by the end of the century. too many crises are coming to a head "by 2040, 2050, 2080, 2100" etc. natural and anthropogenic conflicts will arise more easily than ever before

to be clear: organizing workers is still the most effective way forward; unionism can help but isn't an effective avenue for change anymore compared to agitation. but there's only so much we can gain by lobbying for labor standards; we need to push for fundamental transformation of the entirety of class relations