De Leonism, occasionally known as Marxism–De Leonism, is a form of syndicalist Marxism[1] developed by Daniel De Leon. De Leon combined the rising theories of 
syndicalism in his time with 
orthodox Marxism. According to De Leonist theory, militant industrial unions (specialized trade unions) 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.
However, in difference from other lib-left ideologies, De Leonism also believes in a political party that should, if possible, get to power by democratic elections and when in power, the unions and workers will take control of society peacefully through the passive revolution - a revolution that will be bloodless, because there isnt a state opposing this revolution. When this happens, the state will pretty quickly be unnecessary and will desintegrate itself.
History
De Leon settled in New York City, studying at Columbia University. He was a 
Georgist socialist during the 1886 Mayoral campaign of Henry George and in 1890 joined the Socialist Labor Party, becoming the editor of its newspaper, The People.
De Leon became a Marxist in the late 1880s, and argued for the revolutionary overthrow of 
capitalism, trying to divert the SLP away from its Lassallian outlook.
De Leon was highly critical of the trade union movement in America and described the craft-oriented American Federation of Labor as the "American Separation of Labor". At this early stage in De Leon's development, there was still a considerable remnant of the general unionist Knights of Labor in existence, and the SLP worked within it until being driven out. This resulted in the formation of the Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance (ST&LA) in 1895, which was dominated by the SLP.
By the early 20th Century, the SLP was declining in numbers, with first the Social Democratic Party and then the Socialist Party of America becoming the leading leftist political force in America (as these splinter groups embraced capitalist reforms). De Leon was an important figure in the US labor movement, and in 1904 he attended the International Socialist Congress, held in Amsterdam. Under the influence of the American Labor Union (ALU), he changed his politics around this time to put more focus on industrial unionism, and the ballot as a purely destructive weapon, in contrast to his earlier view of political organization as 'sword' and industrial union as 'shield'. He worked with the ALU in the founding of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in 1905. His participation in this organization was short-lived and acrimonious. After DeLeon's death, his ideology was carried on by the SLP with little success, although they had a brief moment in the 60s when disaffected left wing youth were looking for a party to join, the "dogmatic" leadership eventually caused most of that membership to drift away (they even alienated multi-time Presidential candidate Eric Hass into leaving the party). By the time their national office closed in 2008, they had a grand total of 77 members.
Personality
De Leonists are rare on the net (due to the younger ones closing in on age 80), but once you find one, you'll find out that they're comparable to syndicalists; a huge love for industrial unionism, the arming of workers for defence, and will tend to think of the gool 'ol days when trade unionist socialist parties used to be popular (compared to our time).
De Leonists are chill with most 
LeftComs and 
Anarchists, on the other hand, they're usually are very critical of 
"bureaucratic state despotists" and 
"bourgeois socialists." This is because of both ideologies inability to lead a true workers revolution with either an elitist vanguard party or trying to reform capitalism, respectively.
How to Draw
- Draw a circle.
- Fill it with red.
- Draw a yellow circle inside.
- Draw a silhouette of a muscular arm holding a hammer in yellow (#D8C306) inside the circle and fill the silhouette in.
| Color Name | HEX | RGB | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red | #C9261F | 201, 38, 31 | |
| Yellow | #D8C306 | 216, 195, 6 | |
Relations
Friends
Marxism - The best ideology.
Syndicalism - The best way to do socialism.
Anarcho-Syndicalism - MAKE CATALONIA GREAT AGAIN!
Council Communism - Were we separated at birth?
Frenemies
National Syndicalism - You say you're Syndicalism, but you're too close to 
Corporatism.
Enemies
Capitalism - STOP EXPLOITING THE WORKERS!
Fascism - You have NOTHING to do with syndicalism you statist!
Marxism–Leninism - Too much STATE control you're just state capitalism!
Stalinism - AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Social Democracy - HAHAHAHA, you actually think that capitalism can be reformed?? Cute.
Further Information
Literature
- Reform or Revolution? (1896) by Daniel De Leon
- What Means This Strike? (1898) by Daniel De Leon
- Socialism vs Anarchism (1901) by Daniel De Leon
- Two Pages from Roman History (1903) by Daniel De Leon
- The Burning Question of Trade Unionism (1904) by Daniel De Leon
- DeLeon Replies ... (1904) by Daniel De Leon
- Socialist Reconstruction of Society (1905) by Daniel De Leon
Wikipedia
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