men of the building trades, the transport-workers, and the miners. In November, 1910, the English Syndicalists held their first conference in Manchester at which 60,000 workers were represented. Since then their numbers have undoubtedly increased and new industrial groups have been gained. The recent strikes in England show that at least Syndicalist forms of organization and methods are forced upon the working-men by the powerful combinations of employers and by the rather ambiguous policy of the Government. The further development of Syndicalism in England will depend on the success with which the convinced Syndicalists will be able to "bore from within" and to steer the 'Trade-Unions in the direction of the new doctrine, while the success of their efforts will depend on economic and political conditions.

In America the specter of Syndicalism first appeared in the Lawrence strike. The American Syndicalists, the Industrial Workers of the World, who directed the strike in Lawrence, have been attracting more and more attention since and have been trying to make Syndicalism a factor in American life. American Syndicalism should not be regarded as an importation from France. Of course, American Syndicalists have been more or less in contact with French Syndicalists, but the movement has grown up on American soil and can be traced back to the Knights of Labor. The latter had already formed a vague idea of industrial organization which is so actively propagated by the Industrial Workers of the World. Craft Unionism, however, carried the day in America after 1886, and achieved marked success in the development of the American Federation of Labor. The idea of Industrial Unionism, nevertheless, never died out, and in recent years has been gaining ground under the influence of favorable economic conditions. Finding support among Socialist working-men, the idea of Industrial Unionism was combined with the Socialist conception, and a theory resembling French Syndicalism in the most essential points was the result. This theory was made the basis of the programme adopted by the I. W. W. in 1905.

The Industrial Workers of the World differ, however, from the French Syndicalists in their attitude toward the General Strike. The former conceive the Social Revolution not as a stoppage from work, but as a "staying at work."1 According

1 There is, however, a growing number of Industrial Workers who defend the idea of the Social General Strike.

to this idea the working-men will one day declare the means of production common property, but, instead of leaving the factories, will stay there to continue production on a Socialist basis. The difference, however, is rather verbal, for any act having for its purpose such a tremendous change will lead to the interruption of industrial activities at least for some time. The I. W. W. are, besides, more in favor of passive resistance and of other forms of struggle which, though less demonstrative and noisy than the methods of the French Syndicalists, are believed to give the workers a strategic advantage over employers.

Syndicalism is primarily a working-class movement having for its end the solution of the labor problem. But its plans are so far-reaching and involve such profound social changes that society as a whole is necessarily affected. What has, then, Syndicalism to offer to those classes of society which are not occupied in manual labor?

The Syndicalists have recently given some attention to this problem. They have solved it by extending the meaning of labor so as to include all productive work. Teachers, doctors, artists, clerks, and the like have been organized into Syndicats and have joined the army of organized workers. The Syndicalists propose to organize in the same way all those who do some useful work for society, or, as they express it, to "Syndicalize" society. Their idea is to transform society into a federation of self-governing productive groups working together for the benefit of all with instruments belonging to society as a whole and under the supreme control of the community.

From the political point of view, therefore, Syndicalism must be regarded as an attempt to transform the existing political state into an industrial federation. Syndicalism hopes thereby to do away with the arbitrary and coercive aspects of the modern State and to inaugurate an era of expert public service when every man will do his share of the work of society in that field alone in which his knowledge and skill are greatest.

Syndicalism is ready to fight any organization opposed to it and ambitious to absorb all that are friendly to it. It must, therefore, necessarily arouse the hostility not only of the conservative elements of society, but even of reformers and political Socialists.

THE STANDPOINT OF SYNDICALISM'

The standpoint of Syndicalism is clear and definite. Syndicalism expressly denies the possibility of industrial peace under existing conditions, frankly proclaims its determination to carry on industrial warfare as long as the present economic system exists, and firmly believes that only the realization of its own program will establish industrial peace on a permanent and secure basis.

Syndicalism arrives at its first conclusion by an analysis of existing economic conditions. The fact which is untiringly emphasized in the Syndicalist analysis is the objective antagonistic position of those engaged in modern industry. The owners of the means of production directly or indirectly running their business for their private ends are interested in everincreasing profits and in higher returns. The workingmen, on the other hand, who passively carry on productive operations are anxious to obtain the highest possible price for their laborpower which is their only source of livelihood. Between these two economic categories friction is inevitable, because profits ever feed on wages, while wages incessantly encroach upon profits, and because the passive wage earners shake off now and then their submissiveness and reach out for more control over industrial conditions, while the owners and directors of industry resent the interference of the workers.

From this twofold antagonism, rooted in the structure of modern economic society, struggle must ever spring anew, and this is the reason why all schemes and plans to avoid industrial conflicts fail so lamentably. Even the conservative trades unions, based on the idea that the interests of labor and capital are identical, are forced by circumstances to act contrary to their own profession of faith. Organizations, like the Civic Federation, are doomed to impotency. Boards of conciliation and arbitration work most unsatisfactorily and can show but few and insignificant results. If arbitration is once in a while successfully resorted to, it is only when the menace of a great and dangerous industrial conflict stares the community in the face. But the threat of a strike is as much a manifestation of industrial peace, as the mobilization of troops on the frontier is a manifestation of international peace.

1 By Louis Levine. Annals of the American Academy. 44:114-19. November, 1912.

It is preposterous-argue the Syndicalists-to attribute the acute character of our industrial conflicts to "pernicious agitators," socialists, anarchists, and "turbulent" individuals generally. Would a miracle still be possible in our sceptical age, and should all these "undesirable" elements be rushed to Heaven on a fiery chariot, our world would still remain a battleground of opposed interests. One must ignore the elementary facts of human psychology to believe that a few individuals, however gifted and energetic, could move large masses of men to action unless the conditions in which these masses lived prompted them to follow these leaders. And one must be blinded by hopeless optimism to believe that all the employers will one day become benevolent and "inspired" and will joyfully hand out to the workers all that the latter may demand, thus removing all occasions for mutual ill feeling and conflict.

The most that can be achieved by benevolent effort as long as the basis of modern economic life remains unchanged is to mitigate now and then the violent character of the industrial. struggle and to ward off a conflict here and there. But the result is hardly commensurate with the energy spent, while the principal aim of these efforts-industrial security and peace— is not attained. As is shown by experience, conflict mitigated once becomes more violent the next time, and warded off at one point breaks out at ten other points. All efforts, therefore, to establish industrial peace under existing conditions result at best in the most miserable kind of social patchwork which but reveals in more striking nudity the irreconcilable contradictions inherent in modern economic organization.

There is but one logical conclusion from the point of view of Syndicalism. If industrial peace is made impossible by modern economic institutions, the latter must be done away with and industrial peace must be secured by a fundamental change in social organization. At the root of the struggle between capital and labor is the private ownership of the means of production which results in the autocratic or oligarchic direction of industry and in inequality of distribution. The way to secure industrial peace is to remove the fundamental cause of industrial war, that is, to make the means of production common property, to put the management of industry on a truly democratic basis and to equalize distribution.

In general terms the program of Syndicalism may not seem to differ in any respect from that of socialism, and, in fact,

socialism and Syndicalism have many points in common. Yet there is an essential difference. The Syndicalist analysis of modern society emphasizes a point which is not prominent in socialism and which leads to important differences in their constructive programs. That point is the question of control. While the socialist lays emphasis on what he considers the exploitation-features of capitalistic society, the Syndicalist lays no less emphasis on the relations of authority and freedom in economic life, on the aspect of direction and management in industry. The Syndicalist finds that this is one of the sources of industrial troubles in the present, and he is convinced that a proper solution of this aspect of the social problem is essential for industrial peace. He can not agree with the socialist that the concentration of the economic functions of society in the hands of the state represented by a government elected on the basis of territorial representation is the proper and adequate solution of the problem. The Syndicalist distrusts the state and believes that political forms and institutions have outlived their usefulness and can not be adapted to new social relations. The Syndicalist program for the future, in so far as it is definite and clear, contains the outlines of an industrial society—the basis of which is the industrial union and the subdivisions of which are federations of unions and federations of federations. The direction of industry, in this ideal system, is decentralized in such a manner that each industrial part of society has the control only of those economic functions for the intelligent performance of which it is especially fitted by experience, training, and industrial position.

The Syndicalist is convinced that until his program is carried out, industrial peace is impossible. To one who believes in the eternal character of existing economic institutions such a pessimistic conclusion could not but be a source of grief and regret. But the Syndicalist, guided by the idea of social revolution, feels differently. While he may regret the suffering and social disturbance which follow in the train of industrial struggles, he sees in the latter another aspect which is to him a source of gratification and hope. This other aspect is what he considers the organizing and constructive power of the industrial struggle-its creative force.

The creative force of the industrial struggle, according to the Syndicalist, manifests itself in a series of economic and moral phenomena which, taken together, must have far-reach