Feeley, Francis
The French Anarchist Labor Movement and "La Vie Ouvrière", 1909-1914

This study discusses the origins, structure, purpose and protagonists of the anarcho-syndicalist journal and evaluates how the latter responded to the socio-political conditions surrounding the journal's inception. The revolutionary syndicalists who came thogether at the office of 'la Vie Ouvrière' sought (1) to promote the anarchist doctrine of 'direct action;' (2) to combat the effects of militarism, nationalism, and authoritarianism; and, (3) to ultimately replace the political economy of capitalism with a socialist economy governed by the producers themselves. The core members of 'La Vie Ouvrière' found direction in the slogan of the First International Workingmen's Association, which was founded in London in 1864: 'The emancipation of the working class must be the work of the workers themselves'. Until the outbreak of the First World War, this was the project of the French Anarchist Labor Movement and its organ, 'La Vie Ouvrière'. This study sets out to discuss the origins and protagonists as well as the structure and purpose of the journal against the backdrop of the abovementioned crisis of anarcho-syndicalism. Instead of dealing with the eventual failure of the project or with the legacy of its overarching movement, the study strictly focuses on the societal, economic and political conditions surrounding the journal's inception and evaluates its protagonists' subsequent efforts, thereby gaining insights into how well-informed revolutionaries of early twentieth-century France responded to the changes in their environment. XIX,155 Seiten mit 13 Tafeln, gebunden (American University Studies. Series IX: History; Vol. 112/Peter Lang Verlag 1991) Mängelexemplar/near mint