Page:The Social General Strike - Arnold Roller (1912).djvu/18



So far we have only considered the General Strike idea as a fighting method; it was only investigated from its negative point of view, from the side destructive to the capitalistic order of society. If, however, this General Strike idea were concluded with this, if it were no more than a mere fighting method, it certainly would not deserve the name of a final method, certainly then thousands of proletarians in France and Spain would not call themselves "Greve-Generalistes " in France, and "Huelga Generalistas" in Spain; that means "General Striker."

Again we confront the proof of the fact that no theory creates practice, but vice versa, practice creates theory; or to be more precise, it is not the ideal of the future, the conceptual form of society which causes the struggle; the ideals of a reorganisation of society have crystallised from the struggle spontaneously.

We see this clearly in the theory of Anarchism, which was created by the struggle against the centralistic dictatorship of the general council of the "International." The alliance of the "Social Democracy" (that is what the Bakunistic opposition called themselves at that time) opposed the centralistic dictatorship of the Marxists within the International by the autonomic federations and free organisations of the Federalists and Communists. In this manner the theories of both factions developed from their tactics and their inner organisations. The Centralists of the International are the Social Democrats of to-day, and the Federalists became the Anarchists. Just as from the practice of the strikes resulted the theories and the practice of the General Strike, so there formed itself from the practice of propaganda, and the diffusion of the General Strike idea, a new view of things, a new organisation, a new structure for the day after the victorious General Strike.

Because strikes are mostly caused by Trade Unionists, it is quite natural that the General Strike idea is mostly propagated in Trade Unions. So it is consequently logical that after the victorious Social General Strike, the Trade Unions already organised will be and should be those who take production as well as the rebuilding of society into their hands.

The fundamental thought from the beginning was that the common people immediately after the victory should go to their meeting halls, working men's exchanges and their economic organisations, in order to seize through them the means of production.

Each Trade Union enters upon production in its particular branch