But we see another division which is just as important; that between authoritarian (revolutionary or reformistic) and libertarian socialists. The former believing that it is the states responsibility for society's administration either through a proletarian dictatorship or by elected representatives.
Often the concept of libertarian socialism is used as being synonymous with syndicalism for example George Woodcocks description of "the very nature of the libertarian attitude - its rejection of dogma, its deliberate avoidance of rigidly systematic theory and, above all, its stress on extreme freedom of choice and on the primacy of the individual judgement".
But a libertarian socialism can be regarded in many different ways - as anarchism, or as libertarian communism according to Kropotkin's thoughts. What is specific for syndicalism is the view on workers unions as a means both for revolution and the administration of production. Syndicalism is therefore a libertarian socialism but also something more. Notwithstanding that nowadays syndicalism is not dominant within the workers movement in any country it is in our opinion indispensable: it is through the syndicalist organisations that the visions of true emancipation is kept alive. The defeat of capitalism demands class consciousness and the capability to fight, but to build up a free society the individuals personal sense of responsibility is more important. Only syndicalism unites both these elements.
Source: "Syndikalismen (En grundbok)", Federativs Forlag.
SAC - The Syndicalists Central Organization of Swedish Workers Box 6507 113 83 Stockholm - Sweden Tel: +46 (8) 6735272 Fax: +46 (8) 6730345 international.committee@sac.se