Self-management

In the literal sense, self-management means management by oneself: of the Greek cars “oneself” and of Latin gestĭo , “to manage”. Its postulates are the suppression of any distinction between leaders and directed, the transparency and the legitimacy of the decisions, it not appropriation by some of the richnesses produced by the collective, the assertion of the aptitude of human to organize itself without leader. It is not limited to the only economic field.

History

Historically, this practice was developed by the Workers' associations of the beginnings of the industrial revolution then adopted by the First International Worker (International association of the workers or A) (“the emancipation of the workers will be the work of the workers themselves”), conceptualized by Pierre Joseph Proudhon and the anarchistic, by the liberal and for a few years this word has been with the honor in the companies (autonomy or semi-autonomy - controlled by the hierarchy - personal work, but certainly not administrative capacity on the company and its sales turnover). There exists however of many examples of self-managed companies as the mine of Tower Colliery in the Wales or the French network of the working cooperative society of production SCOP which represents more than 1200 companies and more than 20000 paid. More recently still, the countries Latin-American, under the effect of social crises and economic, illustrate a new development of self-management with the reappropriation of companies abandoned or put in bankruptcy by their owners, in particular in Argentina with for example the Zanon company, where the watchword was " Resistir, Occupar, Producir". The Zapatist communities of Mexico and their self-governments are another face of the self-management practice. But it is the Yugoslav marshal Tito which made register self-management in the constitution of this country. Quite front him, the Commune of Paris (1871), Russia of the Soviets (1917), republican Spain of 1936 to 1938, the kibbutzes of Israel, decolonized Algeria, etc… fed the practices and the debates on self-management.

Part of the trade union movement also adapted the model of self-management, and, since, forsook it (CFDT). Another part was always hostile there, for strategic or ideological reasons (FO, CGT). However, only references trade-union contemporary to self-management remain minority, confined primarily with trade unions of European Public Service Union Interdependent (union to which trade unions CUS belong), with the current École Émancipée and CNT.

Lastly, a certain number of various collectives and companies always adopt self-management like democratic method and finality: free squats, radios, bookstores, co-operatives…

Practical

The basic condition is that the members of a project give up thinking, wanting and deciding for the others, but are centered on the contrary on what they want for themselves, which they fully assume upon the departure the character personal and located their requests, their statute of participants.

Usual structural cleavages between “chiefs” and “participants” disappear upon the departure, on the levels economic, political, Idéologique and psychological; at least it is about an intention. The basic principle being the search for Consensus. It should however be reaffirmed that self-management is characterized by a deep plurality, as well in its tools of decisions, as in its structures (association, scoop, limited liability company…) or in its finality (coadministration, hétérogestion, abolition of wage-earning…).

A self-managed project must obtain structures making it possible each participant to make known and to be worth its interests. Self-management does not imply an absence of rules, but that the rules are decided by the people concerned. To find a consensus satisfactory is a process which in general requires much time of discussion, but the final decision being appropriate to the interested parties, it will be more easily applicable.

Self-management is especially defended by the political currents claiming Anarchie, conseillism, libertarian Communisme, or Trade unionism-revolutionist. The French trade union movement with the CFDT proposes with its congress 1970 an alternative to the capitalist company: the self-management of the companies. Socialist currents (PSU, Objective Socialist, CERES) or resulting from the trotskysme (AMR) also claim self-management. After the adhesion of Michel Rocard and militants PSU, the Socialist party in favor of self-management socialism in the 1970, qu years ' he proclaimed himself tried to define in the " fifteen theses on the autogestion" June 21st and 22nd 1975, without calling into question the immediate objectives of the common program. After having fought it, the PCF adopts this set of themes by a solemn declaration addressed to CFDT on November 7th, 1977. It registers self-management socialism in its statutes at the time of XXIIIe Congrès in 1979. The self-management ideas moved back with the socialist prospect and the " recentrage" CFDT. Today they are still carried by small formations: CNT, anarchistic Federation, SCALP, libertarian communist Organization, Alternate the, Alternate libertarian, Militant, Union of the anarchists…

To a certain extent, one can regard Wikipédia as the first self-managed encyclopedia.

Experiments of self-management

One of the experiments of self-management took place in republican Spain in 1936 - 1939, mainly in Catalogne and Aragon. This experiment was of anarchistic inspiration . The communist , largely instrumentalized by the Soviet Union, reflect there fine in the majority of the cases in 1937, in order to reorientate the economy of the country towards the continuation of the war and to reduce the influence of the anarchists. The last experiments stopped with the victory of Franco. The results were very variable according to the cases, but one can say that it was in general a success in agriculture and a failure in industry. It should however be announced that very often, the raw materials and/or the traditional outlets for trade of the factories were in nationalist Spain, which can explain the encountered problems. The brevity of these experiments (most frequently of a few months) does not make it possible to draw from final decisions on their long-term results.

One can also quote the Yugoslav experiment, from which it is necessary to distinguish two parts: during the first, centralizing and etatist (of end of the year 50 at the Seventies), the State centralizes information and sends orders to industries. The workmen are supposed to manage the company to answer this order, it thus does not act of a model of market. In the second part, on the contrary, the workmen organize themselves as would do it a liberal company: they define the production, the market is free, etc

Other examples:

  • Jansiac (the Nave of Insane)
  • the Coach
  • Lip
  • Municipalidades exits of the Revolt of Chiapas (1994)
  • Recovery of factories, schools, hospital by workmen in Argentinian as from 2001. See documentary Naomi Klein " the take" 2004.
  • co-operatives of Mondragon. See film of Anne Argouse and Hugues Peyret " Fagor and Brandt" , ww.antoinemartinprod.com/

Criticisms of self-management

August 1st

Internal bonds

External bonds

  • Autogestion.coop, site on the self-managed practices
  • All the chiefs are wrong!
  • Debate on the debates
  • history of CFDT
  • construction project of ideas per vote on Internet
  • Self-management of projects in line - Gate anarchistic

Experiments of self-management:

  • the Québécois camping of youth
  • the Large one' Puffs out, self-management forum
  • the Barge, self-managed company
  • Lycée self-managed of Paris

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