Collectives in the Spanish Revolution

by Gaston Leval

Gaston Leval’s study brings together two aspects that are generally difficult to unite—analysis and testimony. He visited the towns and villages of revolutionary Spain where people had opted to live a libertarian communist lifestyle almost without precedent in history, collectivizing the land, factories, and social services. Collectives in the Spanish Revolution demonstrates clearly that the working class are perfectly capable of running farms, factories, workshops, and health and public services without bosses or managers. It proves that anarchist methods of organizing, with decisions made from the bottom up, can work effectively in large-scale industry, involving the coordination of many thousands of workers in many hundreds of places of work across numerous cities and towns, as well as broad rural areas. Leval’s history of anarchy in action also gives insight into the creative and constructive power of ordinary people. The Spanish working class not only kept production going throughout the war, but in many cases managed to achieve increases in output. They improved working conditions and created new techniques. They created, out of nothing, an arms industry without which the war against fascism could not have been fought. The revolution also showed that without the competition bred by capitalism, industry can be run in a much more rational manner. Finally it demonstrated how an organized working class has the power to transform society.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Spanish Civil War, Economics, Spain

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

Reviews

[Pushon Bhattacharya · Rating 5 out of 5]

An essential tome on the Spanish revolution with the full scoop on the Libertarian collectives' incredible achievements from region to region. This encompasses everything from bringing electricity and clean drinking water to countryside villages that didn't have them to giving elderly and disabled people life-saving financial aid to smaller achievements like giving people free clothes and haircuts.

[Left_coast_reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a detailed description of the various economic and political transformations that occurred during the Spanish Revolution (1936-1939). Turmoil had been brewing in Spain for some time, culminating in a right wing coups. In the resulting Civil War, various factions battled for influence among the general population, one of them being the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo. This anarchist organization led some of the most impressive reorganizations of public and economic life in towns and cities across Republican-controlled Spain, which continue to inspire long after their defeat.

Villagers would agree to work their land in common, pooling their resources and taking over land abandoned by fascist sympathizers who fled. Decision-making would be done democratically. Usually the collective would decide upon a family wage or ration that would scale with number of children. Everyone was guaranteed food, shelter, and healthcare.

Similar steps were taken in many industrial facilities including hydroelectric dams, as well as public transport in Barcelona and railways in Catalonia. Workers in each enterprise would make decisions democratically, electing delegates and technical experts to form commissions to manage the affairs of the entire enterprise, including raw materials, maintenance, scheduling, technological improvements, employee safety, etc.

Their achievements are inspiring, often increasing output even as they lost many working-age men to the war. In most places, they eliminated hunger and unemployment and extended educational opportunities to children of the peasants and workers, sometimes building the first school the community ever had.

The author often discusses political developments, too. I think his treatment of this is perhaps a bit too simplistic or partisan, even though I'm inclined to agree with his conclusions. But I need to learn more about this time period before opining further.

Overall, the book is inspiring and absolutely bursting with detail. It started to drag a bit toward the end--there's only so many ways you can describe various committees and assemblies.

[Scott Would · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for socialists, Levals book describes the history of the Spanish anarchist/libertarian movement up to the Spanish Civil War, the underlying thought and practice on which the ends of the revolution were founded, and most importantly, the collectivization and socialization achievements of the Spanish working classes. We read about how they worked, in both agrarian and urban industrial settings. While so many of us still rightfully look to the Paris Commune for inspiration, few realize how far surpassed it was by revolutionary Spain. Read this book and discover what a libertarian movement can achieve.

[Alberto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting subject matter, very badly written. Not sure if it is the translation into English, though. The book is probably due for a new edition with a better translation

[Stanisław Stępień · Rating 5 out of 5]

🇪🇸👊🫂🪖🚩

[Ian Chinich · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book there is on the Spanish Revolution and anarchism in practice. There are currently no competitors.

[Will Caraccio · Rating 5 out of 5]

he’s the goat