The cat was stolen but given back well-fed : the systems of rank-and-file industrial and local democracy in anarchist areas of Spain 1936 – 1939

Abstract

This study examines the general-assemblies and technical-administrative committees in anarchist-controlled areas of Spain during the Spanish Civil War. These assemblies and committees existed in urban industry, agricultural collectives, and local governance. I shall therefore examine the assembly-committee dual-structures in the context of urban and agricultural economy, and in local governance.

The main guideline used in finding material and presenting it in this thesis, was finding direct quotations, rather than second-hand quotations. This is because the reader can then get the most accurate picture of the situation, and the text in this thesis avoids possible misrepresentation of the source material.

Findings of the thesis indicate that the general-assemblies and technical-administrative committees improved productivity of work, working conditions and public services. Argument in this thesis is that this was possible due to that structure allowing greater flow of information, courage for innovation, consultation of technical experts and freedom to assign resources more rationally. At the psychological level, argument in this thesis is that the structure reduced apathy and increased engagement, initiative, and morale of rank-and-file members of organizations.