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WorkersCouncils
and the Economics of a
Self-Managed Society
by Cornelius Castoriadis
Za
bala
za Boo
ks
Know
ledg
eis the Key t
obeFr
ee
!
M M
Post: Postnet Suite 47, Private Bag X1, Fordsburg,
South Africa, 2033E-Mail: [email protected]: www.zabalaza.net
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Workers
Councilsand the Economics of aSelf-Managed Society
by Cornelius Castoriadis
[also known by his pseudonyms: Paul Cardan(English), PierreChaulieu(French)]
Workers Councils M 100
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This book was first published by Paul Cardan (English pseudonym ofCornelius Castoriadis) in 1957. After that is was re-published, with a newPreface, the graphics and annotations (included in this edition), bySolidarity in March 1972. This Zabalaza Books edition is based on the
HTML version released on the web by Lust for Life in November 2006 andincludes the post-notations by Lust for Life. Lust for Life can be contact-ed at
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.Point-of-Departure.org
This edition published August 2007 by:
Zabalaza Books
Post: Postnet Suite 47Private Bag X1FordsburgSouth Africa2033
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.zabalaza.net
Cornelius Castoriadis M 99
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d. The Central Assembly and Its Council ........................................... 68
e. The State, Parties, and Politics .................................................... 73
f. Freedom and Workers Power ........................................................... 75
10. Problems of the Transition ................................................................... 78
Notations by Cornelius Castoriadis (1957) ................................................ 81
As We See It by Solidarity Group (London) ............................................... 87
Annotations by Solidarity Group (1972) ..................................................... 90
Post-Notations by Lust For Life (2006) ...................................................... 93
Cornelius Castoriadis M 97Workers Councils M 4
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0. Our Prefaceby Sol idari ty Group(Londo n); March 1972
To the best of our knowledge there have been no serious attempts by modern lib-
ertarian revolutionaries to grapple with the economic and political problems of a total-
ly self-managed society.
What might the structure, social relations and decision-making institutions of
such a society look like, in an advanced industrial country, in the second half of the
twentieth century? Is the technological basis of modern life so complex that all talkof workers management of production can be dismissed as pure utopia (as both the
beneficiaries - and most of the victims - of the present social order would have us
believe)?
Or, on the contrary, isnt this allegation itself the real mystification? Doesnt his-
torical experience, and in particular the working class experience of recent decades,prove the very opposite? Dont the very advances of science enhance the feasibili-ty of a rational form of social organisation, where real power would lie in the hands
of the producers themselves?
This pamphlet seeks to deal with some of these questions. The events of the last
few years show quite clearly that this is no longer a theoretical preoccupation, relat-
ing to some remote and problematic future. On the contrary, it is a real, immediate
and down-to-earth concern. At any time between now and the end of the century,hundreds of thousands - nay, millions - of men and women may well be confronted
with problems of the kind here discussed. And on the solutions ordinary people may
collectively provide to these problems will depend whether humanity really moves tosomething new, or whether we just exchange one servitude for another.
Let us immediately circumscribe the relevant area. We are not concerned with
Workers Councils M 96
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Workers Councils M 44 Cornelius Castoriadis M 57
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less to a genuine division of labour and more and more to a simple division of tasks.Workers are not allocated to given areas of the productive process because their
professional skills invariably correspond to skills required by management. They
are often placed here rather than there because putting a particular worker in a par-
ticular place at a particular time happens to suit the personnel officer - or the fore-man - or, more prosaically, just because a particular vacancy happened to be going.
Under socialism, factories would have no reason to accept the rigid division oflabour now prevailing. There will be every reason to encourage a rotation of work-
ers between shops and departments - and, between production and office areas.Such a rotation will greatly help workers to manage production in full knowledge of
the relevant facts. [More and more workers will have become familiar at first hand
with what goes on where they work.] The same applies to rotation of work betweenvarious enterprises, and in particular, between producing and utilising units.
The residues of capitalisms division of labour will have gradually to be eliminat-ed. This overlaps with the general problem of education, education not only of the
new generations, but of those adults brought up under the previous system. We
cant go into this problem here.
CentralA
ssemblyi
scompo
sedofre
voca-
ble de
legates,
elected
bythe
General
Assemblies
ofgiven
enterpri
ses,byt
he
General Assem
bliesof
RuralCo
mmunes,
andbyth
eGeneralAss
emblies
ofprofes
-
sionalgr
oupings.
MOST D
ELEGATES
WOULD REMA
IN AT
WORK.
(Rotating
minority
mightensure
continuit
y. Noon
emakesa
professio
nout
ofrepres
entingot
hers.)
CentralA
ssemblyw
ouldmee
tfortwo
days
eachwee
k(orforo
neweeke
achmon
th).
Delegate
sreportb
ackregul
arly(say,
oncea
month)to
General
Assembli
eswhich
elect-
edthem.
Central A
ssemblyelectsi
tsownC
ouncil.
(Alternati
vely,gro
upsofmemb
ersofth
e
CentralA
ssemblym
ight,inrotatio
n,consti-
tutetheC
ouncilof
theCentra
lAssembly,all
members
beinginv
olvedats
omestageor
other.)
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