Developed by Daniel De Leon (December 14, 1852 – May 11, 1914) was born in Curaçao. ...Daniel De Leon, Marxism_Deleonism is a form of Marxism is the political practice and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century German philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, along with Friedrich Engels. ...Marxism.

De Leon combined the rising theories of Syndicalism is a political and economic ideology which advocates giving control of both industry and government to labor union federations. ...Syndicalism in his time with Separate articles treat Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Orthodox Judaism. ...orthodox Marxism. According to DeLeonist theory, militant Industrial unionism is a labor union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union __ regardless of skill or trade __ thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in bargaining and in strike situations. ...Industrial Unions are the vehicle of class struggle. Industrial Unions serving the interests of the " The proletariat (from Latin proles, offspring) is a term used to identify a lower social class; a member of such a class is called a proletarian. ...proletariat" (working class) will bring about the change needed to establish a The color red and particularly the red flag are traditional symbols of Socialism. ...socialist system. How this differs from Anarcho_syndicalist flag. ...Anarcho_Syndicalism is that, according to DeLeonist thinking, a revolutionary political party is also necessary to fight for the proletariat on the political field.

According to the De Leonist theory, workers would simultaneously form Socialist Industrial Unions in the workplaces, and form a socialist political party which would organize in the political realm. Upon achieving sufficient support for a victory at the polls, the political party would be voted into office, giving the De Leonist program a mandate from the people. It is assumed that at that point, the Socialist Industrial Unions will have attained sufficient strength in the workplaces for workers there to take control of the means of production. The De Leonist victory at the polls would be accompanied by a transfer of control of the factories, mines, farms and other means of production to workers councils organized within the industrial unions. De Leonists distinguish this event from the A general strike is a strike action by an entire labour force in a city, region or country. ...general strike to take control of the workplaces advocated by anarcho_syndicalists, and refer to it instead as a general lockout of the ruling class, although in reality the two concepts are very similar.

The existing government would then be replaced with a government elected from within the Socialist Industrial Unions, and the newly elected socialist government would quickly enact whatever constitutional amendments or other changes in the structure of government needed to bring this about. Workers on the shop floor would elect local shop floor committees needed to continue production, and representatives to local and national councils representing their particular industry. Workers would also elect representatives to a central congress, called an All_Industrial Congress, which would effectively function as the national government. These representatives would be subject to a recall vote at any time. De Leonism would thus reorganize the national government along industrial lines with representatives elected by industry, not by geographic location.

De Leonism lies outside the Vladimir Lenin in 1920 Leninism is a political and economic theory which builds upon Marxism (a form of Communism); it is a branch of Marxism (and it has been the dominant branch of Marxism in the world since the 1920s). ...Leninist tradition of Communism is a term that can refer to one of several things: a social and economic system, an ideology which supports that system, or a political movement that wishes to implement that system. ...communism. De Leonists are generally opposed to the policies of the former The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) .( Russian: Сою́з Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик (СССР)  listen?; tr. ...Soviet Union, The Great Wall of China, stretching over 6,700 km, was erected beginning in the 3rd century BC to guard the north from raids by men on horses. ...China, and other Communist Bloc countries and do not consider them socialist, but rather There are multiple definitions of the term state capitalism. ...state capitalist. The highly decentralized and democratic nature of the proposed De Leonist government is in contrast to the Democratic centralism is a political concept referring to the governance of political parties and groups. ...democratic centralism of Vladimir Lenin in 1920 Leninism is a political and economic theory which builds upon Marxism; it is a branch of Marxism (and it has been the dominant branch of Marxism in the world since the 1920s). ...Marxism_Leninism and what they see as the dictatorial nature of the former Soviet Union. De Leonists believe their proposed system of government, not the In the context of revolutionary struggle, vanguardism is a strategy whereby an organization (usually a political party) attempts to place itself at the center of the movement, and steer it in a direction consistent with its ideology. ...vanguardism of Marxism_Leninism, is the true representation of what Marx meant by a "dictatorship of the proletariat." Lenin initially acknowleged the influence of Daniel De Leon's theories during the setting up of Soviet redirects here. ...Soviets (workers councils) after the The phrase Russian Revolution can refer to three specific events in the history of Imperial Russia. ...Russian Revolution, but also criticized De Leonism as one of several Left Communism is a term describing a whole range of communist viewpoints which oppose the political ideas of the Bolsheviks from a position which is asserted to be more authentically Marxist and proletarian than the views held by the Communist International after its first two Congresses. ...left communist tendencies which he considered unworkable (see, for example, Lenin's book Left Wing Communism: An Infantile Disorder.)

The success of the De Leonist plan depends on achieving majority support among the people both in the workplaces and at the polls, in contrast to the Leninist notion that a small A vanguard party is a political party at the forefront of an action or movement, often seeking to create a single_party state. ...vanguard party should lead the working class to carry out the revolution. De Leonism is criticized by some other Marxists for this reason, and the term "impossibilists" has sometimes been applied to De Leonists, implying that their chance of success is nil.

De Leonist political parties have also been criticized for being overly dogmatic and sectarian. Despite their rejection of Leninism and vanguardism, De Leonism also lies outside the Democratic socialism is a political movement propagating the ideals of socialism within the framework of a parliamentary democracy. ...democratic socialist tradition. Daniel De Leon and other De Leonist writers have issued frequent polemics against democratic socialist movements, especially the The Socialist Party of America is a socialist political party in the United States. ...United States Socialist Party, and consider them to be "reformist" or "bourgeois socialist." De Leonists have traditionally refrained from any activity or alliances viewed by them as trying to reform capitalism, such as social justice movements, preferring instead to concentrate solely on the twin tasks of building support for a De Leonist political party and organizing Socialist Industrial Unions. They have had little success at either, and De Leonist political parties remain quite small.

DeLeonist Political Parties

• The Socialist Labor Party of America (SLP) is the oldest socialist political party in the United States and the second oldest socialist party in the world. ...Socialist Labor Party (USA)
• The New Union Party (NUP) was founded in 1980 by defectors from the Socialist Labor Party of America (SLP). ...New Union Party

External Links

• DeLeonism.org (http://www.deleonism.org/)