Libertarian Collectivisations in Spain (1936-1939): A case of worker self-management in the modern history

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the libertarian collectivisations developed during the Spanish civil war (1936–1938). The examination of this historical experience is relevant to social psychology (the power of social situation), labour psychology (the workers’ participation), and political psychology (ideology and collective action). The structure, organization, and internal functioning of the collectivisations are described and an explanation is given to account why this collectivistic movement is widely ignored in the literature. Some possible implications of this anarchist experience both for the current organization of industry and society in the present neoliberal hegemony as well as for research on the individualism-collectivism dimension are suggested.