De Leonism

De Leonism, also known as Marxism-De Leonism,^[1] is a Marxist tendency developed by Curaçaoan-American trade union organizer and Marxist theoretician Daniel De Leon. De Leon was an early leader of the first American socialist political party, the Socialist Labor Party of America (SLP). De Leon introduced the concept of socialist industrial unionism.

According to De Leonist theory, militant industrial unions are the vehicle of class struggle. Industrial unions serving the interests of the proletariat (working class) will be the needed federal republican structure used to establish a socialist system.

While sharing some characteristics of anarcho-syndicalism (the management of workplaces through unions) and with the Socialist Labor Party of America being a member of the predominantly anarcho-syndicalist Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), De Leonism differs from it in that De Leonism, and its leading proponent, the modern SLP, still believe in the necessity of a political party, advocating a constitutional amendment making the union the government of industry. A general union would coordinate production and resource allocation between industries. The party would cease to exist, as would the state, as its goal. No vanguardist elites are provided with a base in Marxist-DeLeonism to scuttle the federal republic.^[2]

^ Epps, Henry (2012). Ethics Vol II: Universal Ethics and Morality. pp. 84–85.
^ "How the Socialist Labor Party Differs from the Industrial Workers of the World".

[1] Epps, Henry (2012). Ethics Vol II: Universal Ethics and Morality. pp. 84–85.

[2] "How the Socialist Labor Party Differs from the Industrial Workers of the World".

[1]

[2]