Council Communism

Council Communism, also called Dutch-German Left Communism, or simply Councilism , is a particular strain of left communism that emphasizes the role of worker's councils in organizing both the revolution itself and as a foundation of post-capitalist society. This direct proletarian control over production and distribution (Where the councils take democratic control over the economy) is seen by Council Communists as the true character of the dictatorship of the proletariat.

Beliefs
Council communists differ widely on the specifics, but they all agree that, generally, decisions should be made via council democracy.

Council Communism, at its core, believes in the establishment of a dictatorship of the proletariat by means of a network of workers' council. Council Communism rejects Leninist organizational methods, such as vanguardism and democratic centralism. Despite this, not all council communists reject utilizing a party all together, as some believe in a party serving a minor role in the revolution. Council Communism also rejects reformist methods and working within trade unions.

Most council communists also view the Bolshevik revolution as a bourgeois, not proletarian, revolution, and saw the Soviet Union as a State Capitalist project, rather than a  Socialist one, or one moving towards Socialism.

Council Communists/Dutch-German Left Communists differ from Italian Left Communists on the idea of the party. This can be seen in Pannekoek's Party and Class and Bordiga's work with the same name. The Dutch-Germans emphasise on autonomous organisations for the working class, in contrast, the Italians uphold the role of the party in leading the working class.

It must be noted that there is a difference between Councilism and Council Communism/Dutch-German Left Communism as a whole. Councilism refers to Unionism, which was inspired by the IWW and later became the sole official ideology of the AAUD(General Workers' Union of Germany), it advocated for the same ideas the IWW had. Dutch-German Left Communism refers to the Communist Left in the Comintern, which advocated for a vanguard party, though not in the Leninist sense.

Personality
Council Communism, like the name, implies really likes councils and will usually insist other leftists to get into a Council together before deciding anything.

How to Draw
Councom_flag.svg


 * 1) Draw a ball with eyes
 * 2) Make it red
 * 3) In the middle draw a black circle with a red star in it
 * 4) Around the circle draw 9 black bars forming a circle.

You're done

Friends

 * [[File:Ormarxf.png]] Marxism - If only more people understood what you said.
 * [[File:Luxem.png]] Luxemburgism - We worked in the 2nd International against Kautsky.
 * [[File:Marxfem.png]] Marxist Feminism - No democracy can exist unless everyone has an equal voice.
 * [[File:Falgsc.png]] Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism - It is time for mankind to ensure itself of material abundance by establishing a free, self-managed world-society of productive labor, thereby freeing its mental powers for perfecting its knowledge of nature and the universe.
 * [[File:Situ.png]] Situationism - My based son who uses fancy jargon and criticizes consumerism.
 * [[File:Deleon.png]] De Leonism - You are cool but your tactics aren't sufficient in bringing about communism.

Frenemies

 * [[File:LeftCom.png]] Left Communism - While we are friends, you are still a Leninist and you agree with the Comintern's criticism of me.

Enemies

 * [[File:Synd.png]] Syndicalism - Trade unions are useless in the struggle against capital!
 * [[File:Darwinist.png]] Social Darwinism - You have falsified actual Darwinist theory!
 * [[File:Ancom.png]] Anarcho-Communism - Even if you proclaim yourselves to be against capital, your acts can only destroy the strength of the workers' movement!
 * [[File:Guildsoc.png]] Guild Socialism - Reactionary!
 * [[File:Lib.png]] Liberalism - Your democracy is only a tyranny of the minority!
 * [[File:Socdem.png]] Social Democracy - You killed Rosa.
 * [[File:HoChiMinh.png]] Ho Chi Minh Thought - You cracked down on us and the Trotskyists! Luckily enough Ngo Van was able to flee from the scene.
 * [[File:Nazi.png]] National Socialism - Cope harder, you can't unburn the Reichstag.
 * [[File:Centmarxf.png]] Centrist Marxism - You forgot your Marxism at home.
 * [[File:ML.png]] Marxism–Leninism - You are merely a natural conclusion of Blanquism.
 * [[File:Orthlen.png]] Leninism - The renegade Kautsky of course has his own disciples.
 * Technocracy.png Scientocracy_Small.png Nooc.png [[File:Merit.png]] The intellectuals - Social organization does not depend on qualities of the intellect of a minority. What intellectuals bring along to social organization is only the haughty prejudices of the capitalist class!
 * [[File:Natcom.png]] National Communism - No to National-Communism!
 * [[File:Fut2.png]] Futurism - I like being sane, thank you very much.

Literature

 * The Radical Tradition: A Study in Modern Revolutionary Thought by Richard Gombin.
 * Worker's Councils by Anton Pannekoek
 * Fundamental Principles of Communist Production and Distribution by the GIK
 * Open Letter to Comrade Lenin by Hermann Gorter
 * The German Revolution - First Stage by Anton Pannekoek
 * The Revolution is Not a Party Affair by Otto Rühle
 * The Council Communist Reader by Radical Reprints
 * Marx and Keynes by Paul Mattick

Wikipedia

 * Council Communism
 * Workers' council
 * Filippo Otto Rühle
 * Anton Pannekoek
 * Paul Mattick

Videos

 * Council Communism by TogetherRed