Oh God, oh shit, I said I wasn't going to do it. I said I wasn't going to start a China struggle session. Already getting flashbacks to the Discord.

But something just doesn't sit right with me and wanted to get some clarification here...

My question is this: why does China ban labor organizing/unions?

Is this yikes/intentional/actually a good thing?

(Yeah, I do know that labor unions are not always unequivocally good and sometimes they act more like middle management than as representatives of the workers... but democratizing the workplace seems like a no-brainer for any socialist project.)

Thoughts?

  • gammison [none/use name]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Yeah the legit Socialists in it were basically forced out due to the martial law declaration, and it got coopted after that. The CIA AFAIK only funded some people in it after this had already happened, support tricked in starting in 1983, and nearly all funds were only dispersed starting in 1988, years after the ban and left factions had been forced out. In fact the CIA tried to hasten this by funding moderates in solidarity, excluding the far left factions.

    • skollontai [any]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Exaaaactly. Don't tell Joey, but any serious analysis of the failure of Solidarity is pretty much done before the CIA seriously engaged. The issues involved relate a lot more to internal politics and democracy. You're more likely to find an explanation for why Solidarity went bad in Union Democracy: The Inside Politics of the International Typographical Union or the trials and travails of the CIO than you are in the CIA archives.