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== History == | == History == | ||
Trade unions are seen by some as the successor to the [[Guild|guilds]] of medieval Europe, although this is disputed. Trade unions first emerged in the late 1700s in Northwest Europe (notably Britain) with the rise of the industrial revolution and capitalism. | Trade unions are seen by some as the successor to the [[Guild|guilds]] of medieval Europe, although this is disputed. Trade unions first emerged in the late 1700s in Northwest Europe (notably Britain) with the rise of the industrial revolution and capitalism. | ||
With the rise of neoliberalism in the 1970s and 1980s, many states began to place strong legal restrictions on trade unions due them peaking at their power, leading to several violent confrontations. | |||
== Philosophical Debates == | == Philosophical Debates == | ||
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== Criticism == | == Criticism == | ||
=== Co-Opation === | |||
Many leftists have argued that trade unions, being entities clearly visible to capitalists and the state, are vulnerable to [[co-optation]], rendering them supports of the system and the entities that destroy radical movements. | |||
=== Workerism === | === Workerism === | ||
Revision as of 16:17, 13 December 2019
Trade Unions are organizations which (in theory) represent the interests of workers as opposed to bosses.
History
Trade unions are seen by some as the successor to the guilds of medieval Europe, although this is disputed. Trade unions first emerged in the late 1700s in Northwest Europe (notably Britain) with the rise of the industrial revolution and capitalism.
With the rise of neoliberalism in the 1970s and 1980s, many states began to place strong legal restrictions on trade unions due them peaking at their power, leading to several violent confrontations.
Philosophical Debates
Industrial vs Craft Unionism
Electoralism
Criticism
Co-Opation
Many leftists have argued that trade unions, being entities clearly visible to capitalists and the state, are vulnerable to co-optation, rendering them supports of the system and the entities that destroy radical movements.
Workerism
Trade unions have been accused by some as workerist, being unable to account for people who do not work (ie the unemployed, homemakers, children, teenagers, students, the elderly, the disabled and prisoners, who make up around 40% of the population of most western countries).