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Council communism
The Shop Steward
«Factories to the workers, not to the party.»
Anti-authoritarian Marxism: power must pass to councils elected in factories and neighborhoods, not to a vanguard party or the state.
In short
On the traditional scale, this ideology sits in the far left camp. The clearest positions are on economy: strongly towards “equality”; religion: strongly towards “secularism”; democracy: strongly towards “direct democracy”; sovereignty: strongly towards “integration”. On environment it stays balanced. Among the other ideologies, the closest is anarcho-syndicalism (99%).
Principles
- Elected, recallable workers' councils
- Critique of the leading party
- Self-managed production
Power goes to councils elected by workers, with no vanguard party and no central state.
Common criticisms
Where it comes from
It grew out of the workers' councils in Germany and Italy after World War I, with thinkers like Anton Pannekoek.
Key figures: Rosa Luxemburg, Antonio Gramsci
Further reading: Workers' Councils — Anton Pannekoek
Position on the 13 axes
Similar ideologies
Anarcho-syndicalismThe Revolutionary Unionist99%Anarcho-communismThe Communard97%Libertarian socialismThe Self-Manager96%Closest parties in Europe
PodemosSpain91%
Rifondazione ComunistaItaly89%
La France InsoumiseFrance88%
RazemPoland88%Closest figures
Positions are estimates based on documented ideas, platforms and actions, updated to October 2026.