Ours to master and to own – Workers’ Control from the Commune to the Present

From the dawning of the industrial epoch, wage earners have organized themselves into unions, fought bitter strikes, and have gone so far as to challenge the very premises of the system by creating institutions of democratic self-management aimed at controlling production without bosses. Looking at specific examples drawn from every corner of the globe and every period of modern history, this pathbreaking volume comprehensively traces this often under-appreciated historical tradition.

Ripe with lessons drawn from historical and contemporary struggles for workers’ control, Ours to Master and to Own is essential reading for those struggling to bring to birth a new world from the ashes of the old.

Reviews

Ours to Master and to Own is the most substantive and comprehensive work on workers control and self management today. I strongly recommend this work, which provides examples drawn from throughout the world of workers struggling for justice and power.
—Gary Younge, Columnist, The Guardian and The Nation. Author, Who We Are and Should It Matter in the 21st Century (Penguin/Viking)

The seemingly logical and just idea that workers themselves should make the decisions regarding and reap the benefits of their labor has always been a fraught concept with the potential to topple or reform whole societies … This ambitious, copiously researched and clearly written text provides a sweeping diversity of examples, analyzed with cool detachment from the specific politics but with underlying passion for the larger concept.
—Kari Lydersen, author of Revolt on Goose Island: The Chicago Factory Takeover and What it Says About the Economic Crisis (Melville House Books, 2009)

With the global capitalist order entering a period of crisis, but also with the dramatic increase in worker’s struggles especially in the global South, this collection is extremely opportune. Workers will seek greater control over market forces and workers councils are bound to re-emerge. A must read for labour analysts and activists alike.
—Ronaldo Munck is theme leader for internationalization and social development at Dublin City University and visiting Professor of Sociology at the University of Liverpool

Ness and Azzellini have made a major contribution in producing this insightful and exciting collection of essays on the question of workers control … I didn’t even have to open the book to know it is timely and offers great strategic insight.
—Bill Fletcher, Jr., Visiting Scholar, Center for Place, Culture & Politics, CUNY; editorial board, BlackCommentator.com; co-founder, Center for Labor Renewal; immediate past president, TransAfrica Forum; co-author, Solidarity Divided.

Excellent! A very complete, serious and inspiring account of the movements for workers control and their difficulties. There is no doubt that it should become a standard point of reference for future discussions, and actions.
—John Holloway is author of Crack Capitalism, (Pluto, 2010) and Change the World Without Taking Power, (Pluto, 2010)