Marxism and the trade unions

“In the history of the Marxist movement, there have been two political issue, or “questions,” that have been the source of exceptionally persistent controversy, spanning more than a century. One is the “national question” and the other is the “trade union” question.

What is the reason for the persistence of these questions and what is the relation, if any, between the two? I think the answer is to be found in a study of the historical conditions within which the modern workers’ movement emerged…”

(from Marxism and the trade unions)

The trade unions have been incapable of defending the working class against the onslaught of capital. Inasmuch as this failure has been demonstrated over several decades on and international scale, one is led inescapably to search for its objective causes — both in the socio-economic environment within which the trade unions now exist and even more fundamentally, in the essential nature of the trade unions themselves.