← Back to home

League For Industrial Democracy

Let's not pretend this is an article. It's more like a historical footnote, really. But if you insist on dressing it up, fine. Just try not to expect miracles.

The League for Industrial Democracy (LID): A Legacy of Shifting Ideals

The League for Industrial Democracy (LID) emerged in 1921, a successor organization to the Intercollegiate Socialist Society. The rebranding wasn't merely cosmetic; it signaled a deliberate evolution, a desire to cast a wider net and embrace a more encompassing organizational philosophy. It was a move from the theoretical to the… well, slightly less theoretical.

Background: The Seeds of the Intercollegiate Socialist Society

Before the LID, there was the Intercollegiate Socialist Society (ISS), established in 1905. This was the brainchild of some rather… passionate individuals, including Upton Sinclair, Walter Lippmann, Clarence Darrow, and Jack London. Their stated objective was to illuminate the global movement known as socialism, that grand experiment in "industrial democracy." It was, in essence, an attempt to inject a dose of radical thought into the hallowed halls of academia, a bold move in its time.

The Metamorphosis: A Name Change, A Broader Vision

By the spring of 1921, the ISS found itself at a crossroads. A vote was held, a decision made. Harry W. Laidler, a key figure, announced the members' endorsement of a name and purpose revision. This wasn't just about shedding an old skin; it was about embracing a new identity. In November of that year, the organization officially became the League for Industrial Democracy, significantly broadening its operational horizon beyond the collegiate sphere. Their new mantra was a declaration of intent: "Education for a New Social Order Based on Production for Public Use and Not for Private Profit." A noble, if somewhat ambitious, aspiration.

The Early Decades: Tackling the Underside of Progress

In its formative years, the LID, under the guidance of luminaries like Robert Morss Lovett, Charles P. Steinmetz, Florence Kelley, and Stuart Chase, set its sights on the more egregious societal ills of the era. Poverty, the scourge of child labor, the grim realities of exploitative working conditions, and the squalor of inadequate housing were all targets. It became a nexus for the left-leaning intelligentsia, a gathering place for those who would later be known as Muckrakers.

The Great Depression of the 1930s saw the LID pivot, organizing radio stations and broadcasts that amplified the messages of the New Deal. Throughout its existence, the LID positioned itself as a staunch advocate for the labor movement, viewing it as a force for progress often misunderstood by the intellectual elite. Their aim was to bridge this perceived chasm, to champion "education for increasing democracy in our economic, political, and cultural life." A lofty goal, certainly.

In 1939, the esteemed philosopher John Dewey assumed the presidency of the LID, lending his considerable intellectual weight to the organization.

Contemporary Focus: A Global Gaze

Today, the LID's affiliates are predominantly anti-communist, channeling their efforts into democracy-building initiatives in regions like Eastern Europe, Africa, and Central America. Their domestic agenda, it seems, has become something of a secondary concern.

The Student Affiliates: A Tumultuous Relationship

The LID's presence on university campuses experienced a decline until the economic devastation of the Great Depression reignited radical student activism. In 1933, the collegiate arm was reorganized, becoming the autonomous Student League for Industrial Democracy (SLID). This student group, in a move that might seem paradoxical now, merged with the Communist National Student League in 1935, forming the popular front American Student Union. LID's direct campus engagement remained somewhat subdued until 1946, when the Student League for Industrial Democracy was re-established.

Students for a Democratic Society: A Departure

January 1, 1960, marked a significant turning point: the SLID rebranded itself as the Students for a Democratic Society, embarking on a decidedly more radical trajectory. By July 1962, a notable schism occurred between the then-chair Michael Harrington and Tom Kahn on one side, and Tom Hayden and Alan Haber on the other. The point of contention was the Port Huron Statement, particularly its:

  • Suggestion that the labor movement had become too apathetic to be a reliable engine of change.
  • Advocacy for participatory democracy and a general distrust of formal leadership structures, which were viewed as potentially undemocratic and lacking accountability.
  • Failure to explicitly exclude communists from its vision of the New Left.

By 1965, SDS had severed ties with the LID. The SDS itself eventually dissolved in 1969, having been subsumed by Maoist factions, some of whom embraced and practiced political terrorism. A rather dramatic end to a movement that began with such earnest intentions.

References

  • Arnesen, Eric. Encyclopedia of U.S. Labor and Working-class History, Volume 1. Taylor & Francis. p. 795.
  • The New York Times, January 28, 1919.
  • a b "I.S.S. Gives Way to New League for Democracy". New York Call. November 19, 1921.
  • a b Brick and Clay Record: A Semi-monthly Record of the World's Progress in Clayworking..., Volume 68. 1926. p. 852.
  • "PLAN TO WIN STUDENTS TO 'NEW SOCIAL ORDER'; League for Industrial Democracy Speaker Calls Agricultural 'Bloc' Communistic". New York Times. January 1, 1922.
  • Machinists' Monthly Journal. Official Organ of the International Association of Machinists, 1922.
  • Encyclopedia of Associations, Section 9, Public Affairs Organizations, 1989.
  • The Cambridge Companion to Dewey, edited by Molly Cochran. Cambridge University Press, 2010. p. xvii.
  • AIFLD in Central America: Agents as Organizers (Albuquerque, NM: The Resource Center, 1987).
  • a b Gitlin, Todd (1993). The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage. Bantam. pp. 377–409. ISBN 9780553372120.

Sources

  • Bernard K. Johnpoll and Mark R. Yerburgh (eds.), The League for Industrial Democracy: A Documentary History. In three volumes. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1980.
  • Kirkpatrick Sale, SDS. New York: Random House, 1973.

External links

  • League for Industrial Democracy
  • Intercollegiate Socialist Society (1905 - 1921). Online documents at Early American Marxism site. Retrieved August 23, 2006.
  • Thirty-five years of educational pioneering; L.I.D. celebrates past achievements and asks "Where do we go from here?"
  • Forty years of education, the task ahead
  • The L.I.D.: fifty years of democratic education, 1905-1955.
  • The challenge of change and conflict in American society The proceedings of the 70th annual conference of the League for Industrial Democracy held in New York City on May 2 and 3, 1975.
  • Guide to League for Industrial Democracy. Pamphlets, 1922-1978. 5266. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Martin P. Catherwood Library, Cornell University.
  • League for Industrial Democracy Records at Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Archives.

Authority control databases

  • International
    • ISNI
    • VIAF
    • GND
    • FAST
    • WorldCat
  • National
    • United States
    • Australia
    • Norway
    • Greece
    • Poland
    • Israel
    • Catalonia
  • Academics
    • CiNii
  • People
    • Trove
  • Other
    • SNAC
    • Yale LUX