Syndicate
Encyclopedia
A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies or entities formed to transact some specific business, or to promote a common interest or in the case of criminals, to engage in organized crime. The term is also associated with anarchist theory, specifically anarcho-syndicalism
, in which it forms an alternative to both the nation state and capitalist corporations.
The word syndicate comes from the French
word syndicat which means trade union
(syndic
meaning administrator), from the Latin
word syndicus which in turn comes from the Greek
word σύνδικος (syndikos) which means caretaker of an issue, compare to ombudsman
or representative
.
.
Anarcho-syndicalism
Anarcho-syndicalism is a branch of anarchism which focuses on the labour movement. The word syndicalism comes from the French word syndicat which means trade union , from the Latin word syndicus which in turn comes from the Greek word σύνδικος which means caretaker of an issue...
, in which it forms an alternative to both the nation state and capitalist corporations.
The word syndicate comes from the French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
word syndicat which means trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
(syndic
Syndic
Syndic , a term applied in certain countries to an officer of government with varying powers, and secondly to a representative or delegate of a university, institution or other corporation, entrusted with special functions or powers.The meaning which underlies both applications is that of...
meaning administrator), from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
word syndicus which in turn comes from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
word σύνδικος (syndikos) which means caretaker of an issue, compare to ombudsman
Ombudsman
An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...
or representative
Representation (politics)
In politics, representation describes how some individuals stand in for others or a group of others, for a certain time period. Representation usually refers to representative democracies, where elected officials nominally speak for their constituents in the legislature...
.
Crime syndicates
Crime syndicates are criminal organizations 'running common illegal big businesses'.Finance
In finance, a group of banks lending, for a specific purpose and to one single borrower, a usually large amount of money is referred to as a bank syndicate or often only as a syndicate.Worker-managed enterprise
Anarchists, syndicalists and other libertarian socialists use the word "syndicate" to refer to an enterprise democratically managed by its workers. Such an enterprise is governed by a face-to-face meeting of everyone who works there, in which each worker has one vote. Either there are no managers, or the managers are democratically elected and recallable. In either case, the most important decisions are made collectively by the whole workforce. This is known as workers' self-managementWorkers' self-management
Worker self-management is a form of workplace decision-making in which the workers themselves agree on choices instead of an owner or traditional supervisor telling workers what to do, how to do it and where to do it...
.