Syndicalisme is a French word meaning "trade unionism". This milder version of syndicalism was overshadowed by revolutionary Anarcho-syndicalism in the early 20th century, which was most powerful in Spain, but also appeared in other parts of the world.
Starting shortly before World War I, especially in latin countries of Europe and the Americas, several former theorists and militants of syndicalism moved to Nationalism and Authoritarianism giving birth to a nationalist-syndicalist tendency who strongly influenced Fascism and Corporatism. Georges Sorel and Robert Michels are the most prominents among them.
In a model syndicalist community, the local syndicate communicates with other syndicates through the bourse de travail (labour exchange), which manages and transfers commodities.
Syndicalism is one of the three most common ideologies of egalitarian, pre-managed economic and labor structure, together with Socialism and Communism. It states, on an ethical basis, that all participants in an organized trade internally share equal ownership of its production and therefore deserve equal earnings and benefits within that trade, regardless of position or duty. By contrast, socialism emphasises distributing output among trades as required by each trade, not necessarily considering how trades organize internally. Both syndicalism and socialism are compatible with Privatism, unlike communism. Communism rejects government-sanctioned private ownership and private earnings in favor of making all property legally public, and therefore directly and solely managed by the people themselves.
Syndicalists often form alliances with other workers' movements, including Socialism, Communism, and Anarchism.