What can we learn from the Spanish experience of collectivisation, and how, if at all, can we put it in to practice in the 21st Century.
The Spanish experience of collectivisation was built on strong anarcho-syndicalist and libertarian communist ideas. We don't have anything approaching that tradition here. However the 'tradition' didn't appear from nowhere. If we look back to the formation of the CNT in 1911 and in particular their Madrid conference in 1919 where libertarian communism was explicitly adopted as the unions ideology then we can see the seeds of revolutionary transformation being sown. Again in 1932 the idea of collectivisation was pushed to the fore by Isaac Puente who argued for communalism as a grass roots movement capable of completely sweeping away capitalism in Spain, and also, importantly, as a movement which could be capable of defending that revolution.
Now the situation for workers is very different in the UK in 2003 but the relative results of capitalist rule are the same for all workers: exploitation; poverty; poor housing; ill health etc. etc. It's this common experience that could become the focus for working class resistance again.
If we accept that it took the Spanish anarchists 25 years of hard agitation and organising (although anarchism in Spain goes back far beyond that) how long would it take British anarchists in an age of almost instant communication to achieve that level of preparation?
It's easy to fall into resignation, believing we could never realistically hope to achieve that level of revolutionary agitation now. I disagree because for all the daily brainwashing that goes on in the media, billboards, schools etc capitalism is still brittle. Hit it in the right places and it will fall.
For anarchists a strategic alliance between all workers around shared
experience is only a starting point for a long term strategy for complete
reappropriation of land and resources.
If we reject the route of collectivisation then what alternatives do we have to offer? Some might say that anarchists shouldn't be wasting their time thinking about the post revolutionary utopia; the people will choose their own forms of organisation.
However the Spanish experience shows that agitating and organising around certain principles pre-revolution can work, even if it was only for a short inspiring period that time.
So what are the alternatives for a long term anarchist strategy now?
he he!!) 
8) 
Good post!
a quick point:
As far as I know, much of the collectivisation took place as a result of immediate needs ie survival...
An example would be the case of hungry spanish farm workers rounding up bulls which had been set apart by the rich lanowners to be specially reared for show. They divided them up equally amongst them - and for many it was the first meat they'd had in ages... (apologies to veggies out there
)
But the point is this was a revolutionary action because it was organised and carried out by the workers themselves to satisy their own immediate needs. For me the importance of this is the principle of collective self-organisation to gain control of our own lives
It starts off small - at work (standing up for yourself and your workmates) and in our communities (getting together with friends and neighbours), but I believe its the essence of revolutionary action.