«Arm and brain»: Inclusion-exclusion dynamics related to medical professional within Spanish anarcho-syndicalism in the first third of the 20th century

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze the dynamics within Spanish anarcho-syndicalism between manual workers and medical professionals who shared the anarchist ideology. The incorporation of technicians into the labour movement was a common feature in the Western world; however, while socialist organizations left health policies in the hands of physicians, anarchist Contents unions did not accept these technocratic principles, given that they did not consider intellectuals as the best suited to take decisions concerning the whole community. In this context, we can see how medical professionals developed diverse strategies to be accepted by anarcho-syndicalist militants, who in turn showed different levels of acceptance according to the distinct lines of thought within the union.