How Australian Workers Prepared to Socialize Industry During the Great Depression
In the 1930s, working-class radicals in the New South Wales branch of the Australian Labor Party established Socialization Units, mass organizations parallel to the party. Their goal was to prepare for the democratic takeover of industry, and to build “socialism in our time.”
A construction worker on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, 1930. (Fox Photos / Getty Images)
In Australia, the Great Depression was a time of bitter class struggle that radicalized every section of society. The Australian Labor Party (ALP) was no exception, as rank-and-file members of the New South Wales (NSW) branch established the “Socialization Units,” working-class organizations whose stated purpose was to prepare for a takeover of industry under workers’ control.
Members of the Socialization Units claimed that they were merely carrying out Labor’s program, which calls for “the democratic socialization of industry, production, distribution and exchange.” Yet, as labor historian Nick Martin observed, the Socialization Units came up against the party machine and therefore constituted “one of the great rank-and-file revolts” inside an established social-democratic party.
“Socialism in Our Time”
Jack Lang’s NSW state government formed the backdrop of the Socialization Units. Premier from 1925–27 and 1931–32, Lang was a reformer who rose to prominence after opposing the pro-conscription wing of his party during World War I.
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