Syndicate
Origin
French syndicat, from syndic
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.
Definitions
- 1: a group of people or businesses that work together
- 2: a group of people who are involved in organized crime
- 3: a business that sells something (such as a piece of writing, comic strip, or photograph) to several different newspapers or magazines for publication at the same time : a business that syndicates something
Description
A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, or to promote a common interest. In most cases formed groups aim to scale up their profits. Although there are many legal syndicates formed around the world, the English usage of the term "syndicate" tends to be more often applied to the ones involved in illegal activities. In the case of criminal activity, the syndicate is there to promote, and 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.
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-management.
