This book covers a wide variety of proletarian struggles to take control of the workplace from capitalists. This extends over a century - from the Austrian revolution in 1919 to recent events in Greece. It also covers theoretical questions (such as Pannekoek's council communism) to the practical issues faced by workers' cooperatives attempting to compete in the market place. The geographical spread from places as far apart as Brazil, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, Italy, and Uruguay presents a little known history. Although the numerous authors do not offer a single perspective, the book posits both an alternative to parliamentary social democracy and those who ignore the working class as a factor in social transformation. Inevitably these experiences have succumbed to the surrounding capitalist environment but they point both to the persistence of striving for direct democracy and its potential as a real alternative to the current system.