Section 72: The Advance of Democracy: Socialism, Labor Unions, and Feminism

Opposition to "Bourgeois" Liberalism

• The artisan and laboring classes were suspicious of "bourgeois" liberalism, including:

  • Optimistic views of free competition and unrestrained private enterprise.

  • Laissez-faire policies and the free market for goods and labor.

  • The idea of an economy independent of states and governments.

• Key Event: Popular leaders opposed these ideas during the French Revolution in $1793$.

• The English Chartists were explicitly anticapitalistic.

• Socialist ideas spread on the Continent.

• Key Event: In $1848$, a strong working-class movement pushed for a "social" republic.

• Impact: The failure of the $1848$ social revolution nevertheless led workers to use political power to press for social legislation and greater social democracy, terrifying possessing classes.

Workers' Strategies Against Capital

• Workers pursued two primary lines of action:

  1. Abolish the capitalist economic system: Leading to more radical forms of socialism.

  2. Bargain with capitalist employers: Resulting in the formation of labor unions.

• Socialism: Aimed at the extinction of the private employer or dissolution of large capitalist corporations.

• Trade Unionism: Implied workers had a vested interest in employers' prosperity for better bargaining results.

• Impact: This created an internal conflict within the working-class movement, unresolved through the nineteenth century and intensifying after the Russian Revolution.

Workers and Intellectuals

• Key Figures (Intellectuals): Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Louis Blanc, typically middle-class and educated.

  • Favored socialism over unionism, focusing on long-term societal and historical changes.

• Most Actual Workers: Had limited education, focused on immediate, tangible benefits of unionism (e.g., higher wages, reduced danger, longer breaks).

• Workers generally perceived intellectuals as welcome, yet outsider figures.

• Intellectuals often viewed workers as shortsighted, despite acknowledging their need for assistance.

Post-$1848$ Divergence

• Key Event: After the $1848$ revolutions failed, socialist and trade union movements diverged for a generation.

• Context: The $1850$s saw full employment, rising wages, and increasing prosperity.

• Impact: Workers concentrated on organizing unions, while socialist thinkers refined doctrines.

The Trade Union Movement and Rise of British Labor

Early Labor Organizations

• Modern labor unions had a long, often extralegal existence, frequently banned by governments (e.g., Le Chapelier Act of $1791$, Combination Act of $1799$).

• Impact: Bouisgeois liberalism, paradoxically, first granted legal freedom to labor unions.

  • Recognition Dates: British unions received tacit recognition in $1825$ and explicit recognition in $1871$. French unions were recognized in $1864$ and fully legalized in $1884$.

• The economic prosperity of the $1850$s fostered union growth.

"New Model" Unionism

• Initiated by the Amalgamated Society of Engineers (machinists) in $1851$.

• Key Policies:

  • Removed unions from direct political involvement.

  • Abandoned semisocialist ideals of Chartists and Owen's "one big union."

  • Focused on advancing specific trade interests.

• Impact: This strategy led to union establishment and moderation, contributing to the extension of voting rights to town workers in England in $1867$.

Growth of Unskilled and Industrial Unionism

• Key Event/Date: In the $1880$s, unions of unskilled workers emerged, highlighted by the London dock strike in $1889$.

• Industrial unionism (all workers in an industry joining one union) also took shape.

• By $1900$, Great Britain had approximately $2,000,000$ union members, significantly more than Germany or France.

The British Labour Party

• Context: Advanced trade unionism initially slowed the formation of a distinct workers' political party in Britain.

• Date/Figures: The British Labour Party was established at the turn of the century by trade union officials and middle-class intellectuals.

• Distinction: In Britain, labor unions created and led the Labour Party, unlike on the Continent where socialist parties often led unions.

• Impact: This made the Labour Party less socialistic; its formation was largely to defend established unions.

The Taff Vale Decision and Its Aftermath

• Key Event/Date: The British courts' Taff Vale decision in $1901$ held unions financially responsible for employer losses during strikes, threatening their existence.

• Impact: Opposition to Taff Vale unified unions and other labor organizations, directly precipitating the formation of the modern Labour Party.

• Political Outcome: In the $1906$ election, the Labour Party secured $29$ seats, enabling new legislation to overrule Taff Vale and pressure for significant social legislation (e.g., protections against illness, unemployment, old age).

European Socialism after $1850$

Socialism in Abeyance and Marx's Work

• After $1848$, socialism entered a period of quiescence in the $1850$s.

• Key Figure/Works/Dates: Karl Marx published the first volume of Capital in $1867$ (with two more posthumously), elaborating on the Communist Manifesto.

• Marx lived in London for over $30$ years but had little interaction with English labor leaders.

The First International ($1864$-$1872$)

• Key Event/Date: The International Working Men's Association (First International) met in London in $1864$.

• Key Figures: Sponsored by Robert Applegarth, Mazzini, and Karl Marx.

• Marx's Influence: Marx dominantly disseminated his ideas and marginalized rivals (Mazzinians, Lassalleans).

• Ideological Conflict (Marx vs. Bakunin): Marx clashed intensely with Russian anarchist Bakunin.

  • Bakunin's View: The state was the cause of suffering; advocated for its direct attack.

  • Marx's View: The state was a product and tool of economic conditions; the capitalist economic system was the true target.

• Outcome/Date: Marx expelled Bakunin in $1872$.

The Paris Commune ($1871$)

• Key Event/Date: Members of the First International watched the Paris Commune in $1871$.

• Impact: Its connection, though incidental, contributed to its fierce repression and ultimately led to the demise of the First International.

• Marx praised the Commune as a critical stage in class war and a blueprint for the "dictatorship of the proletariat."

• Consequence: Marx's endorsement of revolutionary violence alienated many, including British trade unionists, and the First International faded after $1872$.

The Rise of National Socialist Parties and The Second International

• Key Event/Date: In $1875$, the German Social Democratic Party formed (Marxian and Lassallean).

• Other Socialist Parties: Quickly emerged across Europe:

  • Belgian Socialist Party (1879).

  • French workers divided (Jules Guesde, Paul Brousse, Jean Jaurès); unified in $1905$.

  • Social Democratic Federation in England (1881, H.M. Hyndman).

  • Russian Social Democratic Party (1883, Plekhanov and Axelrod).

• Key Event/Date: These national parties formed the Second International in $1889$, meeting every three years until $1914$.

Marxism's Influence and Regional Variations

• By the $1880$s, socialist parties were predominantly Marxist.

• Impact: Marxism became the most influential systematic socialism due to its analysis, Marx's writings, and opposition to other doctrines.

• Strongest in Germany and France.

• Less successful in Italy and Spain, where workers favored insurrectionary anarchism (e.g., Bakunin).

• Attracted little support from labor groups in England, where trade unionism prevailed.

Fabian Socialism in England (Established $1883$)

• Key Organization/Date: Middle-class critics formed the Fabian Society in $1883$.

• Name Origin: Named after Roman general Fabius Cunctator (the "delayer"), advocating gradual methods.

• Key Figures: George Bernard Shaw, H. G. Wells, Sidney and Beatrice Webb.

• Philosophy/Impact: Socialism was seen as the inevitable outcome of political democracy, achieved through gradual, rational measures, rejecting revolutionary violence.

• Advocated practical steps like improving local government and municipal ownership.

• Collaborated with unions to form the Labour Party; provided research for legislative programs.

Parliamentary Socialism on the Continent

• Date: After $1870$, Marxist/Social Democratic parties expanded rapidly.

• Evolution: Marxism evolved into "parliamentary socialism" (except in Russia).

• Impact: Genuine workers voted for socialist candidates, increasing union influence within parties.

• Workers sought greater benefits from employers and worked through national parliaments for social insurance, factory regulation, and wages.

Revisionist and Revolutionary Socialism ($1880$-$1914$)

• Context: Marx's prediction of worker impoverishment (based on $1840$s) had not materialized; real wages rose by ~$50\%$ between $1870$ and $1900$.

• Reasons for Wage Increase: Greater labor productivity, world economy expansion, capital accumulation, and decreasing prices of necessities.

Revisionism

• Key Movement/Date: Marxism underwent revisionism in the $1890$s.

• Context: Workers achieved better wages and gained political influence through voting.

• Prominent Leaders: Jean Jaurès (France), Eduard Bernstein (Germany, author of Evolutionary Socialism [$1898$]).

• Arguments:

  • Class conflict might not be inevitable.

  • Capitalism could be gradually transformed to serve workers' interests.

  • Workers could improve lives democratically, without revolution or a dictatorship of the proletariat.

• Impact: Most socialists adopted revisionist views, despite the Second International cautioning against collaboration with the bourgeoisie.

Revolutionary Syndicalism

• Context: Emerged from perceived "opportunism" among socialist leaders.

• Definition: Workers' unions (syndicats) would become supreme authoritative institutions, replacing private property, market economy, and government.

• Key Figure: Georges Sorel (France).

• Means: A massive general strike to paralyze society and force demands.

• Geographic Impact: Gained traction where unions were weakest (Italy, Spain, France), as sensational doctrines attracted members.

Orthodox Marxism vs. Revisionism

• Orthodox Marxists protested revisionism, with Karl Kautsky criticizing it as a betrayal.

• Second International Ruling/Date: In $1904$, the Second International condemned socialist participation in bourgeois governments (e.g., Alexandre Millerand), ruling that socialists identified with the "enemy bourgeois state" if they joined cabinets. Socialists refrained from joining cabinets until WWI.

• Russian Social Democratic Party Split (Date/Figures): In $1903$, Lenin's uncompromising Marxists became Bolsheviks (majority), while revisionist Russian Marxists became Mensheviks (minority).

Transformation of Marxism and Decline of Revolutionary Agitation (Pre-$1914$)

• By the turn of the century, most Marxists in Europe were no longer actively revolutionary.

• Revolutionary Marxism moderated into social democracy, similar to the quieting of revolutionary republicanism in France.

• Overall Mood (Pre-$1914$): The European working class was not in a revolutionary mood, despite potential unrest from stagnant real wages (1900-1914).

• Three Main Reasons for Decline in Revolutionary Fervor:

  1. Improved Living Standards: Capitalism raised workers' living standards significantly.

  2. Political Participation: Workers gained voting rights, fostering expectations of benefiting from public policies.

  3. Institutional Protection: Created political parties and powerful labor unions to defend interests and acquire a larger share of national income.

Feminism, $1880$-$1914$

Internationalization and Focus on Rights

• Key Period: $1880$-$1914$ saw the women's rights campaign become more international and organized.

• Challenges: Women faced lower pay, restrictions on property rights, political participation, and university access.

• Goals: Advocated for greater access to education and the right to vote.

• Regional Focus: Continental groups prioritized legal/social reforms; British/American focused on suffrage.

• Key Organization/Date/Figures: American feminists (Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton) collaborated with Europeans to establish the International Council of Women in $1888$.

The Quest for Voting Rights (Suffrage)

• The demand for voting rights gained most public attention in the U.S. and Britain.

• Key Organizations: National American Woman Suffrage Association, Women's Social and Political Union (Britain).

• Militancy in Britain: Parliament's consistent rejection led to militant actions by "suffragettes."

• Key Figure/Actions (Emmeline Pankhurst): Spearheaded violent protests, including:

  • Disrupting parliamentary sessions.

  • Breaking store windows.

  • Destroying mailboxes.

  • Damaging government buildings.

• Response to Protests: Arrested suffragettes went on hunger strikes, met with forcible feedings.

Outcomes of the Suffrage Campaign

• Pankhurst's campaign garnered increasing support during WWI.

• Key Dates/Outcomes:

  • British women over $30$ secured the right to vote in $1918$.

  • Voting age lowered to $21$ for British women in $1928$.

  • Women also gained voting rights in Germany, U.S., and other Western nations in the early postwar era.

• The campaign for voting rights was one facet; broader movements for women's rights continued throughout the twentieth century.