Socialism and Democracy in EuropeOrth, Samuel Peter
History
Socialism and Democracy in Europe
Orth, Samuel Peter
Democracy; Socialism
Marx's diplomacy and his international vocabulary stood him in good
stead. He began the "Address" by a clever rhetorical parallelism.
Gladstone, whose splendor then filled the political heavens, had just
delivered a great speech in which he had gloried in the wonderful
increase in Britain's trade and wealth. Marx contrasted this growth in
riches with the misery and poverty and wretchedness of the English
working classes. Gladstone's small army of rich bourgeois were
adroitly compared with Marx's large army of miserably poor. The growth
of wealth, he said, brought no amelioration to the needy. But in this
picture of gloom were two points of hope: first, the ten-hour working
day had been achieved through great struggles, and it showed what the
proletarian can do if he persists in fighting for his rights. Second,
Marx alluded to the co-operative achievements of France and Germany as
a proof that the laboring man could organize and carry on great
industries without the intervention of capitalists. With these two
elements of hope before them, the laborers should be of good cheer.
Marx admonished them that they had _numbers_ on their side, and all
that is necessary for complete victory is organization. In closing he
repeats the battle-cry of '48: "Workingmen of all lands, unite!"
The "statutes," or by-laws[6] were also drawn by Marx. The preamble is
a second "Manifesto," in which he reiterates the necessity for
international co-operation among workingmen, and concludes: "The First
International Labor Congress declares that the International
Workingmen's Association, and all societies and individuals belonging
to it, recognize truth, right, and morality as the basis of their
conduct towards one another and their fellowmen, without respect to
color, creed, or nationality. This congress regards it as the duty of
man to demand the rights of a man and citizen, not only for himself,
but for every one who does his duty. No rights without duties, no
duties without rights."
The "Address" and the "Statutes" were adopted by the association at
its first congress, held in Geneva in September, 1866, where sixty
delegates represented the new movement. With the vicissitudes of
Marx's International we are not especially concerned here. It met
annually in various cities until 1873, when its last meeting was held
at Geneva.
Marx had successfully avoided offense to the various elements in his
masterly address and preamble. But the organization contained
irreconcilable elements more or less jealous of one another. The two
extremes were the Anarchists, led by the Russian Bakunin, and the
English labor unions. The Anarchists believed in overthrowing
everything, the English laborists abhorred violence. Between these two
extremes stood Marx's doctrine of evolutionary revolution, as
distasteful to the English as it was despised by the Anarchists.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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