At the beginning of the nineties the socialists were jubilant. Their
great victory in Germany and the enormous growth of the movement in all
countries assured them that the foundations had at last been laid for
the great world-wide movement that they had so long dreamed of. Internal
struggles had largely disappeared, and the mighty energies of the
movement were being turned to the work of education and of organization.
Great international socialist congresses were now the natural outgrowth
of powerful and extensive national movements. Yet, almost at this very
moment there was forming in the Latin countries a new group of
dissidents who were endeavoring to resurrect what Bakounin called in
1871 French socialism, and what our old friend Guillaume recognized to
be a revival of the principles and methods of the anarchist
International.[W] And, indeed, in 1895, what may perhaps be best
described as the renascence of anarchism appeared in France under an old
and influential name. Up to that time syndicalism signified nothing more
than trade unionism, and the French _syndicats_ were merely associations
of workmen struggling to obtain higher wages and shorter hours of labor.
But in 1895 the term began to have a different meaning, and almost
immediately it made the tour of the world as a unique and dreadful
revolutionary philosophy. It became a new "red specter," with a menacing
and subversive program, that created a veritable furore of discussion in
the newspapers and magazines of all countries. Rarely has a movement
aroused such universal agitation, awakened such world-wide discussions,
and called forth such expressions of alarm as this one, that seemed
suddenly to spring from the depths of the underworld, full-armed and
ready for battle. Everywhere syndicalism was heralded as an entirely new
philosophy. Nothing like it had ever been known before in the world.
Multitudes rushed to greet it as a kind of new revelation, while other
multitudes instinctively looked upon it with suspicion as something that
promised once more to introduce dissension into the world of labor.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account