The Socialism of to-day

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 835096955

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-28834

Document type:: Monograph

Author:: Laveleye, Émile de

Title:: The Socialism of to-day

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: Field & Tuer

Year of publication:: 1884

Scope:: 1 Online-Ressource (XLIV, 331 S.)

Collection:: Economics Books

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THE RISE AND FALL OF THE INTERNATIONAL. 189 Working Men’s Societies and of individual Socialists declared their adhesion, and that was all. Thus, as we have seen, Cameron, delegate of the United States at the Congress of Bâle, brought the adhesion, in a body, of 800,000 working men, but these adhesions were absolutely platonic. They brought to the Association neither authority nor money. It is generally supposed that the International played an important part in the strikes which became so numerous for some years. This is a mistake. Very often, no doubt, those on strike belonged nominally to the International. But, in the first place, the leaders of the International looked upon a strike only as a makeshift ; secondly, they feared to advise it, know ing that a defeat would greatly injure their credit ; and lastly, they were absolutely deficient in resources.* It was not the International which fomented the strikes; it was the strikes that developed the International. The causes of the rapid decline of the famous Association are easy to discover, and they are instructive. First of all, as the organizer of strikes, its principal and most practical end, it proved itself timid and impotent. The various bodies of working men were not slow to perceive this, and gave it up. Next, it had taken for motto, “ Emancipation of the workers by the workers themselves.” It was intended, then, to do without the bourgeois-radicals, “ the palaverers,” “ the adven turers,” who, when the revolution was made, would step into power and leave the working men as they were before. The majority of the delegates were nevertheless bourgeois ; but, in reality, the sentiment of revolt against the aristocratic direction of the more intelligent members always persisted, and it fastened principally on Karl Marx, the true founder of the International, and the only political brain that it contained. But to keep in existence a vast association embracing very numerous groups * Some curious details on this subject may be fouud in thefworks of M. Oscar Testut : V Internationale au ban de ! Europe and II Internationale (Paris, Lachaud, 1873). On every occasion the general council either avowed that it had no money, or sent altogether insignificant sums. The poorest English trades union has a better filled treasury. In every congress, means of collecting the subscriptions, which were only ten centimes a year, were sought in vain.

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