Ch. 15 — European Civilization, 1871-1914 Society and Culture

Ariel RuizMauricio Bendana

Opponents of Liberalism

• The artisan and laboring classes never agreed with rising capitalist sentiments and “bourgeois” liberalism.

• The English Chartists• Karl Marx

Workers and Intellectuals• Middle class and educated people who took up the

workers’ cause, the “intellectuals” of the movement tended more to socialism than unionism.

• Actual workers– Barely educated– Physical danger of constant exposure to unprotected machinery– 15 minutes of lunch

• Worker looked on the intellectuals as outsiders, however welcomed

• Intellectuals looked on the workers as shortsighted and timid, however in need of much help.

“New Model” Unionism

• Prosperity of 1850’s favored the formation of unions• “New Model” unionism was introduced by the Amalgamated

Society of Engineers in 1851– Policy was to take the unions out of politics

• New leaders proposed– To become reasonable with employers– Avoid strikes– Accumulate union funds– Build up membership

• “New Model” unionism was successful • By 1900 2 million union members in Great Britain 850,000 in

Germany and 250,000 in France.

The British Labour Party

• British Labour Party formed at turn of century• Labor unions of Europe were often led by

socialist political parties• Britain labor unions brought the Labour Party

into existence– Allowed for Labour Party to become less socialistic

than working parties on the continent

The Taff Vale decision

• Unions threaten in the 1901 ruling of the Taff Vale decision– Held unions financially responsible for business losses

• In preparations for the election of 1900 steps were taken to bring together unions and all existing labor and socialist organization into a labor representation committee

• Taff Vale decision unified all ranks and precipitated the modern Labour party

• 1906 new Labour party overruled Taff Vale decision

The First International

• 1864 International Working Men’s Association took place in London– Sponsored by heterogeneous group

• Leadership gradually passed to Marx• Marx:– made Mazzinians unwelcome– denounced the German Lassalleans– drove Bakunin from the International

The Paris Commune

• Members of the First International watched with great excitement the Paris Commune of 1871.– Members infiltrated the Commune – Commune actually destroyed the First International

• French Provisional Government repressed the Commune with such terrified ferocity

• Commune had been bloody and violent • Marx praised it as a stage in the international

class war

The Second International

• At the Gotha conference of 1875, Marxian and Lassallean socialist joined together to form the German Social Democratic party.

• 1880 socialist parties sprouted in many countries

• Socialist parties came together to establish an international league in 1889 known as the Second International– Met every three years and lasted until 1914

Fabian Socialism in England

• The Fabian Society (1883)– George Bernard Shaw– H. G. Wells– Sidney– Beatrice Webb– Content with small and immediate satisfactions.

Parliamentary Socialism on the Continent

• Less revolutionary form of Marxism– Except for the Russian Social Democratic party,

since they had no parliamentary gov't.• In practice, this mainly helped employees

work for orderly legislation benefiting workers - social insurance, factory regulation, minimum wages, or maximum hours.

The Revisionists

• 1890's: Marxism underwent a movement of revisionism.– Led in France by Jean Jaurès.– Led in Germany by Eduard Bernstein.

• Held that no revolution nor dictatorship was necessary to transform capitalism in the workers' favor. (Democracy would be the new medium)

Syndicalism

• Tendency to "opportunism" among really revolutionary Marxist spirits.

• Frenchman, Georges Sorel.• Postulated that workers' unions may one day be

in COMPLETE control of country.– Through a full strike of all industries at the same time.

• Had most influences where unions were weakest: Italy, Spain, and France.

• French General Confederation of Labor (1895)

Orthodoxy vs. Revisionism

• Revival of Marxist fundamentals vs. revisionists.• Germany: Karl Kautsky arraigned revisionists as

compromisers who betrayed Marxism.• Gov't posts unacceptable until WWI.• Lenin (at a party congress in London) demanded

to stamp out revisionism. Majority vote was his.– Majority were called Bolsheviks– Minority were called Mensheviks.

Marxism Transformed

• In Europe's inner zone, revolutionary Marxism quieted down, for the most part, to doctrines of social democracy.

• By 1914, the working class as a whole was not in a revolutionary mood.

• There were 3 main reasons for revolutionary zeal hoped for in 1848 dying down:– Capitalism began to work for workers, raising their living standards.– Workers now had the vote and Democracy and could benefit from

gov't.– Workers' interests were watched over by organized and

increasingly powerful unions, granting them larger portions of the national income.

Suffragettes Seek the Vote

• National American Woman Suffrage• Women’s Social and Political Union (Britain)– Legislative proposals to gov’t.– Mass meetings and protests.– Emmeline Pankhurst.– Hunger strikes.

• Support grew during WWI.