YP0084980 Parisian-Fantasies-Theater-former-Beaumarchais-theatre-25-boulevard-Beaumarchais-October-1881

The first meetings of the

Second International The Second International (1889–1916) was an organisation of Labour movement, socialist and labour parties, formed on 14 July 1889 at two simultaneous Paris meetings in which delegations from twenty countries participated. The Second Internatio ...

were held in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, beginning on July 14, 1889, on the centenary of the

storming of the Bastille The Storming of the Bastille (french: Prise de la Bastille ) occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, when revolutionary insurgents stormed and seized control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison known as the Bastille. At ...

. Internecine conflicts within the French socialist movement had prompted the " possibilist" and

Marxist Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialecti ...

factions to hold their own congresses at the same time. The Marxist congress resolved to arrange a second meeting at Zurich, while the Possibilists would arrange one in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. However the Marxist organizing committee would later decide to join the Brussels congress, and the next congress would meet in 1891.

Question of unity

The split between the Marxist and possibilist factions had a long history within the

Federation of the Socialist Workers of France The Federation of the Socialist Workers of France (french: Fédération des travailleurs socialistes de France, FTSF) was France's first socialist party, being founded in 1879. The party was characterised as possibilist because it promoted gradu ...

. From its founding in 1879, a faction inspired (though not always endorsed) by Paul Brousse had moved away from

revolutionary socialism Revolutionary socialism is a political philosophy, doctrine, and tradition within socialism that stresses the idea that a social revolution is necessary to bring about structural changes in society. More specifically, it is the view that revolut ...

towards a more

reformist Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement. Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can ...

approach, arguing that socialists should pursue whichever reforms are "possible" at any given time, while still taking advantage of revolutionary opportunities. A Marxist faction led by Jules Guesde and

Paul Lafargue Paul Lafargue (; 15 January 1842 – 25 November 1911) was a Cuban- Haitian revolutionary Marxist socialist, political writer, economist, journalist, literary critic, and activist; he was Karl Marx's son-in-law having married his second dau ...

, and supported by

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

and

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' French Workers' Party in 1882. Confusingly, both parties would call themselves the ''Parti Ouvrier'' (worker's party), and so were generally known as the Marxist party and possibilist party. The possibilist party had convened international congresses several times before, in 1883, 1884, and 1886. At the 1886 convention, it was decided that another convention would be held in 1889, but the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been ...

had disagreed with the decision, and the decisions at the 1886 convention were generally seen to have lacked legitimacy. The SPD had held its own convention in St. Gallen in 1887, whereupon they decided to hold their own international conference the following year. When the London International

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances ...

declared that a new international meeting would be called in Paris in 1889, both the SPD and Possibilists decided to fold their next congress into the new one, creating one large international meeting. However, the SPD had joined the new meeting on the condition that the hosts would not ask for records and names from the delegates, since the SPD could have faced immediate dissolution and ejection from the Reichstag if the German government discovered it had sent delegates abroad. When the Trade Union Congress responded that delegates would only be considered legitimate if they could prove their mandate with appropriate records, the SPD and their Marxist supporters decided to hold a separate congress near the Possibilist congress, with the hope of uniting the two at a later date. The separation into two congresses in 1889 effectively forced foreign delegations to divide themselves up between supporters of the Possibilists, and supporters of the SPD. Despite the split, both congresses began their meetings with a discussion of unifying with the other congress. At the possibilist congress, unity was first proposed by

John Burns John Elliot Burns (20 October 1858 – 24 January 1943) was an English trade unionist and politician, particularly associated with London politics and Battersea. He was a socialist and then a Liberal Member of Parliament and Minister. He was ...

, and was opposed by

Henry Hyndman Henry Mayers Hyndman (; 7 March 1842 – 20 November 1921) was an English writer, politician and socialist. Originally a conservative, he was converted to socialism by Karl Marx's ''Communist Manifesto'' and launched Britain's first left-wi ...

and Adolphe Smith, who questioned whether the Marxist delegates really represented workers' organizations or simply themselves. When Burns insisted upon unity, Hyndman countered that such a proposal could only be considered upon the "verification of mandates," or proof that the Marxists represented real parties. While Burns and

Amilcare Cipriani Amilcare Cipriani (October 18, 1844 in Anzio – April 30, 1918 in Paris)Annie Besant Annie Besant ( Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was a British socialist, theosophist, freemason, women's rights activist, educationist, writer, orator, political party member and philanthropist. Regarded as a champion of human ...

, who repudiated accusations that the appeal for verification was made in bad faith, and argued that only "bona fide" parties should be represented. After conditional unity was agreed upon, the Italian delegation was entrusted with negotiating between congresses. Much like the possibilist congress, the Marxist congress had itself split into factions over the question of unity, with one side in favor of accepting any terms from the other congress, and the other opposing unity. The latter camp was led by

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He w ...

and the Socialist League, who had a long history of conflict with Hyndman, arguing that the possibilist congress were not socialists, and were not internationalists since they had excluded the German delegation. The French were also strongly opposed to union, while the Belgian, Dutch, and Italian delegates wished to bring the conferences together.

Wilhelm Liebknecht Wilhelm Martin Philipp Christian Ludwig Liebknecht (; 29 March 1826 – 7 August 1900) was a German socialist and one of the principal founders of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

Marxist Congress

The International Socialist Workers Congress of

was scheduled to meet at the Salle Petrelle, but soon had to move to larger accommodations at 42, rue Rochechouart. The initial reception was held at the music hall, the ''Fantaisies Parisiennes'', wherein a high platform and rows of boxes had been erected to evoke the image of the National Assembly of 1793. The Marxist congress passed resolutions on international labor legislation (the eight-hour workday, night work, labor conditions for women and children), the abolition of permanent armies, and the various means to attain these goals. It also passed a resolution calling for an international demonstration for the eight-hour working day on May 1. While it was known as the Marxist congress due to the large French Workers' Party and Social Democratic Party of Germany delegations, many of the delegates were in fact Blanquists, anarchists, or other revolutionary non-Marxists. As a result, there was not a great deal of ideological unity, and the congress had to restrict itself to very broad proposals. When these broad proposals were objected to, there was often very little tolerance of dissent, such as when the anarchist

Francesco Saverio Merlino Francesco Saverio Merlino (9 September 1856 – 30 June 1930) was an Italian lawyer, anarchist activist and theorist of libertarian socialism. Life Merlino was born on 9 September 1856 in Naples.Second International The Second International (1889–1916) was an organisation of Labour movement, socialist and labour parties, formed on 14 July 1889 at two simultaneous Paris meetings in which delegations from twenty countries participated. The Second Internatio ...

, although the International as a distinct organizational body was not formalized until the incorporation of the International Socialist Bureau in 1900.

Attendees

Possibilist Congress

The International Workers Congress, or possibilist congress met at #10, rue de Langry. The possibilist congress passed resolutions on universal suffrage, trust, international labor legislation, and on the means of creating a permanent means of relation between the autonomous socialist and workers groups. In one incident a

boulangist Georges Ernest Jean-Marie Boulanger (29 April 1837 – 30 September 1891), nicknamed Général Revanche ("General Revenge"), was a French general and politician. An enormously popular public figure during the second decade of the Third Repub ...

delegate was accused of disrupting the proceedings and threatened with expulsion, but was allowed to stay after a speech on tolerance by a Mr. Fenwick.

Attendees

References

External links

''Proceedings of the International Working-men’s Congress in Paris (1889)''

''The Times'' newsclippings of the 1889 International Socialist congress
*

Eduard Bernstein Eduard Bernstein (; 6 January 1850 – 18 December 1932) was a German social democratic Marxist theorist and politician. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), Bernstein had held close association to Karl Marx and Friedr ...

''The International Working Men’s Congress of 1889: A Reply to 'Justice
* Frank Kitz
''The Paris Congress: A Delegate's Report''
* Harry Quelch
''The New International''

*

H. M. Hyndman Henry Mayers Hyndman (; 7 March 1842 – 20 November 1921) was an English writer, politician and socialist. Originally a conservative, he was converted to socialism by Karl Marx's ''Communist Manifesto'' and launched Britain's first left-wing p ...

''The International Congress of Workers''

''Protokoll des internationalen Arbeiter-congresses zu Paris''
{{Authority control History of socialism Second International 1889 in France 1889 conferences