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The Third International, officially the International Workers' Association, also known as the Syndicalist International or simply the International, is an international leftist organization advocating for world syndicalism and global cooperation. It was founded in 1921, one and a half years after the end of the Weltkrieg and mere months after the end of the French and Italian Civil Wars, by the newly-established Commune of France and Socialist Republic of Italy.
Previous Internationals[]
First International (1864-1872)[]
The International Working Men’s Association (IWMA), often called the First International, was the first attempt to unite the various left-wing socialist, communist, and anarchist political parties and trade unions into a single international labor organization. It was founded on 28 September 1864 at a meeting in St. Martin’s Hall, London, and lasted for twelve years before its dissolution in 1876.
Foundation[]
Following the outbreak of the January Uprising in Poland, British and French trade unionists organized a solidarity meeting on 22 July 1863 where they agreed to propose the creation of an international labor organization to the other French unions. The French unions agreed and their delegation arrived in London on 28 September 1864, where they were welcomed by a large crowd of workers at St. Martin's Hall. Among the attendees were Professor Edward Spencer Beasley, a positivist historian and trade union activist, Henri Tolain, a prominent French Proudhonist, and Karl Marx, a forty-six-year-old German émigré journalist. Also present were many English Owenites, French Blanquists, Irish and Polish nationalists, Italian republicans, and German socialists. The attendees voted unanimously to establish the IWMA and elected a General Council to draft an organizational program and rules of procedure. The Council then selected a subcommittee for this purpose, which eventually deferred the responsibility for sole authorship of the documents to Marx.
Internal conflicts[]
From its inception, the First International was home to a diverse range of schools of socialist thought, and consequently suffered from extensive ideological factionalism and infighting. Although the reformist Proudhonists were originally highly influential within the IWMA, their influence gradually diminished in favor of Marx and his followers with the successive congresses in Lausanne (1867), Brussels (1868), and Basel (1869). Internal divisions would continue to grow, however, as the arrival of Mikhail Bakunin and his followers in 1868 precipitated the polarization of the organization into two separate ideological camps, with Marx and Bakunin as their respective figureheads.
The philosophical and ideological differences between Marx and Bakunin were both theoretical and practical: while Bakunin opposed parliamentarianism as a distraction from revolutionary politics, Marx advocated for participation in electoral politics as a means of spreading class consciousness. Whereas Marx held that the industrial proletariat were the sole class capable of achieving social revolution, Bakunin postulated that the rural peasantry too held revolutionary potential. Marx believed in a transitory “dictatorship of the proletariat” between capitalism and communism, while Bakunin advocated for an immediate transition and destruction of the state. Marx typically dominated the German and German-Swiss chapters of the IWMA, while Bakunin held sway over the Italian, Spanish, and French-Swiss chapters.
Split and Dissolution[]
Following the end of the Franco-Prussian War and the destruction of the Paris Commune in May 1871, Marx came to believe that the IWMA had to become a true political party of the proletariat in order to seize control of the state. The General Council subsequently passed a series of resolutions at a September meeting in London, including one which proclaimed “that this constitution of the working class into a political party is indispensable in order to ensure the triumph of the social revolution and its ultimate end — the abolition of classes”. The resolution was decried by the anarchist wings of the organization, who believed that it would centralize power around the General Council and should have been decided by the regular Congress. In September 1872 a Congress was convened in The Hague to debate a general revision of the organization's General Rules.
During the Congress, internal divisions reached their apex when Marx called for the Congress vote to uphold the view that the proletariat must take control of the state for a successful revolution, to which the anarchists naturally objected. After the Congress voted to accept Marx’s resolution, Bakunin and his ally James Guillame were expelled from the IWMA for protesting the decision by 27-to-7 votes. Following the split, the anarchists held a separate congress several days later at St. Imier which declared the Hague Congress null and void, while the General Council of the IWMA was moved from London to New York City after Marx’s retirement. The remaining Marxist wing of the organization lingered on until eventually disbanding at the 1876 Philadelphia Conference, while the anarchist wing dispersed only one year later.
Second International (1889-1916)[]
The Second International, also known as the Socialist International, was a federation of socialist political parties and trade unions which continued the work of the dissolved First International. It was founded on 14 July 1889 at two simultaneous meetings in Paris and lasted for twenty-five years, ceasing to function after the outbreak of the Weltkrieg in 1914.
Foundation[]
While the 1872 split between Marxists and anarchists effectively ended the first attempt to create a single international labor organization, the dream of international socialism did not recede completely in the years between the dissolution of the First International and the founding of the Second International. British and French unions, as well as members of the highly influential Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), met throughout the 1880s to discuss creating a new international association to coordinate political action on protective labor legislation. After the SPD called for an international convention in St. Gallen in 1887, the Federation of the Socialist Workers of France (FSIO) decided to hold their own international congress the following year. When the British Trade Union Congress (TUC) announced a new international meeting to be held in Paris in 1889, both organizations elected to join their next meetings with the TUC’s, creating one large international convention.
However, attempts to found a new organization were greatly hampered by a factional split in the FSIO between the revolutionary Marxists and the reformist Possibilists. Further issues resulted over the issue of verification: the Possibilists insisted upon recording the names of delegates in order to verify their mandate, while the Marxists (many of whom faced legal repression at home) were concerned about such information being discovered by the authorities. After attempts to reach a compromise failed, two separate meetings were held in Paris on the same day, effectively dividing the entire European socialist movement into two camps: the Possibilists, supported by the British Social Democratic Federation, and the Marxists, supported by the SPD, the British Socialist League, and most of the other European delegates. However, after the initial anger aroused during the split congresses receded, the Marxists ultimately agreed to join the scheduled 1891 Brussels conference and create a single, unified International.
Internal debates and accomplishments[]
Although anarchist organizations were not involved in the discussions that led to the creation of the Second International, several anarchists held prominent positions in the International and were the dominant faction of several ostensibly Marxist organizations. However, the Second International’s commitment to electoral politics earned the derision of the anarchists, who regularly disrupted proceedings at the 1889 and 1891 Congresses. Tensions between the socialist and anarchist wings of the organization continued until the 1893 Zurich Congress, when the body voted that membership be limited to parties who acknowledged the necessity of political action, thereby excluding anarchists from the Second International entirely. This prompted many socialist parties worldwide to expel their anarchist members, and an attempt to repeal the decision at the subsequent London Congress was unsuccessful.
For most of its existence, the central ideological debate that dominated the Second International concerned the so-called “revisionist” philosophy of prominent SPD member Eduard Bernstein, who advocated abandoning revolution entirely in favor of seeking incremental change via electoral politics, with the goal of building socialism through parliamentary legislation. Bernstein had previously been a close associate of both Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, however the recent electoral success of the SPD had caused him and many other socialist leaders to reconsider the feasibility of reforming the capitalist system into socialism. Opposed to Bernstein were the Orthodox Marxists led by Karl Kautsky, who argued that the increased success of socialism would result in an even greater reaction by the bourgeoisie, making a revolution necessary before the seizure of state power. Although Bernstein’s position was eventually condemned by the SPD’s executive body, they and many other socialist parties continued to increasingly orient themselves around electoral goals during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
Despite these factional disputes, the Second International managed to find some successes during its twenty-five year existence. Its greatest accomplishment was its international campaign for an eight-hour work day which called for mass demonstrations and strikes worldwide on 1 May 1890, resulting thereafter in the annual commemoration of 1 May as International Workers’ Day; the International also voted in 1910 to establish 8 March as International Womens’ Day. It was also responsible for establishing the International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF), a global union federation of metalworkers’ trade unions.
Weltkrieg and Dissolution[]
In the years leading up to the Weltkrieg, the Second International passed a number of resolutions at multiple congresses condemning militarism and imperialism as antithetical to the socialist struggle. The assassination of antimilitarist FSIO leader Jean Jaurès by a French nationalist generated an outpouring of antimilitarist sentiment from many members of the Second International. Despite these factors, all of the major socialist parties in belligerent nations issued statements in full support of war immediately after the outbreak of the Weltkrieg, splitting the International into three camps: the pro-war Entente parties, the pro-war Central Powers parties, and the anti-war left.
The Second International effectively ceased to function after the outbreak of war in July 1914, although the leadership of the organization attempted to coordinate meetings between the disputing parties until 1916. The opposing factions of the International each held their own conferences over the course of the war: the pro-war Central Powers parties met in Vienna in 1915, the pro-war Entente parties met four times at Inter-Allied Socialist Conferences, and the anti-war left eventually broke from the Second International entirely to create the Zimmerwald Left movement.
History[]
Origins: 1917-1921[]
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First Period: 1921-1926[]
It was founded in 1921, one and a half years after the end of the Weltkrieg and mere months after the end of the French and Italian Civil Wars, by the newly-established Commune of France and Socialist Republic of Italy.
Second Period: 1926-1936[]
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Structure of the International[]
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The International has several bureaus, each dealing with a particular aspect of the workers' international struggle. Each branch has an executive committee whose members are elected by and from the members of the International's central committee.
The Third International's Central Committee[]
The central committee of the International is the main executive body of the organization. It includes members from each of the member organizations who are allocated delegate seats based on the member's size proportional to the total number of members in the International. The delegates are elected from within the membership of the organizations according to their own internal voting protocols. The duties of the central committee is to elect executive committees, ensure the orderly function of the international and decide on major decisions regarding the future of the proletarian struggle.
The International Workers' Armed Forces[]
The International Workers' Armed Forces is the military branch of the International and acts as the military alliance of member nations. Membership in the armed forces is voluntary and most member organizations of the international are members in the alliance. The duties of the armed forces are to defend and advance the proletarian revolution. While the individual armies of member countries remain under their own command, the Revolutionary Military Council of the International coordinates the allied armies both in drills and in times of war.
The International Phalanstère[]
The International Phalanstère is the International's economic branch and includes both developed and developing Socialist countries. The Phalanstère's main activities are economic development aid to its members and the promotion of trade and cooperation within the socialist world.
The International Workers' Culture Council[]
The International Workers' Culture council, or the Cultural council is the cultural branch of the International. Its members are usually artists, athletes and authors, and they carry out various international cultural projects such as the Burgos international art festival and the Spartikade. The Cultural Council is particularly influential in the rising fields of mass media and cinema, with many non-socialist artists looking at them in inspiration.
The World Association of Toiling Thinkers[]
The World Association of Toiling Thinkers is the scientific branch of the International, combining intellectuals from fields ranging from Anthropology to Nuclear scientists in an effort to advance humanity and the working class. The association is known for being quite liberal in what it considers to be legitimate science and as such it attracts geniuses and eccentrics alike to participate and perhaps revolutionize their fields.
Member Parties and Organisations[]
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Country | Party Name | Founded | Joined | Ideology | Leader | Affiliated Organisations | Situation | Symbols |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unione Sindacalista (US)
(Syndicalist Faction) |
1918/19 | 1921 (Founding Member) | Orthodox Syndicalism | Palmiro Togliatti | -- | Ruling Party | ||
Parti Syndicaliste Unifié (PSU)
(United Syndicalist Party) |
1919 | 1921 (Founding Member) | Orthodox Syndicalism | Jean Zyromski | General Confederation of Labour | Ruling Party | ||
Comités Syndicalistes Révolutionnaires (CSR)
(Revolutionary Syndicalist Committees) |
1919 | 1921 (Founding Member) | Orthodox Syndicalism | Jean Zyromski | General Confederation of Labour | Ruling Party | ||
Bloc Totaliste
(Totalist Bloc) |
?? | ?? | Totalism | ?? | -- | Major opposition party | ||
Unión de Sindicatos Argentinos (USA) | ?? | ?? | Orthodox Syndicalism, Anarcho-Sydncialism | Antonio Soto | Union of Argentinian Syndicates | Ruling Party | ||
Rodolfo Ghioldi Totalist Wing of Comite de Unidad Sindical Clasista (CUSC) | ?? | ?? | Totalism | Rodolfo Ghioldi | -- | Major opposition party | -- | |
Labour Party | 1925 | 1925 | Orthodox Syndicalism, British Autonomism, Anarcho-Syndicalism, Totalism | Thomas Mann | Trade Union Congress | Ruling Party | ||
Partido Sindicalista Chileno (PSC)
(Syndicalist Party of Chile) |
?? | ?? | Orthodox Syndicalism | Marmaduke Grove | -- | Ruling Party | ||
Bharatiya Commune India |
Moderate Faction of Bharatiya | 1925?? | ?? | Orthodox Syndicalism | ?? | -- | Ruling Party | |
國民黨 (KMT)
(Chinese Nationalist Party, commonly referred to as Kuomintang) |
1919 | ?? | Wang Jingwei Thought | Wang Jingwei | Chinese Syndicalist Party | Major party among warlord states of China, Underground Party, Party leadership in exile in France(??) | ||
中國工團黨 (CSP) | 1922 | ?? | Orthodox Syndicalism, Anarcho-Sydncialism | Chen Duxiu | Member organisation of Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) | Underground Party | ||
Deutsche Organisation der Internationale | 1918 | 1921 (Founding Member) | Orthodox Syndicalism, Totalism, Communism | Karl Liebknecht | Free Association of German Trade Unions | Underground Party | -- | |
Freie Vereinigung deutscher Gewerkschaften (FVdG) | 1897 | 1921 (Founding Member) | Anarcho-Syndicalism | Fritz Kater | “Der Syndikalist” (The Syndicalist) Magazine | Underground Organisation | -- | |
Irish Syndicalist Party | ?? | ?? | Orthodox Syndicalism, "Larkinism" | James Larkin | Irish Transport and General Workers' Union | Underground Party | -- | |
Saor Éire | ?? | ?? | Totalism | Peadar O'Donnell | Irish Citizen Army | Underground Party | -- |
World Congresses[]
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Event | Date | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Founding Congress | 1921 | Paris | ?? |
Name Translation[]
Language | Name | Acronym |
---|---|---|
English | International Workers' Association | IWA |
French | Association internationale des travailleurs | AIT |
Spanish | Asociación Internacional de los Trabajadores | AIT |
Italian | Associazione Internazionale dei Lavoratori (Possibly incorrect??) | AIL |
German | Internationale Arbeiter-Assoziation | IAA |