The Second International was founded in Paris France in 1889 at Paris workers from trade unions and political parties across the world.
Though still in Europe created the tradition of International Workers day or May Day to be celebrated on May 1st.This will be followed 21 years later with the inception of International Working Women's Day.
The first International was not well organized socialist parties. During 1870s and 1880s in Europe almost every country formed their own socialist parties. The main aim of second international was to struggle against militarism and prevention of war.
Background:
Politically they passed resolution calling for universal suffrage in all countries that didn't have it and in countries that did for socialist parties to run in parliamentary election. They also resolved to oppose war mongering between capitalist nations. It was these two policies that would later divide the International.
Many of the delegates were from recently formed political parties and the biggest and the most successful of these was the Social Democratic Party Deutschland or German Social Democrats founded by Wilhelm Liebknecht.
The (Social Democratic Party) SPD became a major force in German politics as workers joined the party droves any other hand joining SPD wasn't and political affiliation. It was practically a way of life. There were socialist who used clubs, sports clubs and even choirs where they sing socialist song.
Once SPD was allowed to run in election it gained an increased amount of seats in Reichstag and though they weren't alive to form government. They used their political influence to gain reforms for workers. It was the model of success in other countries such as an Austria would emulate.
The SPD was the most dominant party in the international and its chief theoretician Karl Kautsky was dubbed the Pope of Marxism as he defended the theory from dissenting socialist such as Edward Bernstein who tried to prove much of it wrong.
Threats to Marxist orthodoxy did not just come from theoretician. However, the most socialist one at elections, the closer they came to working with bourgeois government.
This became especially scandalous when French socialist Alexandre Milliron took a cabinet position in the national government alongside an army general who commanded the bloody repression of the Paris Commune. The international resolves it in sometimes permissible to participate in bourgeois government.
But the matter was far from settled one country that did not have to worry about this was Russia. There Vladimir Lenin, Julius Martov and others met in secret to form the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party.
The Czarist autocracy didn't even led them legally exist, let alone give them a parliament to run in only this but the party divided into two fractions at its second congress was mark Tom's leading the Mensheviks faction and Lenin the Bolsheviks fraction were developing.
In the other parties as well leave connect son Karl came to leave the left wing of SPD along with polish émigré Rosa Luxembourg. The International reaffirmed its stance against causing more but couldn't agree on a concrete plan to stop it other than calling for popular militias to replace standing armies it.
It was this lack of united action against the war that would became an international tragic undoing the naiveté of the second international was shockingly revealed when the World War I broke out.
Socialist was forced to take aside either with or against the national government. While many socialist assumed that there representative would oppose war. The politicians increasingly felt caught up the nationalist intensity that affected even the working class.
The French socialist leader Jean Joe had tried to stop France from mobilizing for war but was assassinated by a nationalist. The French section of the Second International then entered into the sacred Union supporting the government throughout the war.
Ramsay MacDonald a British anti war leader resigned as leader of Labor Party replaced by Arthur Henderson. On 4 August 1914, the German SPD joined the other parties unanimously, proving the motion for wars credits while the party completely betrayed.
The anti-war socialist on the Left was outraged with the socialist of opposing sides that war was to other by supporting the respective governments. The second international was effectively dead.
Anti-War socialists met in Zimmerwald Switzerland starting the Zimmerwald left. Other socialist formed the allies and the neutral countries had their own separate congresses during the war.
During the inter war year they reformed as the labor and socialist international. After World War 2, The parties of the second international regrouped again to build the current socialist international which includes most social democratic parties across the world today.
Achievements:
The most important achievement of the second international was the campaign against the war and militarism.
The basic principle was the equality to all human beings and about the right to freedom and national independence. The socialist movement created International agreement of workers as a fundamental principle.
Limitations:
Even though second International had achievements and strengths but it also had many limitations. The first international failed in creating socialist parties in many countries while in many socialist party in many countries were in huge number which built basic differences among them.
Other limitation was that some socialist party believed revolution could be brought by removing capitalism while the others believed that socialism could be achieved only through gradual reforms.
Later on they supported the existing government in certain circumstances as well as some of the socialist parties supported colonialism.
Utilization of the war once it had broken out, as well as to promote revolution by the socialist party which was recommended by the 2nd International became the serious consequences for the socialist movement.
Second International was one of the dominating factors in the history of 20th century, as it has played an important role in emerging powerful political party’s additionally significant role in the upcoming years all over the world by building nationalism, socialism and democracy as important factors.
Written by: Rakhi Sharma
Edited by: Gourav Chowdhury
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