Labor Movement Evolution: Ideologies and Worker Solidarity
The Development of the Labor Movement
Since the mid-nineteenth century, the labor movement acquired an uneven development thanks to new forms of struggle, the emergence of anti-capitalist ideologies, and new forms of worker organization. Of all these developments, we stress:
- The progress of trade unionism, whereby workers associated to organize struggle or negotiation with employers and the state, in order to obtain better working conditions.
- The use of the general strike as a means of pressure. However, both strikes and unions were considered illegal, so that unions had to carry out their activities clandestinely until they were legalized in almost every country in Europe at the end of the nineteenth century.
- The rise and propagation of two revolutionary ideologies: Marxism and anarchism, which sought the destruction of capitalism, which they considered responsible for the exploitation of the working class.
- The foundation of international workers’ associations.
Marxism and Anarchism
Marxism
Marxism is a political and economic theory based on the thinking of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels and developed in Das Kapital, the work of the latter. The Marxist ideology advocated a change in the economic, social, and political class structure. The working class was to confront the bourgeoisie to achieve its disappearance and seize power by implementing the dictatorship of the proletariat. Once power was attained, they would dismantle the capitalist system and collectivize the means of production; that is, they would serve the whole community. This would transform the structure of society, leading to the implementation of a classless society in which there would no longer be an oppressor nor oppressed.
Anarchism
Anarchism is a political theory based on the thought of Pierre Joseph Proudhon, although its leader was Mikhail Bakunin. Anarchism is opposed to any form of government because the mere act of governing implies coercion and injustice. For this reason, anarchists defended the freedom of the individual, the disappearance of all authorities, and the abolition of private ownership of the means of production. Their social organization was based on the commune: small, free groupings of individuals who would be self-sufficient and in which private property would not exist.
The methods anarchists used to achieve their ideal society were mixed. Although most were peaceful, some fought with violent methods, including assassinations of political figures and government officials, such as the Russian Tsar Alexander II and King Alfonso XIII of Spain.
The International Workers’ Movement
The international working class emerged in the 1860s when labor leaders from various European countries, aware that the problems facing the proletariat were the same in all nations, raised the need for partnership to give their demands more force. Thus, for example, they sought to stop the practice of employers hiring workers from another country when there was a strike in a sector or a general strike. The concrete goal was to create a climate of solidarity among workers developed during this era.
The First International
The First International or International Workers’ Association (IWA) was founded in London in 1864 but soon disappeared in 1876. This was mainly due to the persecution suffered by the governments of the countries where it operated, which harshly repressed strikes and worker demonstrations, and also due to disputes between Marxists and anarchists regarding methods of struggle. The Marxists wanted to engage in political life through political parties, while the anarchists believed action should occur through the unions. Finally, the anarchists were expelled from the International.
The Second International
The Second International was founded in Paris in 1889. Its main demand was to achieve the eight-hour workday and to establish May 1st as an international day of protest. The Second International also disappeared quickly due to the increasing political tension that existed in Europe and which ultimately led to the First World War. The outbreak of the war was a failure of the International, as workers in each country sided with their respective governments in supporting the war—placing their national interests above their class interests, which severed international solidarity.