Second International: Origins, Aims, and Key Debates
Foundation and Aims
The Second International was founded in Paris in 1889 during the centennial commemorations of the French Revolution. It aimed to create a homogeneous organization composed solely of ideologically socialist parties.
It emerged as a confederation of autonomous national parties without a central General Council, unlike the First International. In 1900, the International Socialist Bureau was created in Brussels to provide continuity between congresses and to define the objectives and actions of the international socialist movement.
The resolutions adopted at the founding congress called for laws protecting workers, an 8-hour workday, and the abolition of child labor. They condemned war as a result of the capitalist order and urged workers to join socialist parties. The Second International established principles that endured throughout the century: the extension of democracy, the peaceful evolution toward political power, labor market regulation, and the end of sexual discrimination and inequalities.
The Second International popularized symbols of the labor movement, such as the anthem and the celebration of May 1st, Labor Day, in memory of the workers arrested and executed in Chicago in 1886. The Socialist International comprised millions of workers, and its discussions had a significant impact. It fostered various organizations, including the International Conference of Socialist Women (1907), reflecting its influence on the nascent feminist movement, and the International Federation of Socialist Youth.
Major Issues
The International served as a major forum for debating the problems facing the socialist movement, especially after 1900 (Congress of Paris). Revisionism was condemned, and socialist participation in bourgeois governments was permitted only in cases of extreme necessity. The need for class struggle as the basis for political and social action was reaffirmed. However, this did not end the confrontation between reformist positions, which prioritized practical gains, and those who emphasized the ultimate goal of socialist revolution.
Colonialism
Colonialism was another significant area of debate. One faction denounced it as a form of capitalist exploitation and advocated for fighting and promoting revolution in the colonies. This position prevailed at the Stuttgart Congress. However, another group limited itself to criticizing the barbarity of the settlers without questioning the system and even defended settlement as a positive factor of civilization.
War
Faced with escalating tensions, the International rejected warmongering at the Copenhagen (1910) and Basel (1912) conferences. War was considered a product of the confrontation between capitalist states and should be prevented. If war broke out, it should be stopped through a general strike or revolutionary mobilization.
However, at the outbreak of World War I (1914), the majority of socialist parties succumbed to nationalist fervor and abandoned pacifist and revolutionary principles. Patriotic euphoria led them to vote for war credits and side with their respective governments. Socialists and the bourgeoisie united against the enemy of the nation.