First Socialist Schism: Bakunin vs. Marx in the International Working Men's Association

by Wolfgang Eckhardt

The First Socialist Schism chronicles the conflicts in the International Working Men’s Association (the First International, 1864–1877), which represents an important milestone in the history of political ideas and socialist theory. In defending their autonomy, federations in the International became aware of what separated them from the social democratic movement that relied on the establishment of national labor parties and the conquest of political power. This can be seen as a decisive moment in the history of political the split between centralist party politics and the federalist grassroots movement. The separate movements in the International—which would later develop into social democracy, communism, and anarchism—found their greatest advocates in Mikhail Bakunin and Karl Marx. However, the significance of this alleged clash of titans is largely a modern invention. It was not the rivalry between two arch-enemies or a personal vendetta based on mutual resentment that made the conflict between Bakunin and Marx so important but rather that it heralded the first socialist schism between parliamentary party politics aiming to conquer political power and social-revolutionary concepts. Instead of focusing exclusively on what Marx and Bakunin said, many other contributions to this debate are examined, making this the first reconstruction of a dispute that gripped the entire organization. This book also provides the first detailed account of the International’s Congress of The Hague (September, 1872); including the background, the sequence of events, and international reaction. The book sets new standards when it comes to source material, taking into account documents from numerous archives and libraries that have previously gone unnoticed or were completely unknown.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Economics

624 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2015

Reviews

[Ian Downey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book, one of the best I've ever read. It's scholarly, yes (with 182 pages of bibliography, notes, and index); it's largely a sourcebook, a series of huge verbatim block quotes, sometimes several pages long, excerpted from the original historical documents, written by the principle characters, strung along together into a narrative.

But it reads like fascinating page-turner of a novel, almost a gossipy soap-opera. I could not stop reading it, and now that it's over, I miss it. I almost want to read it all over again.

Of course, that's not the point of the book at all - just the opposite. Wolfgang Eckhardt's central thesis is that the split in the International Workingmen's Association was not simply a personal conflict between two titanic personalities, Karl Marx and Mikhail Bakunin, but a complex political struggle among many different factions, vying over serious questions of internal organization and policy, including, most importantly, the question of whether to form national political parties and participate in democratic, parliamentary elections (Marx said yes, Bakunin said no; but there were many complex shades and nuances to this question, and many positions taken by different federations and individuals within the IWMA).

But along the way, the story gets so juicy that you can't help being sucked into the drama of it all. Long story short, there are some pretty shady aspects of both sides. Both were scheming, in a fairly machiavellian way, against each other. And there were third parties, like the notorious Becker, who were playing both sides off of each other for their own purposes. In addition, nationalistic feelings and ethnic tensions entered into the conflict - and Bakunin notoriously resorted to anti-Semitism. But there's no question that the vast majority of bad behavior here is on the side of Marx, Engels, and the partisans of the General Council, who committed one act of slimy dishonesty after another... until the whole thing blew up in their faces.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is as philosophically enriching as it is addictive to read.

[Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

Juicy.

[Asa · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many people from the left claim they want to settle the differences on the left. To do this you've got to back to the beginning. You've got to go beyond propaganda which still overwhelms the left. If you really want to know why Marx and Bakunin didn't get along, do you want to know where the rift between anarchists and marxists started? Do you have the wherewithal to really want to know the truth? Read this and find out. Incredibly well-researched. The details in document authentication is mind-blowing. Here you'll find allegations of authoritarianism, Machiavellian strategizing, and power politics. But the thing is it's backed up, again and again and again with impeccable investigation. The research is so detailed, it's like a DNA analysis. The truth shall prevail.

We are doomed to repeat past mistakes if we do not know the past.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice book on the history of the now First International and how intrigue and wanting to dominate and impose your ideology has dire consequences in what should've been a diverse multinational federation for worker's liberation.

[Jarvis · Rating 5 out of 5]

My only significant criticism is that I'd have prefered if it focused on some of the other dynamics at play.

This is possibly my favorite book lol But I woulda liked to see the author go into things like the workers' changing relationship to the nation state and national identity as a factor in the dissolution of the International.