Status Updates From First Socialist Schism: Bak...

The Marx & Engels point of view on the split of the International was shaped by Marxian dogmatics and the widely available and translated L'Alliance, while any other points of view were difficult to come by and rarely translated. Fortunately, post-91 Russian collapse, there has been a revival in interest in the now First International, and the side of the 'anarchists' given a fair treatment.

Marx & Engels dig themselves a deeper grave for their now on-paper-only International and themselves with the release of yet another hit piece on Bakunin with yet again nothing but intrigue and bias.

Chapter 20
Politics and Historical Narratives

Marx & Engels, so blinded by partisanship and ally/subject or enemy mentality, couldn't see - even after it happened - that they had destroyed their own International for power.

The anti-authoritarian and the General Council are both holding congresses in the same city - Geneva - just 7 days apart, but while the anarchist congress is a big success with over 7 federations from 7 countries are represented and are united in rejection of authority and pass resolution to protect from another Hague, the GC congress is a mess of few delegates and infighting.

The General Council issues resolutions suspending all federations critical of itself. This marks the death of the GC, as every one of these federations, the vast majority of the membership of the International, simply moves to corresponding directly with each other. The first order of business is agreeing to a first anti-authoritarian congress post-Hague.

In England separate congresses are held by opponents and supporters of the G.C. as the International continues its implosion across the continent.

The Spanish, Italians and Belgians now publicly side with Jura against the General Council wannabe dictatorship, however the English Federation splits as, while some don't want a GC dictatorship, they also don't agree with negative politics of Jura.

Chapter 19
The Geneva Congresses and the disastrous New York General Council

The general council starts haemorrhaging members before it has taken is seat, and as they start exercising their new powers and threatening to suspend federations, it only gets worse as many others join in solidarity with them against the GC.

The new 'Anarchist' International is what remains of the non-pro-GC non-authoritarian International Workingm. Association members. This term 'anarchist' is debated with some disliking it as they prefer federation of free associations or something mututalist or collectivist.

Bakunin is having a PR coup and Marx a PC catastrophe as federation after federation is supporting Bakunin against the authoritarianism and intrigue of Marx, with all but the most loyal Blanquist and German groups on his side.

Spain and Belgium hold congresses soon after St. Imier to demonstrate their commitment to anarchy, atheism, and rejection of the GC and its authoritarianism.

Marx and Engels don't realise it yet, but the International is a dead organisation with the German and French pro-GC no longer caring about it, and the Spanish, Italian, Swiss (Jura), Belgian and Dutch federations now acting independently.

Chapter 18
The Congress of St. Imier, Brussels, and Cordoba

The anti-authoritarian sections of the International - now violating the new rules of it -proclaim their continued autonomy and will now correspond through each other without the GC. Bakunin now tries to start the previously fictitious Alliance.

The General Council sham investigation into the Alliance ends & to no one's surprise they find no proof that such Alliance still exists or even that it ever existed, yet still calls on the Congress to expel Bakunin, Guillaume, and Schwitzguebel.
The majority holds to expel the first two but collapses for the third so he remains in the International.
The minority declaration is read to the majority's shock!

Art. 9 - the constitution of the working class as a political party and the conquest of political power - is voted into the rules of the international as Art. 7a, and together with moving the General Council to New York, the International as founded is dead.
Guillaume manages to bring together all federalists and GC critics in an historic joint resolution...

The General Council - Engels - tables to move the GC to New York(!) and then starts to push art. 9 through the Congress.

The majority passes resolutions expanding the power of the General Council to expel any section that is counter to the International...

Marx tries to use the Lyubavin and Nechaev translation controversy against Bakunin but to limited effect as what Bakunin did is nothing that hasn't happened before and wasn't seen as important then.

Chapter 17
The Revision of the Rules, the Transfer of the General Council and the 'Minority Declaration'

The investigation on the Alliance is about to conclude with little to no evidence of such 'secret society' and even less that, even if they exist, they were not counter to the International, but at the last moment Marx drops his best 'proof'...

The investigation on the Alliance in underway on the pretext that any secret organisation is an enemy of the International, despite that the Blanquists and Marx himself are/have been in secret organisations and previously said they're not bad per se, it depends on if their work is counter to the IWA.

The majority of the delegates votes to keep the voting method to one delegate one vote regardless of number of members under them, otherwise the majority would have its plans for domination voted down by the 'minority' who actually represent a majority of members.

The mandates commission and the verification of delegates are secretive to prevent the delegates from being identified and arrested in countries where the International is illegal. However this causes several members to be on the Congress with made-up, duplicated, or limited mandates that end up voting in everything and as they wish. Some will become spies later! All while the majority votes for Marx in anything.

Chapter 16
The Congress of the Hague
The mandate commission and the commission to investigate the Alliance

The delegates arrive and low and behold, the 'Carlists' have the majority and can pass any resolution they wish.

Germany is doing some shenanigans to create sections to send delegates or mandates to the International and them disband them after the congress.
Marx plays dirty with France, as given the State repression post Paris Commune delegates have to be secretive about it, Marx uses this to get his way with mandates and delegates from France.

The American Federation sends mandates - not delegates - to the Hague, having bought Marx's lies. while the German SDAP - who should be Marx and Engels' #1 supporter in the Hague - may not even show up to the Congress, as they prioritise their own national party and their electoralism to the International.

Marx and Engels are realising that they may fail to convince the other members of the International to back their proposals to enshrine art.9 and expel the Alliance, at least not without deceit.
They also realise this may result in the collapse of the International in its entirety, yet are willing to risk it to get their way.

Lafargue provides his evidence to Engels.. and it's the most tangential non-evidence possible. Engels tries to shove it down the GC throat anyway.

Chapter 15
The eve of the Congress of the Hague

Marx now sneakily add his proposal for a rules change, apparently giving in to Belgium, but actually trying to push his own art.9 political participation into the rules of the International.

The delegates to be sent from Spain will either pass resolutions to make delegates votes proportional to how many members they have or abstain, and will either make the General Council a statistics and correspondence bureau or will abolish it or will leave.

Engels keep trying to escalate the dispute as Spain tries to defend itself. The General Council and the International at large is tearing at the seams.

Engels writes an outright dictatorial letter to the Spanish Federal Council absolutely DEMANDING that they 'reveal' the names of all members of the Alliance and to disband their 'secret' organisation. Unsurprisingly this causes great backlash, not just in Spain but in Italy too, but all by design as he's trying to cause a split and expel them at the Hague Congress.