Alphonse Merrheim and Revolutionary Syndicalism, 1871-1917
Author : Nicholas Christopher Papayanis
Publisher :
Page : 664 pages
File Size : 42,10 MB
Release : 1969
Category : Labor unions
ISBN :
Author : Nicholas Christopher Papayanis
Publisher :
Page : 664 pages
File Size : 42,10 MB
Release : 1969
Category : Labor unions
ISBN :
Author : N. Papayanis
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 269 pages
File Size : 11,61 MB
Release : 2012-12-06
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9400951558
This is apoliticalbiography ofAlphonseMerrheim, asignificant leader of the Conf6d6ration G6n6raledu Travail(CGT)intheyears between 1904 and 1923 and the most important member of the Federation of Metalworkers during the sameperiod. Hewas born inthe Nord in 1871 and becameaworkeratanearlyage, firstinmetallurgythanintextiles and finally once more in metalworking. In his ideologicalevolution hepassed through asocialistpoliticalpartyandthenconvertedtorevolutionarys- dicalism. In his peculiar fusion of theory and practice, Merrheim represented a form of revolutionary syndicalism that helps define the characteristics of that movement. He believed, alongwithother revo- tionary syndicalists, that one day a workers' general strike would ov- throw capitalism. But the syndicalist movement wouldpreparethat ev- tualitybystrengtheningtheworkersthrough socialreformsandbycreating their class consciousness through education. Merrheim, however, p- ticipatedsothoroughly intradeunionactivityandstudiedtheorganization of capitalistindustry so carefullythat he cametoemphasizetheprepa- tions for such a generalstrike much more than thestrikeitself. The test of his attitude cameon theeve of, during, and immediately afterWorld War I; for contrary tothe demands of certain militant and revolutionary workerswhobelievedthatthethreatofwar andthenthedislocationcaused by the war demanded a revolutionary response, Merrheim persistently stressedthe dangers ofsuch anaction before the adequatepreparation of the workers. Hissteadfast refusaleventorespondtothestrikeactions of some ofhisown metalworkers in 1919 indicates the central contradiction between hisrevolutionary theory and reformistpractice. This book examinesindetailMerrheim'sevolution fromarevolutionary to areformer. Insodoingit alsoshedslightonanequallysubstantialtopic, namely, howacertaintypeofworkerrespondedtoindustrializationinthe late nineteenth and earlytwentiethcenturies. Merrheim is an interesting figure, too, becauseofhispositioninthelabormovement, foritrepresents a unique focalpoint forthestudy oflaborhistory. Merrheim enteredthe Frenchlabormovement in the 1890s and remainedactiveinituntil 1923. During that periodhewas, successively, alocalunion leader, co-secretary xii of a nationallaborfederation, and animportant figurewithinthe CGT. Never thesecretary-generaloftheCGT, hewasneverthelesstheconfident of thesecretary-generalfrom 1909, L6on Jouhaux.
Author : David DeLeon
Publisher : JHU Press
Page : 352 pages
File Size : 30,41 MB
Release : 2019-12-01
Category : History
ISBN : 1421430797
Originally published in 1978. When compared with socialist and communist systems in other nations, the impact of radicalism on American society seems almost nonexistent. David DeLeon challenges this position, however, by presenting a historical and theoretical perspective for understanding the scope and significance of dissent in America. From Anne Hutchinson in colonial New England to the New Left of the 1960s, DeLeon underscores a tradition of radical protest that has endured in American history—a tradition of native anarchism that is fundamentally different from the radicalism of Europe, the Soviet Union, or nations of the Third World. DeLeon shows that a profound resistance to authority lies at the very heart of the American value system. The first part of the book examines how Protestant belief, capitalism, and even the American landscape itself contributed to the unique character of American dissent. DeLeon then looks at the actions and ideologies of all major forms of American radicalism, both individualists and communitarians, from laissez-faire liberals to anarcho-capitalists, from advocates of community control to syndicalists. In the book's final part, DeLeon argues against measuring the American experience by the standards of communism and other political systems. Instead he contends that American culture is far more radical than that of any socialist state and the implications of American radicalism are far more revolutionary than forms of Marxism-Leninism.
Author : Leslie DERFLER
Publisher : Harvard University Press
Page : 398 pages
File Size : 31,41 MB
Release : 2009-06-30
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 0674034228
Paul Lafargue, the disciple and son-in-law of Karl Marx, helped to found the first French Marxist party in 1882. Over the next three decades, he served as the chief theoretician and propagandist for Marxism in France. During these years - which ended with the dramatic suicides of Lafargue and his wife - French socialism, and the Marxist party within it, became a significant political force. Leslie Derfler explores Lafargue's political strategies, specifically his break with party co-founder Jules Guesde in the Boulanger and Dreyfus episodes and over the question of socialist syndicalist relations. Derfler shows Lafargue's importance as both political activist and theorist. He describes Lafargue's role in the formulation of such strategies as the promotion of a Second Workingmen's International, the pursuit of reform within the framework of the existent state but opposition to any socialist participation in nonsocialist governments, and the subordination of trade unionism to political action. He emphasizes Lafargue's pioneering efforts to apply Marxist methods of analysis to questions of anthropology, aesthetics, and literary criticism.
Author : Tyler Stovall
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 269 pages
File Size : 50,64 MB
Release : 2024-06-21
Category : History
ISBN : 0520378466
From 1920 until the present, the working-class suburbs of Paris, known as the Red Belt, have constituted the heart of French Communism, providing the Party not only with its most solid electoral base but with much of its cultural identity as well. Focusing on the northeastern suburb of Bobigny, Tyler Stovall explores the nature of working-class life and politicization as he skillfully documents how this unique region and political culture came into being. The Rise of the Paris Red Belt reveals that the very process of urban development in metropolitan Paris and the suburbs provided the most important opportunities for the local establishment of Communist influence. The rapid increase in Paris' suburban population during the early twentieth century outstripped the development of the local urban infrastructure. Consequently, many of these suburbs, often represented to their new residents as charming country villages, soon degenerated into suburban slums. Stovall argues that Communists forged a powerful political block by mobilizing the disillusionment and by improving some of the worst aspects of suburban life. As a social history of twentieth-century France, The Rise of the Paris Red Belt calls into question traditional assumptions about the history of both French Communism and the French working-class. It suggests that those interested in working-class politics should consider the significance of residential and consumer issues as well as those relating to the workplace. It also suggests that urban history and urban development should not be considered autonomous phenomena, but rather expressions of class relations. The Rise of the Paris Red Belt brings to life a world whose citizens, though often overlooked, are nonetheless the history of modern France. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1990.
Author : Paul Mazgaj
Publisher :
Page : 304 pages
File Size : 23,54 MB
Release : 1979
Category : History
ISBN :
Mazgaj traces the interaction between the syndicalist Left and the royalist Right in France during the period between the Dreyfuss affair and the beginnings of World War I. Some royalists turned to the Left to enlist support for replacing the Third Republic with a social" monarchy; the Left community was in such disarray that some syndicalists responded to the overtures of the Right. Mazgaj has ferreted out the intrigues taking place between the two groups." Originally published in 1979. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.
Author : Larry Stuart Ceplair
Publisher :
Page : 726 pages
File Size : 19,24 MB
Release : 1973
Category : Collective labor agreements
ISBN :
Author : Paul B. Miller
Publisher : Duke University Press
Page : 291 pages
File Size : 38,12 MB
Release : 2002-04-04
Category : History
ISBN : 0822380587
From Revolutionaries to Citizens is the first comprehensive account of the most important antiwar campaign prior to World War I: the antimilitarism of the French Left. Covering the views and actions of socialists, trade unionists, and anarchists from the time of France’s defeat by Prussia in 1870 to the outbreak of hostilities with Germany in 1914, Paul B. Miller tackles a fundamental question of prewar historiography: how did the most antimilitarist culture and society in Europe come to accept and even support war in 1914? Although more general accounts of the Left’s “failure” to halt international war in August 1914 focus on its lack of unity or the decline of trade unionism, Miller contends that these explanations barely scratch the surface when it comes to interpreting the Left’s overwhelming acceptance of the war. By embedding his cultural analysis of antimilitarist propaganda into the larger political and diplomatic history of prewar Europe, he reveals the Left’s seemingly sudden transformation “from revolutionaries to citizens” as less a failure of resolve than a confession of commonality with the broader ideals of republican France. Examining sources ranging from police files and court records to German and British foreign office memos, Miller emphasizes the success of antimilitarism as a rallying cry against social and political inequities on behalf of ordinary citizens. Despite their keen awareness of the bloodletting that awaited Europe, he claims, antimilitarists ultimately accepted the war with Germany for the same reason they had pursued their own struggle within France: to address injustices and defend the rights of citizens in a democratic society.
Author : Library of Congress. Copyright Office
Publisher : Copyright Office, Library of Congress
Page : 1938 pages
File Size : 20,83 MB
Release : 1973
Category : Copyright
ISBN :
Author : Uwe Backes
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 312 pages
File Size : 48,72 MB
Release : 2009-12-16
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 1135259445
The Western tradition of a sovereign state, which roots go back to antiquity, inherited a centre vouching for virtuous moderation. This book compares this tradition with what it quintessentially objects to: political extremes.