International Anarchist Congress in Amsterdam

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The International Anarchist Congress in Amsterdam took place from August 24th to 31st, 1907. Delegates from 14 countries gathered there, including important representatives of the anarchist movement such as Errico Malatesta , Pierre Ramus , Pierre Monatte , Christiaan Cornelissen , Emma Goldman and Rudolf Rocker .

Organization of the congress

The Belgian and Dutch anarchists were the initiators of the congress. While the Dutch took care of the material planning, the Belgians published the bulletin of the Libertarian International with Henri Fuss as the central editor. From December 1906 to January 1907 they published a call for an international meeting in seven languages ​​signed by the Anarchist Federations of the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Bohemia and the Yiddish-speaking Federation of London. It was not signed by French anarchists because the anarchist movement in France was split between those who opposed an anarchist organization in its entirety, and thus an international organization, and others who had all their expectations of the unions and were therefore "otherwise employed" . Only eight French anarchists attended the congress, including Benoît Broutchoux , Pierre Monatte and René de Marmande .

The Amsterdam Congress of 1907

Various subjects were dealt with at the congress, in particular the organization of the anarchist and syndicalist movements. Other questions concerned the education system, the role of the general strike and the anti-militarism debate , while an anti-militarism congress was held in Amsterdam at the same time. The central theme was the connection between anarchism and syndicalism and trade unions . At the end of the congress, the delegates agreed on a resolution according to which "the ideas of anarchy and organization, which are far from contradicting one another, as is sometimes pretended to be, complement and reinforce one another," and this creates the necessity result in "founding anarchist groups and uniting existing groups in federations".

An anarchist International was later founded, with an international bureau of five members - Errico Malatesta, Rudolf Rocker, Alexander Schapiro , John Turner and Jean Wilquet - and whose task it was to “establish international anarchist archives” and “target anarchists from different countries network ". The office was in London and was planning a new congress for 1909. The new International , which the French anarchists opposed, published only 12 irregular bulletins. At the end of 1911 the London office ceased all activities.

The debate between Malatesta and Monatte

Errico Malatesta and Pierre Monatte in particular disagreed on the question of organization. Monatte referred to the principles of the Amiens Charter of 1906, which enshrined the ideological neutrality of trade unions and their independence from political parties. Monatte explained that syndicalism, as it is understood in France, is revolutionary and creates the conditions for a social revolution. Monatte contrasted the French model of the neutrality of the trade unions with the Russian and Belgian trade union ideology and the German model of the Christian and social democratic trade unions and preferred it.

Malatesta criticized Monatte and stated that “syndicalism is not a necessary and sufficient means of social revolution”, but supported him on the question of the political neutrality of the trade unions in order not to split the labor movement. Malatesta was convinced that the trade unions adhered to reformism and would at times follow conservatism themselves. Together with Christiaan Cornelissen, he cited the example of the trade union organization in the USA, where it consists of qualified workers, some of whom would unite against unskilled workers in order to defend their relatively privileged position against them. Malatesta saw the task of the anarchists also in the support of the Lumpenproletariat and not exclusively in improving working conditions. Malatesta recognized various interest groups within the labor movement and even questioned the conception of the social class : “There is no class in the strict sense of the word, because there are no class interests. Within the 'working class' itself, as in the bourgeoisie , there is competition and struggle. ”From then on, solidarity within the workers needed a common ideal that could not be found within the framework of a full-time trade union. Where Monatte saw the risk of bureaucratisation of the unions while emphasizing the need for permanent union employees, Malatesta categorically denied any legitimation for an anarchist to work as such a union employee.

Malatesta criticized the excessive idealization of the general strike, which could not lead to a revolution of its own accord, but which must rather start from an armed uprising .

aftermath

The contradictions in the ideas of organizing the labor movement in trade unions later led to anarcho-syndicalism , which combined the revolutionary concept of syndicalism with anarchist principles.

literature

  • Maurizio Antonioli, The International Anarchist Congress, Amsterdam 1907 . Black Cat Press, Edmonton 2009, ISBN 978-0-9737827-3-8
  • Heiner Becker, Max Nettlau (ed.), History of Anarchy . In cooperation with the IISG . Theleme Library, Münster 1993. Reprint of the Berlin 1925 edition. Volumes 8–9, Part 3, Section XIX; The International Anarchist Congress in Amsterdam, August 1907 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Jean Maitron , Le mouvement anarchiste en France , tome I, Tel Gallimard ( François Maspero , 1975), pp. 443-445
  2. ↑ See on this: Max Nettlau, History of Anarchy , Volume 8-9
  3. ↑ George Woodcock : Peter Kropotkin: From Prince to Rebel . Black Rose Books , Montréal 1990, ISBN 0-921689-60-8 , p. 385, OCLC 21156316 .
  4. ↑ a b Original: “ A ce syndicalisme d'opinion qui a produit, en Russie par exemple, des syndicats anarchistes, en Belgique et en Allemagne, des syndicats chrétiens et des syndicats social-démocratiques, il appartient aux anarchistes d'opposer un syndicalisme à la manière française, un syndicalisme neutre ou, plus exactement, indépendant. De même qu'il n'y a qu'une classe ouvrière, il faut qu'il n'y ait plus, dans chaque métier et dans chaque ville, qu'une organization ouvrière, qu'un unique syndicat. A cette condition seule, la lutte de classe - cessant d'être entravé à tout instant par les chamailleries des écoles ou des sectes rivales - pourra se développer dans toute son ampleur et thunder son maximum d'effet. Le syndicalisme, a proclamé le Congrès d'Amiens en 1906, se suffit à lui-même. “See Extract of Monatte's declaration ( Memento from September 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (French)
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g Excerpt from Malatesta's declaration ( memento from September 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (French)

Web links