19th Century European Social and Political Movements

Social and Political Movements in 19th Century Europe

Key Concepts

• Class Society: A form of social organization in Europe after the Industrial Revolution and the bourgeois revolutions, characterized by social groups or classes differentiated by wealth.
• Bourgeoisie: The social class that owns the means of production and controls political, economic, and social life in 19th-century Europe.
• Proletariat: The working class within the capitalist system, possessing only their labor and facing challenging living and working conditions.
• Protectionism: Economic practices advocating tariffs on foreign products to protect domestic industries.
• Free Trade: Economic theory advocating for no state intervention in international trade.
• Chartist Movements: A political and social reform movement in the UK, originating from the "People's Charter" of 1838, outlining key principles for reform.
• Marxism: An ideology developed by Karl Marx in the mid-19th century, advocating for social change and a classless society.
• Anarchism: An ideology developed by Mikhail Bakunin in the mid-19th century, advocating for the abolition of the state and the creation of an egalitarian society.
• Social Democracy: A current within socialism emerging in the late 19th century, accepting the democratic system and pursuing social reforms.
• Luddite: A worker's struggle in the early 19th century involving the destruction of machines, met with harsh repression, including the death penalty.

Movements and Figures

• Anarcho-communism: The most radical branch of anarchism, opposing unions and advocating for a classless society with collective ownership of production and consumer goods, and promoting direct action.
• First International: The International Workingmen's Association, founded in London in 1864, uniting socialist, anarchist, and other unions to coordinate worker struggles internationally.
• Second International: Founded in Paris in 1889, primarily with socialist ideology, rejecting collaboration with bourgeois reformism and advocating for international labor laws. It dissolved in 1914.
• Anarcho-syndicalism: A branch of anarchism promoting union organizing as a form of struggle against employers, exemplified by the CNT, and advocating for direct action.
• Karl Marx: Developed the core of socialist ideology with works like "The Communist Manifesto" and "Das Kapital." He founded the First International.
• Mikhail Bakunin: (1814-1876) Russian revolutionary thinker and key figure in anarchist ideology, known for his work "God and the State."
• SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany): Founded in 1875 with Marxist ideology, later evolving into social democracy and becoming influential across Europe.
• Labour Party (UK): Founded in 1905 with socialist ideology, later transitioning to social democracy.
• Labor Movement: Collective actions by workers to demand better living and working conditions from employers and governments, often aiming for political power and the creation of more equitable societies.