The Labor Movement: Ideologies, the First International, and Global Industrial Shifts

The Rise and Development of the Labor Movement

The labor movement refers to the collective actions carried out by workers to improve their economic and political situation. In the beginning, the labor movement often promoted violence against employers and the destruction of machinery, which workers blamed for the loss of jobs and low wages.

In later dates, workers' unions or associations were created. Their primary objectives were the improvement of working conditions and wages.

Key Ideologies and Movements

Luddism

This movement rejected protest through the destruction of industrial machines, viewing technology as the cause of unemployment and poor conditions.

Socialism

Socialism was formulated primarily by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Its aim was to eliminate private property, which they saw as the root cause of social division between the bourgeoisie (owners) and the proletariat (workers). To achieve this, a revolution led by the proletariat, under the direction of the socialist party, was deemed necessary to gain access to power. Once in power, the party would temporarily implant the dictatorship of the proletariat.

Anarchism

Anarchism was developed by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon and Mikhail Bakunin. The aim was to achieve maximum individual freedom by fighting against the state, private property, and religious beliefs. Bakunin proposed a revolution starring all oppressed social sectors that ought to arise spontaneously, without centralized political direction.

The First International (International Workers Association)

The First International was founded in London in 1864 (International Workers Association). It integrated trade unions from various countries with socialists and anarchists to fight internationally against capitalism.

However, the organization failed due to internal disputes:

• Marxists favored workers forming political parties to achieve power through political means.
• Anarchists favored revolutionary unionism that would promote the general strike to support spontaneous revolution.

The dispute ended with the expulsion of the anarchists in 1872, leading to the dissolution of the International in 1876.

The International Panorama and the Second Industrial Revolution

Economic prosperity was aided by the progress of the Second Industrial Revolution and the development of big business. This era saw strong population growth, an improvement in workers' conditions, and the continued progress of the worker movement.

Major International Powers

In Western Europe, the United Kingdom, at the end of the Victorian era, lost industrial supremacy to Germany and the United States, but remained the leading commercial power.

Outside Europe, two new powers consolidated their positions:

1. United States: After the Civil War (War of Succession), the US became a great industrial power whose production in 1900 exceeded that of the UK.
2. Japan: Japan undertook rapid industrialization that significantly raised its influence in the Pacific area.