Course on Anti-Imperialism, War and Peace, Part 1b
Revolution in Paris, France, February 1848
The First International
The Communist Manifesto is a deliberately internationalist document. Karl Marx and Frederick Engels were deployed in 1847 to write it by the international Communist League, of which they were members. The League was strongly based among continental workers in London, where the first edition was printed (in German) while Marx was running a part of it in Brussels, Belgium, Engels was in Germany, and Communist League members were in action in many other countries including France.
The Manifesto’s publication coincided almost exactly with the outbreak of revolution in France, in February of 1848, which quickly spread to other countries. The final Chapter IV of the Manifesto says among other things that: “… the Communists everywhere support every revolutionary movement against the existing social and political order of things,” and it finishes with the famous slogan “Working Men of All Countries, Unite!”
The Communist Manifesto is one of the first two books of Marxism. Both were written and published in 1847/early 1848 (the other book is “The Poverty of Philosophy”). Marxism was internationalist from the start and has never ceased to be so.
Most of the revolutions of 1848 were aimed at overthrowing feudal monarchies, or in other words turning kingdoms into republics, if necessary by supporting the bourgeoisie in the anti-monarchy revolution. The content of Marxist internationalism still includes relentless opposition to monarchy.
Our main text today is Marx’s 1864 Address to the International Working Men’s Association (The First International) which was the consequence of his being invited and elected to the leadership of that organisation (formed in London in a hall next to where the South African High Commission now stands). Please download and read the Address in the downloadable MS-Word version linked below. Marx had been in exile in London since 26 August 1849 after being banished in quick succession from Belgium and Germany and twice from France. By 1864, Marx’s reputation was that of being the foremost internationalist of his time.The First International survived until shortly after the Paris Commune fell in 1871.
The Second International was established at a gathering in Chur, Switzerland ten years later (1881), two years before Marx’s death in 1883, and fourteen years before Engels’ death in 1895. The Second International fostered Lenin and Rosa Luxemburg among many others. Its collapse in 1914 marked the great division between the opportunists (such as “the renegade” Kautsky) who in the face of imperialist war folded their internationalism and became cowardly national chauvinists, and on the other hand the true internationalists like Luxemburg and Lenin who opposed the imperialist war. These latter ones, the true internationalists, were also the communists, who established the communist parties that still exist today.
The Third International, also called the Communist International (or Comintern) was launched in Soviet Russia less than two years after the October Revolution, in 1919, and in 1921 it admitted the Communist Party of South Africa into membership, thus founding the party that is today known as the South African Communist Party, the SACP.
The history of the communists is an unbroken line of internationalism of which the SACP is an indissoluble part. There is no communism separate from internationalism. The SACP is still internationalist and continues to promote the same relentless anti-monarchical, anti-feudal, anti-colonial, anti-neo-colonial, anti-imperialist cause as before and will do so until the day of continental permanent proletarian revolution arrives in Africa.
Please download and read this brief but powerful text:
Further (optional) reading:
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defensor de Pancho villa cundo villa se encotro en una emboscad en durango mexico la armada de la infanteria de U.S.A y caballeria y el general villa salia herido y el Soldado villista Bruno Maria Carrera CHavez liquido 300 soldados con las armas y equpio como La ametralladora Hotchkiss Mle 1914 fue la ametralladora estándar del Ejército americano caballeria de U.S.A con esa emboscada,del cerro chinaquates durango mexico el villista Bruno Maria Carrera Chavez es recordado en esta ciudad durangense como un héroe revolucionario y como el hombre que con echos y valentia y sinedo el primar mexicano que liquidando a Estados Unidos una mañana de marzo hace 92 años Aunque los historiadores han hablado sobre la recompensa en sus narraciones de ese tiempo, una vocera de la embajada de Estados Unidos en México dijo que el gobierno estadounidense nunca ofreció una recompensa por Bruno Maria Carrera Chavez. Ella dijo que una resolución que autorizaba el pago de 1500,000 dólares fue presentada al Congreso, pero aparentemente nunca se aprobó Originario de santiago papasquiaro dgo', en Durango, inició sus actividades revolucionarias con los maderistas. En 1912 permaneció leal al gobierno logrando sustraer los distritos de Arteaga y Andrés del Río a la obediencia orozquista. Todavía en 1912 se unió a las fuerzas del General Victoriano Huerta en Bachimba cuando quedó vencido el Orozquismo. Luego luchó contra el “usurpador”, en 1913 y 1914, pero desconoció a Venustiano Carranza pues era General en la División del Norte. El 23 de junio de 1914 junto a demás generales participó en la Batalla de Zacatecas en la que salieron victoriosos. En la Convención de Aguascalientes donde asistió como delegado, votó por el retiro de Venustiano Carranza de la Capital del país.Participo en las ultimas campañas de la División del Norte, entre las cuales destaco en la campaña de Sonora, en el año de 1915 comandando la Brigada "Trinidad Rodriguez" campaña que marco el fin de esa poderosa Division.Desde Estados Unidos conspiró contra el gobierno de Venustiano Carranza; al salir de la prisión, organizó algunas fuerzas y se internó por Ciudad Juárez en territorio mexicano. Fracasó en su intento y fue hecho prisionero el 25 de mayo de 1916, siendo remitido por el general Gabriel Gavira a la penitenciaría del estado de Chihuhua. Fue liberado en septiembre de ese año por Francisco Villa, quién tomó por sorpresa la capital estatal. Se refugió en Estados Unidos, donde fue nuevamente aprehendido. En agosto de 1917 volvió a la lucha bajo la bandera villista, pero fue asesinado a las afueras de la Hacienda de Nogales, en Chihuahua
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