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The Second International was an international Marxist organization that existed from 1889 to 1914. It was mostly based in Europe and North America but gave support to anticolonial movements in the Global South. The International collapsed in 1914 when it broke into groups supporting different sides of the First World War.[1]
Political positions
At its first congress in 1889, the Second International stated that socialism cannot occur without a proletarian revolution. It advocated for the eight-hour work day, state-sponsored insurance and pensions, public education, and women's suffrage. The International prioritized the proletariat and did not make alliances with the peasants or petty bourgeoisie.[1]
Factions
During the First World War, the Second International split into three factions: social-chauvinists who supported the war such as Plekhanov and Scheidemann, internationalist anti-imperialists including Lenin, Luxemburg, and Liebknecht, and opportunist centrists such as Kautsky who varied between the two sides.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mike Taber (2022-06-28). "The Second International’s Conflicted Legacy" Monthly Review. Archived from the original on 2022-06-29. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
- ↑ Vladimir Lenin (1917). The Tasks of the Proletariat in Our Revolution: 'The Situation within the Socialist International'. [MIA]