Tower of Bebel
28th August 2007, 15:55
I study history in Ghent, which was basicly the home of the Belgian worker's party (BWP or POB) in Flanders during its first years of excistance (1885-1914). The BWP had a strong support amongst the Walloon metal workers and coal miners, and its decendant - the socialist party (SP or PS) - has still some significant support in the Walloon community (Walloonia) though it suffered from its first small defeat during the last parliamentary elections. In Flanders, the people mostly ralied to the katholic party, as industrialisation started very lately in the region and the katholic government issued cheap train tickets which made it possible for workers to stay in the country side rather than joining the urban proletariat. The only place where industrialisation took off early in Flanders was the city of Ghent. It's there where the first cooperatives (shops) and mutualities (social security and trade unions) in Flanders were succesful amongst the workers, allthough the socialist trade union (the syndical commission) only had about 15.000 members. The BWP had its headquarters in this city, which was called Vooruit! (advance!) and also its newspaper was called Vooruit.
The BWP had a strong revolutionary parole, yet it was a reformist party from the beginning. The Walloon workers had a revolutionary spirit, which lasted till the early eighties, but the Flemish were still mainly katholic and in order to convince them the first charter of the BWP (1894) - the charter of quaregnon - looked like the program of Gotha (1875) of the German SPD: revolutionary parole, reformist program. There was never a revolutionary party in Belgium before World War One, and the reformist party never had a strong revolutionary wing in the party itself. The party was concidered revolutionary by the bourgeoisie of both the katholic and the liberal parties, and this made the Walloons believe that the POB (BWP) still had a revolutionary spirit.
The first revolutionary party was the Communist party of Belgium (KPB or PCB). This party was modeled after the Bolshevik party of the early 1920's, and when Stalin took power its leadership wanted to follow Stalin. Yet there was a strong tendency oriented towards the Left Opposition and later to Trotsky. It became a majority if I'm correct, yet either they were expelled or the trotskyists felt pressure from above to join the example of the party's leadership.
The communist party was a critical threat on BWP's left, but it was inable to get a massive electoral support in the Flanders. Only in Walloonia the KPB was able to get some significant support. The Belgian parliament though was more concerned with extreme-rightist parties like Rex (conservative, nationalist, fascist and katholic) and Verdinaso (Bond of 'Dietse' (adjective refering to the northern Germanic regions) national-solidarists).
After World War Two the KPB had a massive support because it was an important branch of the Belgian recistance. The KPB joined the government with the BWP in 1946 (the BWP changed its name to the Socialist party of Belgium (SPB or PSB)) and got punished because it was held responsible for the capitalist policy of the late 1940's.
The Trotskyists had a small party during the 1930's but were inable to get some support, as the workers were devided between reformists, stalinists, fascists and katholics.
As you can see there was never a revolutionary leadership in Belgium. The First International in Belgium was almost a myth. The strongest groups were maybe the anarchists they stayed a small vanguard of the working class, even smaller today. The second International betrayed the workers from the beginning. The Third International had only one chance to show what it was made of and it screwed everything. The BWP took the KPB out by making them responsible for the policy of the late 1940's. They were easily tricked. The fourth international never had an opportunity before the war, and it never had one after the war. The Belgian workers were always devided because of a 3-party system made of katholics, liberals and social-democrats.
This contrasts with the succes of the Bolsheviks in Russia by 1917. Even with the succes of other revolutionaries in Russia. Is there anyone who has lots of info on the growth of revolutionary parties in Europe? I also do not know a lot of the revolutionary left in Russia before the Great War, so this information could also come in handy. I want to study examples to find out why there wasn't a revolutionary party in Belgium till the 1920's.
Info on Germany, France, Englangs would also be nice, whatever, as long as you think it is a very good example for me to study. Threads can also help.
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Ignore it, I already found some good writings on the subject.
The BWP had a strong revolutionary parole, yet it was a reformist party from the beginning. The Walloon workers had a revolutionary spirit, which lasted till the early eighties, but the Flemish were still mainly katholic and in order to convince them the first charter of the BWP (1894) - the charter of quaregnon - looked like the program of Gotha (1875) of the German SPD: revolutionary parole, reformist program. There was never a revolutionary party in Belgium before World War One, and the reformist party never had a strong revolutionary wing in the party itself. The party was concidered revolutionary by the bourgeoisie of both the katholic and the liberal parties, and this made the Walloons believe that the POB (BWP) still had a revolutionary spirit.
The first revolutionary party was the Communist party of Belgium (KPB or PCB). This party was modeled after the Bolshevik party of the early 1920's, and when Stalin took power its leadership wanted to follow Stalin. Yet there was a strong tendency oriented towards the Left Opposition and later to Trotsky. It became a majority if I'm correct, yet either they were expelled or the trotskyists felt pressure from above to join the example of the party's leadership.
The communist party was a critical threat on BWP's left, but it was inable to get a massive electoral support in the Flanders. Only in Walloonia the KPB was able to get some significant support. The Belgian parliament though was more concerned with extreme-rightist parties like Rex (conservative, nationalist, fascist and katholic) and Verdinaso (Bond of 'Dietse' (adjective refering to the northern Germanic regions) national-solidarists).
After World War Two the KPB had a massive support because it was an important branch of the Belgian recistance. The KPB joined the government with the BWP in 1946 (the BWP changed its name to the Socialist party of Belgium (SPB or PSB)) and got punished because it was held responsible for the capitalist policy of the late 1940's.
The Trotskyists had a small party during the 1930's but were inable to get some support, as the workers were devided between reformists, stalinists, fascists and katholics.
As you can see there was never a revolutionary leadership in Belgium. The First International in Belgium was almost a myth. The strongest groups were maybe the anarchists they stayed a small vanguard of the working class, even smaller today. The second International betrayed the workers from the beginning. The Third International had only one chance to show what it was made of and it screwed everything. The BWP took the KPB out by making them responsible for the policy of the late 1940's. They were easily tricked. The fourth international never had an opportunity before the war, and it never had one after the war. The Belgian workers were always devided because of a 3-party system made of katholics, liberals and social-democrats.
This contrasts with the succes of the Bolsheviks in Russia by 1917. Even with the succes of other revolutionaries in Russia. Is there anyone who has lots of info on the growth of revolutionary parties in Europe? I also do not know a lot of the revolutionary left in Russia before the Great War, so this information could also come in handy. I want to study examples to find out why there wasn't a revolutionary party in Belgium till the 1920's.
Info on Germany, France, Englangs would also be nice, whatever, as long as you think it is a very good example for me to study. Threads can also help.
----------
Ignore it, I already found some good writings on the subject.