The Second International (1889–1916) was an organisation of socialist and labour parties, formed on 14 July 1889 at two simultaneous Paris meetings in which delegations from twenty countries participated. The Second International continued the work of the dissolved First International, though excluding the powerful anarcho-syndicalist movement. While the international had initially declared its opposition to all warfare between European powers, most of the major European parties ultimately chose to support their respective states in World War I. After splitting into pro-Allied, pro-Central Powers, and antimilitarist factions, the international ceased to function. After the war, the remaining factions of the international went on to found the Labour and Socialist International, the International Working Union of Socialist Parties, and the Communist International.
In the wake of Russia’s Bolshevik Revolution, xenophobia and fear of communism reached hysterical proportions in the United States. Late in the afternoon of Friday, January 2, 1920, agents of the U.S. Department of Justice, in a concerted raid on reputedly communist headquarters, began arresting thousands of persons in major cities throughout the United States. In two days, nearly five thousand persons were arrested in such raids; over the next two weeks, some estimates have it, another thousand were seized. The arrests were conducted without regard for due process of law, and the treatment of those who found themselves under arrest was sometimes barbarous. The raids were the climax to a wave of chauvinism, antiradicalism, and anxiety-ridden intolerance known as the Red Scare of 1919-1920.
Under the Socialist Banner by
A collection of all the resolutions adopted by Second International congresses during the movement's revolutionary Marxist period of 1889-1912. Recent years have seen a massive growth of interest in socialism, particularly among young people. But few are fully aware of socialism's revolutionary history. For this reason, an appreciation of the Second International--often called the "Socialist International"--during its Marxist years is particularly relevant. From 1889 to 1912 resolutions of the Second International helped disseminate and popularize a revolutionary aim: the overturn of capitalism and its replacement by the democratic rule of the working class, as a first step toward socialism. Despite weaknesses and contradictions that led to the Second International's collapse in 1914, its resolutions during these years remain a resource for those studying the socialist movement's history and objectives. Many of the topics dealt with--war and militarism, immigration, trade unions and labor legislation, women 's rights, colonialism, socialist strategy and tactics--remain just as relevant today. This book is the first English-language collection ever assembled of all the resolutions adopted by congresses of the Second International in its Marxist years.
Rosa Luxemburg and the Struggle for Democratic Renewal by
What can contemporary activists and political theorists learn from the life and work of Rosa Luxemburg? Examining her contribution to radical democracy and revolutionary socialism, Jon Nixon shows why Red Rosa's legacy lives on. Luxemburg's political and intellectual formation was in itself a'long revolution', conceived of over time and in response to world events; her groundbreaking ideas around internationalism and spontaneity were formulated in the context of revolution. Returning to her thinking on global capitalism, democratic renewal, state militarism, and the social question, Nixon draws out the enduring nature of her work, using her framework of ideas as a lens through which to view the contemporary debates. By establishing a rich and distinctive account of Luxemburg, Nixon makes the argument for why her struggle for democratic renewal is as relevant as ever.
Socialism or Barbarism by
Rosa Luxemburg's writings reveal one of the most brilliant and passionate minds drawn to the revolutionary socialist movement. Through the letters, pamphlets and theorising, we see an outstanding social and economic theorist, a dedicated political activist and a devoted confidant. Providing an extensive overview of her writings, this volume contains a number of items never before anthologised. Her work was broad in scope tackling capitalism and socialism; globalisation and imperialism; history; war and peace; social struggles, trade unions, political parties; class, gender, race; the interconnection of humanity with the natural environment. The editors provide an extensive and informative introduction outlining and evaluating her life and thought. This is the most comprehensive introduction to the range of Rosa Luxemburg's thought.
Reform or Revolution by 
The Palmer Raids and the Red Scare: 1918-1920 by
In this volume of the Explaining Modern History Series, Nick Shepley explores the roots of American anti Communism and how a strong and independent left wing movement in the USA was broken during and immediately after World War One. Essential reading for anyone trying to make sense of America in the 1920s and beyond.
Rosa Luxemburg was a leading figure in the left wing of the German Social Democratic Party and played a key role in the founding of the Polish Social Democratic Party and the German Communist Party. An able, indefatigable journalist and writer, she developed a humanistic version of Marxism that emphasized internationalism, mass participation, a dislike of violence, and opposition to gradual reformism.
Red Rosa by
A giant of the political left, Rosa Luxemburg is one of the foremost minds in the canon of revolutionary socialist thought. But she was much more than just a thinker. She made herself heard in a world inimical to the voices of strong-willed women. She overcame physical infirmity and the prejudice she faced as a Jew to become an active revolutionary whose philosophy enriched every corner of an incredibly productive and creative life--her many friendships, her sexual intimacies, and her love of science, nature and art.
Eduard Bernstein was a Marxian political theorist, socialist politician, and historian who originated revisionist socialism. Through revisionist socialism, he tried to modify the traditional Marxian prediction of the imminent collapse of capitalism and the subsequent rule of the proletarian class by proposing a theory according to which social-reformist social change would lead to the realization of socialism.