Apropos of Working-Class Political Action

Reporter’s record of the speech delivered by Engels at the London Conference of Delegates of the International Workingmen’s Association on September 21, 1871. The original text, in French, was first published in Russian in 1934 in the journal The Communist International, No. 29.

After the failure of the Paris Commune Revolution, the International Workingmen’s Association held the London Conference of Delegates to summarize the experiences and lessons gained from the Paris Commune. The issue of political action of the working class was one of the main topics of this conference. At the meeting on 20 September, the French delegate Edouard Vaillant introduced a draft resolution which emphasized the close link between political and social issues and the need for political solidarity among workers. Bakuninists tried to prevent the discussion on this issue, but they failed. Then, Engels made this conference speech against Bakunin’s anarchism. Engels first criticized Bakunin’s advocacy of political indifference. In his opinion, complete abstention from political activity would be impossible. Living experience, the political oppression of the existing governments compels the workers to occupy themselves with politics whether they like it or not, be it for political or for social goals. Therefore, to preach political abstention to workers is to throw them into the embrace of bourgeois politics. Then, Engels emphasized that the abolition of classes necessitates upholding the political rule of the proletariat. In this regard, Engels pointed out: “We want the abolition of classes. What is the means of achieving it? The only means is political domination of the proletariat.” Lastly, Engels emphasized that the workers’ party must never be the tagtail of any bourgeois party; it must be an independent party which should uphold its political goals and use political freedoms, the right of assembly and association, and the freedom of the press as weapons of struggle to achieve its goals.

Apropos of Working-Class Political Action has summarized the experiences and the lessons of the Paris Commune and emphasized the necessity of the political struggle of the working class; it had a theoretical guiding role in the development of the workers’ movement in the history of the international communist movement, and also provided an important theoretical guidance for the working class to participate in the political struggle.