The St. Imier Congress was a meeting of the Jura Federation and anti-authoritarian

apostates Apostasy (; ) is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous religious beliefs. One who ...

of the

First International The International Workingmen's Association (IWA; 1864–1876), often called the First International, was a political international which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, social democratic, communist, and anarchist ...

in September 1872.

Background

Among the ideological debates within the

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

and

Mikhail Bakunin Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin. Sometimes anglicized to Michael Bakunin. ( ; – 1 July 1876) was a Russian revolutionary anarchist. He is among the most influential figures of anarchism and a major figure in the revolutionary socialist, s ...

disagreed on the revolutionary role of the

working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

and political struggle. Following the demise of the 1871

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...

, the International debated whether the proletariat should create its own state (Marx's position) or continue making commune attempts (Bakunin's position). Marx arranged the International's 1872 Congress in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, the Netherlands, where Bakunin could not attend without arrest in Germany or France. The Hague Congress sided with Marx and expelled Bakunin from the International over aspects of his dissent and person, causing a split that would ultimately end the organization. International delegates of the minority opposed to Bakunin's expulsion met early in the September 1872 Hague Congress, in which 16 delegates (Spanish, Belgian, Dutch, Jurassic, and some American and French) privately decided to band together as anti-authoritarians. Before the vote, they presented a signed Minority Declaration, in which they expressed that the Congress's business ran counter to their represented countries' principles. They wished to retain administrative contact and maintain federative autonomy within the International in lieu of splitting it. Following the Hague Congress, anti-authoritarian minority delegates traveled to

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

and issued a statement that they would not recognize the Congress's proceedings. They considered the circumstances around Bakunin's expulsion as unjust and encouraged anti-authoritarian federations to protest. The group continued on to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, where some met with Bakunin in

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

Congress

Earlier, in late August, the Italian Federation and Jura Federation began to plan an international alternative congress in Switzerland. The Italians and

Errico Malatesta Errico Malatesta (4 December 1853 – 22 July 1932) was an Italian anarchist propagandist, theorist and revolutionary socialist. He edited several radical newspapers and spent much of his life exiled and imprisoned, having been jailed and expel ...

arrived in Zurich during the Hague Congress. They were joined by Andrea Costa and the Hague delegates Adhémar Schwitzguébel, Carlo Cafiero, and those from

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Bakunin presented his drafts for an Alliance organization to serve allied delegates in the International, but few took the effort seriously. The international alternative congress met in St. Imier on September 14 and 15, 1872. The group of 16 included Bakunin, the Zurich group, and a Russian group from Zurich. Prior to the international congress, Schwitzguébel read a report. The group then resolved to reject as unjust the Hague Congress and its General Council's authoritarianism. A second resolution upheld the honor of the expelled Bakunin and Guillaume, and recognized the two within the Jura International. The alternative congress followed these proceedings. In four groups, the delegates wrote resolutions on September 15 and 16. All four of the resolutions were passed unanimously on the 16th. Its first resolution held that the Hague Congress majority's sole intent was to make the International more

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

, and resolved to reject that Congress's resolutions and the authority of its new General Council. The second resolution, the St. Imier pact, was a "pact of friendship, solidarity, and mutual defense" joining all interested federations against the General Council's authoritarian interests. The third resolution condemned the Hague Congress's advocacy for a singular path to proletariat social emancipation. It declared that the proletariat's first duty is to destroy all political power, rejected political organization (even temporary) towards this end as even more dangerous than contemporary governments, and advocated for uncompromising

solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

between proletarians internationally. The resolutions were bolder in language than the Hague Congress's Minority Declaration, likely on account of Bakunin's presence.

Delegates

The St. Imier Congress delegates included: Italian Federation * Andrea Costa * Carlo Cafiero *

* Lodovico Nabruzzi * Giuseppi Fanelli Jura Federation * James Guillaume * Adhémar Schwitzguébel Spanish Federation * * Rafael Farga * Nicolás Alonso Marselau * Tomás González Morago French sections * Jean-Louis Pindy * American sections * Gustave Lefrançais

References

Bibliography

* {{Portal bar, Anarchism, Socialism, Switzerland 1872 conferences 1872 in politics Anarchism in Switzerland History of anarchism History of socialism Jura Federation International Workingmen's Association Anarchist congresses 1872 in Switzerland September 1872 19th-century political conferences