Sotiron Michael. The Non-Revolutionary Nature of the German Social Democratic Party from 1863-1890

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of arts in the Department of history. Simon Fraser University: Vancouver, 1972 — 200 p.The thesis contains three interwoven parts: the transformation of a collection of worker's educational societies into a mass political movement that was the largest socialist party in the world; the theoretical development of the Social Democratic Party from the ideology of Ferdinand Lassalle to the "orthodox Marxism" of Karl Kautsky, who composed the official programme of the party in 1891, the Erfurt Programme; and the relationship of Marx and Engels to the party and an account of the creation of the myth of the revolutionary origins of the party. In the 1860s the nascent labour movement was characterized by its eventual separation from an alliance with the bourgeois and petty-bourgeois political groups that sponsored the worker's associations. Ferdinand Lassalle's response to a Leipzig worker's group helped to open the way to independence for the movement, as he created and led a workers' association which was based on agitating for state-sponsored productive cooperatives and universal suffrage. The labour movement grew as Germany's industrial development gained momentum, and out of the movement two principal political groups formed — the Lassallian ADAV, which was based in Prussia, and the other, led by August Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknecht and eventually called the Eisenach Party, which was based in southern Germany and the Rhine. Although the Eisenachers were identified by the watchword "Marxist" and the ADAV as "Lassallian", this was a false distinction. Their difference lay not in social and political theory, since their programmes were largely similar, but rather on their stands on the German national question. The ADAV was in favour of a Germany united by Prussia excluding Austria, while the Eisenachers were anti-Prussian and opposed excluding Austria in the unification of Germany. This question and their disagreement became obsolete as the Franco-Prussian War decided the national question, and so five years later the two groups united to form the Social Democratic Labour Party of Germany. The party grew rapidly, as each new election success testified until the Prussian government outlawed it in 1878. This produced a crisis in the party, as well as the creation of left and right wing in the party, and it barely avoided self-destruction. The Lassallian ideology with its emphasis on state-aid, social determinism, and especially universal suffrage as the panacea to all social ills fit the party's needs perfectly. Due to the party's later transformation into a mass party and the pressure of the anti-Socialist laws, there were growing instances of opportunistic actions by the leadership during the 1880s as well as a resolute strengthening of the reformist forces. All this led to charges from the left of the party that the party was betraying its revolutionary origins. These charges were repeated by Lenin and other revolutionaries in criticism of the party's support of the government in 1914, and a myth was created.Origins and Early Days of the Movement (1863-1870).
The Paris Commune and the Development of the Party until the Anti-Socialist laws of 1878.
The Anti-Socialist laws and the Aftermath.