Disillusioned with the Labour Movement: Late Marx and the Prospects of Revolution in Western Europe

Abstract

ABSTRACTRecent research has emphasised how Marx’s views underwent profound change after 1870. Its major focus has been on how Marx’s increasing interest in developments in Russia culminated in his adoption of the Russian populists' belief that the country might reach socialism without passing through the stage of capitalism. Less attention has been devoted to Marx’s later attitude towards the prospects of proletarian revolution in Western Europe. This paper attempts a more detailed explanation of Marx’s approach to the development of the labour movement in Britain, France and Germany during the 1870s. It also aims to show that he no longer expected a forthcoming revolution carried out by the organised working class in the most advanced Western European countries. First, Marx complained of the lack of revolutionary spirit in the British proletariat; moreover, he criticised the immaturity of the French labour movement; finally, he rejected the eclectic ideology of German social democracy, which was on the rise.