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follows from the very condition created by capitalism and from the very situation of
the working class. As these words were put in by Marx they merely stated that the
members of the International Workingmen's Association were obliged to conduct
themselves in their relations to each other in the spirit of truth, justice, and morality,
that is, not to betray each other or the class to which they belonged, not to deceive
each other, to act in a comradely spirit, etc. Instead of the principles upon which the
Utopian Socialists had based their demand for socialism, these concepts were now
transmuted by Marx into basic rules of conduct within the proletarian organisation
itself.
But the point which we are now discussing declares that these principles must
serve as a basis for the conduct of the members of the International in their relation
to all persons regardless of race, religion, or nationality. And this was not less useful.
We must bear in mind that at this time in the United States there raged the Civil
War; that shortly before the Polish insurrection had been definitely crushed; that the
Czar's armies were bringing to a successful conclusion the conquest of the Caucasus;
that religious persecution was still going on throughout most of the civilised
countries; that even in England the Jews were given political rights only toward the
end of the fifties, and that not only in Russia but in other European states, too, they
were not yet enjoying full civil rights.
The bourgeoisie had not yet materialised the "eternal" principles of morality
and justice even where members of their own class in their own countries were
involved. These principles were most unceremoniously trampled upon where
members of other countries or nationalities were concerned.
The point pertaining to Rights and Duties was much more objectionable.
There was neither rime nor reason for urging each member to fight for his rights as a
man and as a citizen; to fight not only for himself but for others. Here Marx, despite
his great diplomatic skill, was forced to make a serious concession to the
representatives of the French revolutionary emigrants who were on the committee.
Let us recall now some facts concerning the Great French Revolution. One of
the first acts was the declaration of the rights of man and of the rights of citizenship.
In its struggle against the landed aristocracy and absolutism which was
appropriating all the privileges and was imposing on others all the duties, the
revolutionary bourgeoisie brought forward demands for equality, fraternity, and
liberty, and demands that every man, every citizen, should be recognised as
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possessing a number of inalienable rights. Among these the sacred irrefragable right
of private property was particularly stressed. This right was being unhesitatingly
violated by the aristocracy and by the royal power where the property of the Third
Estate was concerned.
The Jacobins introduced only a few corrections into this declaration of rights.
The point concerning the sacredness of private property was left intact. The
declaration was rendered more radical with respect to politics, for it sanctioned the
right of the people to revolt and it emphasised the brotherhood of all nations. In this
form it is known as the Declaration of Rights of 1793 or of Robespierre, and it
became the programme of the French revolutionists from the beginning of 1830.
On the other hand Mazzini's adherents insisted on the acceptance of his
programme.. In his famous book, On the Duties of Man, which was translated into
English and which won wide popularity there among the workers, Mazzini, in accord
with his slogan, "God and the People," and in contradistinction to the French
materialists with their declaration of the rights of man based on reason and nature,
advanced the conception of duty, of obligations, instilled by God in man as the
fundamental premise of his idealistic ethics.
We now understand the derivation of Marx's formula: There are no rights
without duties, there are no duties with out rights. Forced to incorporate the
demands from the Declaration of Rights, Marx utilized the controversy between the
Frenchmen and the Italians to underline in his formulation the distinction between
this demand and the former demand of the bourgeoisie. The proletariat also
demands its rights but it declares at the outset that it does not admit the rights of the
individual without the individual's corresponding duties to society.
When a few years later, the Constitution was re-examined, Marx suggested
that only the words referring to the Declaration of Rights be stricken out. The
proposition dealing with Rights and Duties was retained, and was later incorporated
into the Erfurt Programme in the form of Equal Rights and Equal Duties.
We shall now pass on to the study of the Constitution itself
"1. This Association is established to afford a central medium of
communication and co-operation between Working Men's Societies existing in
different countries and aiming at the same end; viz., the protection,
advancement, and complete emancipation of the working classes.
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"2. The name of the Society shall be The International Working Men's
Association.
"3. There shall annually meet a General Working Men's Congress,
consisting of delegates of the branches of the Association. The Congress will
have to proclaim the common aspirations of the working class, take the
measures required for the successful working of the International Association,
and appoint the General Council of the Society.
"4. Each Congress appoints the time and place of meeting for the next
Congress. The delegates assemble at the appointed time and place without any
special invitation. The General Council may, in case of need, change the place,
but has no power to postpone the time of meeting. The Congress appoints the
seat and elects the members of the General Council annually. The General
Council thus elected shall have power to add to the number of its members.
"On its annual meetings, the General Congress shall receive a public
account of the annual transactions of the General Council. The latter may, in
cases of emergency, convoke the General Congress before the regular yearly
term.
"5. The General Council shall consist of working men from the different
countries represented in the International Association. It shall from its own
members elect the officers necessary for the transaction of business, such as a
treasurer, a general secretary, corresponding secretaries for the different
countries, etc.
"6. The General Council shall form an international agency between the
different national and local groups of the Association, so that the working men
in one country be constantly informed of the movements of their class in every
other country; that an inquiry into the social state of the different countries of
Europe be made simultaneously, and under a common direction; that the
questions of general interest mooted in one society be ventilated by all; and
that when immediate practical steps should be needed -- as, for instance, in
case of international quarrels -- the action of the associated societies be
simultaneous and uniform. Whenever it seems opportune, the General
Council shall take the initiative of proposals to be laid before the different
national or local societies. To facilitate the communications, the General
Council shall publish periodical reports.
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