The International after 150 Years Labor vs Capital, Then and Now [Hardcover]

The International Workingmens Association was the prototype of all organizations of the Labor movement and the 150^thanniversary of its birth (1864-2014) offers an important opportunity to rediscover its history and learn from its legacy.

The International helped workers to grasp that the emancipation of labour could not be won in a single country but was a global objective. It also spread an awareness in their ranks that they had to achieve the goal themselves, through their own capacity for organization, rather than by delegating it to some other force; and that it was essential to overcome the capitalist system itself, since improvements within it, though necessary to pursue, would not eliminate exploitation and social injustice.

This book reconsider the main issues broached or advanced by the International  such as labor rights, critiques of capitalism and the search for international solidarity  in light of present-day concerns. With the recent crisis of capitalism, that has sharpened more than before the division between capital and labor, the political legacy of the organization founded in London in 1864 has regained profound relevance, and its lessons are today more timely than ever.

This book was published as a special issue of Socialism and Democracy.

1. Introduction  Victor Wallis

2. On the History and Legacy of the First International  Marcello Musto

3. Documents from the International Workingmen's Association

4. Marx and the Politics of the First International  George C. Comninel

5. Capitalist Crisis, Cooperative Labor, and the Conquest of Political Power: Marxs Inaugural Address (1864) and its Relevance in the Current Moment  Michael Joseph Roberto

6. A Common Banner: Marxistlc%