Louis Pio
Encyclopedia
Louis Pio was one of the principal founders of the organized worker's movement in Denmark, and the principal founder of the Danish Social Democratic Party
.
bourgeois family. Pio's childhood was not especially happy: the family was poor and his parents divorced when he was 12. He was expelled from school due to disciplinary problems, but nevertheless managed to work as an adjunct teacher at a private school with a progressive curriculum (the Borgerdydskole). He tried, without success, to enter a teacher's seminary and, later, to obtain an officer's commission. Eventually, he began to study Danish folklore and had some success as a writer, issuing a book on Holger Danske
. In 1869, Pio began to write articles for a paper (Dags Avisen) established by his cousin Harald Brix. In 1870, Pio began to work for the Danish postal service, where he made the lasting contribution of inventing the red postbox, seen everywhere in Denmark even today.
swept Europe, that he established contact with formal socialist movements. In that year, he resigned from the Danish postal service, and began a written correspondence with the German-speaking branch of the Socialist International
in Geneva
, as well as meeting like-minded socialists in Copenhagen. Together with Harald Brix and Poul Geleff, he labored to set up a Danish section of the Socialist International
, following the English model of setting up trade unions. During the day, Pio worked as a tutor for a wealthy bourgeois family, and during the evenings he wrote for Socialisten, Brix's new weekly newspaper whose first edition came out on May 21, 1871. The paper was very successful, and Pio became the main writer for its articles as well as the main theoretician for the group of socialists. Ideologically, Pio did not hew to a narrow path, and presented ideas primarily from Ferdinand Lassalle
and Karl Marx
. On October 15, 1871, the Danish section of the Socialist International was founded, with Pio as its foreman. His leadership was controversial since other Danish socialists considered his style somewhat dictatorial, but he established good contacts with socialist movements elsewhere in Europe, maintaining an extensive correspondence with other socialist leaders, much of which survives today.
Pio is known for his tactical skill in employing strike
s. He argued that three conditions must be met before a strike could be initiated: a majority of the strikers must be members of the International; there must be sufficient funds to sustain the strikers; and strikes must not occur simultaneously in more than one trade. These tactics brought workers concrete gains in the form of higher wages, and were the primary reason for the rapid growth in membership achieved by the international worker's association for Denmark beginning in late 1871.
On May 4, 1872 Pio, Brix, and Geleff were arrested for calling a public workers' meeting, in defiance of a government prohibition against such meetings. Widespread disturbances followed their arrest. Pio was sentenced to five years imprisonment. He was cultivated as a martyr by the socialist movement, and continued to write articles which were smuggled from prison and published in Socialisten. Released early, he reestablished himself as the movement's leader in 1875. The movement had become increasingly popular, and the newspaper, now called Social Demokraten had a wide circulation. But the movement became increasingly unhappy over Pio's authoritarian leadership style. In 1877, he left Denmark, to the great indignation of Danish socialists, who discovered that he had been bribed by the police to leave the country. He traveled to Smoky Hill River, Kansas, to found a socialist colony, which soon failed because of the lack of agricultural expertise among the colonists. He moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he lived in poverty, working at odd jobs, until he died on June 27, 1894.
Social Democrats (Denmark)
The Social Democrats , is a Danish political party committed to the political ideology of social democracy. It is the major coalition partner in Denmark's government since the 2011 parliamentary election, and party leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt is the current Prime Minister of Denmark...
.
Early life
Pio was born December 14, 1841 in Roskilde, Denmark. His father was an officer in the Danish Army, of French ancestry, and his mother came from a North JutlandJutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
bourgeois family. Pio's childhood was not especially happy: the family was poor and his parents divorced when he was 12. He was expelled from school due to disciplinary problems, but nevertheless managed to work as an adjunct teacher at a private school with a progressive curriculum (the Borgerdydskole). He tried, without success, to enter a teacher's seminary and, later, to obtain an officer's commission. Eventually, he began to study Danish folklore and had some success as a writer, issuing a book on Holger Danske
Holger Danske
Holger Danske, or Ogier the Dane, is a legendary character appearing in medieval chansons de geste.Holger Danske may also refer to:*Holger Danske a Danish resistance group of World War II...
. In 1869, Pio began to write articles for a paper (Dags Avisen) established by his cousin Harald Brix. In 1870, Pio began to work for the Danish postal service, where he made the lasting contribution of inventing the red postbox, seen everywhere in Denmark even today.
Activist for Socialism
Pio had become interested in socialism through his reading of Danish folk literature, which often depicted the oppressed joining together to oppose their oppressors. But it was not until 1871, when news of the Paris CommuneParis Commune
The Paris Commune was a government that briefly ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It existed before the split between anarchists and Marxists had taken place, and it is hailed by both groups as the first assumption of power by the working class during the Industrial Revolution...
swept Europe, that he established contact with formal socialist movements. In that year, he resigned from the Danish postal service, and began a written correspondence with the German-speaking branch of the Socialist International
International Workingmen's Association
The International Workingmen's Association , sometimes called the First International, was an international organization which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist political groups and trade union organizations that were based on the working class...
in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, as well as meeting like-minded socialists in Copenhagen. Together with Harald Brix and Poul Geleff, he labored to set up a Danish section of the Socialist International
International Workingmen's Association
The International Workingmen's Association , sometimes called the First International, was an international organization which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist political groups and trade union organizations that were based on the working class...
, following the English model of setting up trade unions. During the day, Pio worked as a tutor for a wealthy bourgeois family, and during the evenings he wrote for Socialisten, Brix's new weekly newspaper whose first edition came out on May 21, 1871. The paper was very successful, and Pio became the main writer for its articles as well as the main theoretician for the group of socialists. Ideologically, Pio did not hew to a narrow path, and presented ideas primarily from Ferdinand Lassalle
Ferdinand Lassalle
Ferdinand Lassalle was a German-Jewish jurist and socialist political activist.-Early life:Ferdinand Lassalle was born on 11 April 1825 in Breslau , Silesia to a prosperous Jewish family descending from Upper Silesian Loslau...
and Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
. On October 15, 1871, the Danish section of the Socialist International was founded, with Pio as its foreman. His leadership was controversial since other Danish socialists considered his style somewhat dictatorial, but he established good contacts with socialist movements elsewhere in Europe, maintaining an extensive correspondence with other socialist leaders, much of which survives today.
Pio is known for his tactical skill in employing strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
s. He argued that three conditions must be met before a strike could be initiated: a majority of the strikers must be members of the International; there must be sufficient funds to sustain the strikers; and strikes must not occur simultaneously in more than one trade. These tactics brought workers concrete gains in the form of higher wages, and were the primary reason for the rapid growth in membership achieved by the international worker's association for Denmark beginning in late 1871.
On May 4, 1872 Pio, Brix, and Geleff were arrested for calling a public workers' meeting, in defiance of a government prohibition against such meetings. Widespread disturbances followed their arrest. Pio was sentenced to five years imprisonment. He was cultivated as a martyr by the socialist movement, and continued to write articles which were smuggled from prison and published in Socialisten. Released early, he reestablished himself as the movement's leader in 1875. The movement had become increasingly popular, and the newspaper, now called Social Demokraten had a wide circulation. But the movement became increasingly unhappy over Pio's authoritarian leadership style. In 1877, he left Denmark, to the great indignation of Danish socialists, who discovered that he had been bribed by the police to leave the country. He traveled to Smoky Hill River, Kansas, to found a socialist colony, which soon failed because of the lack of agricultural expertise among the colonists. He moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he lived in poverty, working at odd jobs, until he died on June 27, 1894.