Revolutionary Socialist Party (Netherlands)
Encyclopedia
The Revolutionary Socialist Party (in Dutch: Revolutionair Socialistische Partij, RSP) was a Dutch
socialist political party
.
. Another predecessor is the Socialist Party
(Dutch: Socialistische Partij; SP), a syndicalist party, which was closely linked to the anarcho-syndicalist trade union
National Workers' Secretariat (NAS).
of the SDAP and the CPH. A leading person in the foundation was Henk Sneevliet
, a prominent former member of CPH and an associate of Leon Trotsky
. The Central Intelligence Service, the Dutch secret service at the time, attributed the foundation of the RSP to Sneevliets personal need for power and glory, from which he was blocked in the CPH which distrusted the "trotskyite
" Sneevliet.
but was unable to win a seat, due to heavy opposition of the CPH and the Communist Party of Holland-Central Committee
, an opposition group that had left the CPH. Just before the 1933 elections
Sneevliet apprehended for supporting the mutiny on the De Zeven Provinciën
. The RSP saw the mutiny as part of the liberation of the Dutch Indies. The RSP raised a large campaign with slogans as: "From the Cell to Parliament", "Make Sneevliet the public prosecutor in the House of Representatives" and "I accuse" (a clear reference to Emile Zola
's "J'accuse"). The campaign worked and the party won one seat, which was taken Sneevliet, who was consequently released from prison. The position in parliament was mainly used to propagandise.
(OSP) merged to form the Revolutionary Socialist Workers' Party (in Dutch: Revolutionair Socialistische Arbeiderspartij; RSAP). The OSP saw this as away to gain seats in the next election, while the RSP saw it as a way to strengthen its basis. Although the OSP had more members, the RSP, which had one MP, was far stronger. Former RSP'er Sneevliet remained the party's sole MP and Schmidt, the leader of the OSP became the party chairman. Sneevliet also became secretary of the party-board. Internal tensions between former members of the RSP and OSP formed the downfal of the party. In 1935 a group of former OSP'ers left the party to found the League of Revolutionary Socialists. The direct reason for this split was the question which group of leftwing German refuges the party should ally with. In 1936 Schmidt was removed from the party ranks and Sneevliet took the position of chair. Schmidt's sympathy for democracy and his fear of totalitarian dictatorship was the direct reason of this split. In the elections of 1937
the party was unable to win any seats. After these elections the party received more opposition from the Dutch government: civil servants were forbidden to be member of NAS or the RSAP and prominent members of the RSAP were persecuted for insulting 'friendly heads of state' like Hitler
. The communist CPN which had gained strength after several purges, also campaigned strongly against the "trotskyite counterrevolutionary
sect". Strong arm squads of the CPN attacked several prominent RSAP-members. Finally Trotsky and Sneevliet entered in an ideological conflict, cutting the RSAP off from its international contacts.
, May 14, 1940. the RSAP was officially dissolved. In 1938 it was already secretly decided that if the Germans would invade the RSAP would dissolve and go underground. The party was reformed into the resistance organization
Marx-Lenin-Luxemburg Front
. As such it supported the February strike
. In 1942 Sneevliet was executed. This prevented the re-foundation of the RSP after the Second World War.
The party's third way between authoritarian communism and social-democracy would later be reflected in the left-socialist Pacifist Socialist Party
, which was also founded by former members of the communist CPN
and the social-democratic PvdA.
of the CPH and the moderate reformism of the SDAP. It united all kinds of groups that did not feel welcome within the CPH and SDAP: leninists, orthodox marxists, council communists
and anarcho-socialists. The party's main goal was the proletarian world revolution
, which would replace the capitalist
system by a system of workers' council
s . In the end this would result in a communist society, where inequality
, exploitation
and class
would be eliminated.
It also had several concrete issues it campaigned on:
* as RSAP
(Dutch: Leninistische Jeugd Garde; LJG) was an independent youth organization linked to the RSAP. The party-magazine of the RSP was called The Revolutionary (Dutch: De Baanbreker), it continued as the New Torch, after the foundation of the RSAP.
and his followers in the International Left Opposition (which became the International Communist League) and signed the Declaration of the Four with the ICL in 1933. The OSP, however, was part of the International Revolutionary Marxist Centre
, along with the British Independent Labour Party
. When the two merged into the RSAP, the alignment with the IRMC continued.
National Labour Secretariat, which previously had strong links with the communist party.
, including the left-communist movement, the Trotskyist
movement (e.g. the French Workers' Struggle
or American Workers Party, or parties formed as Marxist opposition within social-democratic parties, like Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany
. Trotsky criticised the RSP/RSAP as "centrist".
Politics of the Netherlands
The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy and a decentralised unitary state. The Netherlands is described as a consociational state...
socialist political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
.
Predecessors
The oldest predecessor of the Revolutionary Socialist Party is the Revolutionary Socialist Union (Dutch: Revolutionair Socialistisch Verbond; RSV), a group of dissidents from the Communist Party Holland (CPH) led by Henk SneevlietHenk Sneevliet
Hendricus Josephus Franciscus Marie Sneevliet, known as Henk Sneevliet or the pseudonym Maring , was a Dutch Communist, who was active in both the Netherlands and the Dutch East-Indies...
. Another predecessor is the Socialist Party
Socialist Party (Netherlands, interbellum)
The Socialist Party was a Dutch revolutionary syndicalist libertarian socialist political party. The SP played only a minor role in Dutch political history.-Party History:...
(Dutch: Socialistische Partij; SP), a syndicalist party, which was closely linked to the anarcho-syndicalist trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
National Workers' Secretariat (NAS).
Foundation
In 1929 former members of both the Revolutionary Socialist Union and the Socialist Party founded the Revolutonary Socialist Party. Both parties opposed both the reformist social-democracySocial democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
of the SDAP and the CPH. A leading person in the foundation was Henk Sneevliet
Henk Sneevliet
Hendricus Josephus Franciscus Marie Sneevliet, known as Henk Sneevliet or the pseudonym Maring , was a Dutch Communist, who was active in both the Netherlands and the Dutch East-Indies...
, a prominent former member of CPH and an associate of Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
. The Central Intelligence Service, the Dutch secret service at the time, attributed the foundation of the RSP to Sneevliets personal need for power and glory, from which he was blocked in the CPH which distrusted the "trotskyite
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
" Sneevliet.
1929-1935: RSP
The RSP entered in the 1929 electionsDutch general election, 1929
A general election of the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament was held in the Netherlands on July 3, 1929.-National summary:-Parties:* Anti Revolutionary Party * Agrarians' League...
but was unable to win a seat, due to heavy opposition of the CPH and the Communist Party of Holland-Central Committee
Communist Party of Holland-Central Committee
Communist Party of Holland-Central Committee was a political party in the Netherlands...
, an opposition group that had left the CPH. Just before the 1933 elections
Dutch general election, 1933
A general election of the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament was held in the Netherlands on April 26, 1933.-National summary:-Parties:* Anti Revolutionary Party...
Sneevliet apprehended for supporting the mutiny on the De Zeven Provinciën
HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën (1908-1943)
HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën was an armoured warship of the Royal Netherlands Navy from 1910 to 1942. She was armed with 2× 280 mm , 4 × 150 mm , 10 × 75 mm and 4 × 37 mm guns. Additionally she also had a 75 mm mortar...
. The RSP saw the mutiny as part of the liberation of the Dutch Indies. The RSP raised a large campaign with slogans as: "From the Cell to Parliament", "Make Sneevliet the public prosecutor in the House of Representatives" and "I accuse" (a clear reference to Emile Zola
Émile Zola
Émile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism...
's "J'accuse"). The campaign worked and the party won one seat, which was taken Sneevliet, who was consequently released from prison. The position in parliament was mainly used to propagandise.
1935-1940: RSAP
In 1935 the RSP and the Independent Socialist PartyIndependent Socialist Party (Netherlands)
The Independent Socialist Party was a revolutionary socialist political party in the Netherlands.-History:...
(OSP) merged to form the Revolutionary Socialist Workers' Party (in Dutch: Revolutionair Socialistische Arbeiderspartij; RSAP). The OSP saw this as away to gain seats in the next election, while the RSP saw it as a way to strengthen its basis. Although the OSP had more members, the RSP, which had one MP, was far stronger. Former RSP'er Sneevliet remained the party's sole MP and Schmidt, the leader of the OSP became the party chairman. Sneevliet also became secretary of the party-board. Internal tensions between former members of the RSP and OSP formed the downfal of the party. In 1935 a group of former OSP'ers left the party to found the League of Revolutionary Socialists. The direct reason for this split was the question which group of leftwing German refuges the party should ally with. In 1936 Schmidt was removed from the party ranks and Sneevliet took the position of chair. Schmidt's sympathy for democracy and his fear of totalitarian dictatorship was the direct reason of this split. In the elections of 1937
Dutch general election, 1937
A general election of the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament was held in the Netherlands on May 26, 1937.-National summary:-Parties:* Anti Revolutionary Party...
the party was unable to win any seats. After these elections the party received more opposition from the Dutch government: civil servants were forbidden to be member of NAS or the RSAP and prominent members of the RSAP were persecuted for insulting 'friendly heads of state' like Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
. The communist CPN which had gained strength after several purges, also campaigned strongly against the "trotskyite counterrevolutionary
Counterrevolutionary
A counter-revolutionary is anyone who opposes a revolution, particularly those who act after a revolution to try to overturn or reverse it, in full or in part...
sect". Strong arm squads of the CPN attacked several prominent RSAP-members. Finally Trotsky and Sneevliet entered in an ideological conflict, cutting the RSAP off from its international contacts.
Dissolution: MLL
One day before the Dutch capitulationBattle of the Netherlands
The Battle of the Netherlands was part of Case Yellow , the German invasion of the Low Countries and France during World War II. The battle lasted from 10 May 1940 until 14 May 1940 when the main Dutch forces surrendered...
, May 14, 1940. the RSAP was officially dissolved. In 1938 it was already secretly decided that if the Germans would invade the RSAP would dissolve and go underground. The party was reformed into the resistance organization
Dutch resistance
Dutch resistance to the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during World War II can be mainly characterized by its prominent non-violence, summitting in over 300,000 people in hiding in the autumn of 1944, tended to by some 60,000 to 200,000 illegal landlords and caretakers and tolerated knowingly...
Marx-Lenin-Luxemburg Front
Marx-Lenin-Luxemburg Front
The Marx-Lenin-Luxemburg-Front was a resistance movement founded by Henk Sneevliet, Willem Dolleman and Ab Menist, some months after the German invasion of the Netherlands on 10 May 1940...
. As such it supported the February strike
February strike
The 1941 February Strike, also known as 'The Strike of February 1941', was a general strike organized during World War II in the Netherlands against the anti-Jewish measures and activities of the Nazis. Its direct causes were the pogroms held by the Germans in the Jewish neighbourhood of Amsterdam....
. In 1942 Sneevliet was executed. This prevented the re-foundation of the RSP after the Second World War.
The party's third way between authoritarian communism and social-democracy would later be reflected in the left-socialist Pacifist Socialist Party
Pacifist Socialist Party
The Pacifist Socialist Party was a Dutch left-socialist political party. The PSP played a small role in Dutch politics. It is a predecessor of the GreenLeft.-Before 1957:...
, which was also founded by former members of the communist CPN
CPN
CPN may stand for:*Called party number*Calpine Corporation, New York Stock Exchange symbol CPN*Canadian Perinatal Network*Carnivorous Plant Newsletter*Carpinteria , California, Amtrak station code CPN...
and the social-democratic PvdA.
Ideology and issues
The RSP was a left-communist party, which opposed both the authoritarian stalinismStalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
of the CPH and the moderate reformism of the SDAP. It united all kinds of groups that did not feel welcome within the CPH and SDAP: leninists, orthodox marxists, council communists
Council communism
Council communism is a current of libertarian Marxism that emerged out of the November Revolution in the 1920s, characterized by its opposition to state capitalism/state socialism as well as its advocacy of workers' councils as the basis for workers' democracy.Originally affiliated with the...
and anarcho-socialists. The party's main goal was the proletarian world revolution
Communist revolution
A communist revolution is a proletarian revolution inspired by the ideas of Marxism that aims to replace capitalism with communism, typically with socialism as an intermediate stage...
, which would replace the capitalist
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
system by a system of workers' council
Workers' council
A workers' council, or revolutionary councils, is the phenomenon where a single place of work or enterprise, such as a factory, school, or farm, is controlled collectively by the workers of that workplace, through the core principle of temporary and instantly revocable delegates.In a system with...
s . In the end this would result in a communist society, where inequality
Economic inequality
Economic inequality comprises all disparities in the distribution of economic assets and income. The term typically refers to inequality among individuals and groups within a society, but can also refer to inequality among countries. The issue of economic inequality is related to the ideas of...
, exploitation
Exploitation
This article discusses the term exploitation in the meaning of using something in an unjust or cruel manner.- As unjust benefit :In political economy, economics, and sociology, exploitation involves a persistent social relationship in which certain persons are being mistreated or unfairly used for...
and class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
would be eliminated.
It also had several concrete issues it campaigned on:
- Government intervention to combat unemploymentUnemploymentUnemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
and government subsidies for the unemployed; - Abolition of Dutch monarchy and the Senate;
- Amnesty for all political prisonerPolitical prisonerAccording to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
s and conscientious objectorConscientious objectorA conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
s; - Replacing the army by a system of workers' militiaWorker's MilitiaFollowing the quelled Revolution in Hungary , the Revolutionary Worker's and Peasant's Government ordered on February 18, 1957 the formation of the Workers' Militia . It replaced the counter-revolutionary regime's special police force...
; - Equal treatment of men and women;
- Betting working conditions for workers: a 6 hour workdays, special protection of female and young workers, a ban on night work and an obligatory vacation;
- A minimum wageMinimum wageA minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly remuneration that employers may legally pay to workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labour. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in a great many jurisdictions, there are differences of opinion about...
; - Old age pensions form the age 55;
- Decolonization of the Dutch Indies.
Representation
This table shows the RSP's results in elections to the House of Representatives and Senate, as well as the party's political leadership: the fractievoorzitter, is the chair of the parliamentary party and the lijsttrekker is the party's top candidate in the general election, these posts are normally taken by the party's leader.| Year | HoR | S | Fractievoorzitter | Lijsttrekker Lijsttrekker Lijsttrekker is a Dutch term for the top candidate of a party on a party list. He or she is almost always the party's political leader. After an election, this person usually leads the party's faction in the States-General, or serves in a senior position in the Cabinet if his party is part of... |
Cabinet Cabinet (government) A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 Dutch general election, 1929 A general election of the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament was held in the Netherlands on July 3, 1929.-National summary:-Parties:* Anti Revolutionary Party * Agrarians' League... |
0 | 0 | not applicable | Henk Sneevliet Henk Sneevliet Hendricus Josephus Franciscus Marie Sneevliet, known as Henk Sneevliet or the pseudonym Maring , was a Dutch Communist, who was active in both the Netherlands and the Dutch East-Indies... |
opposition |
| 1930 | 0 | 0 | not applicable | no elections | opposition |
| 1931 | 0 | 0 | not applicable | no elections | opposition |
| 1932 | 0 | 0 | not applicable | no elections | opposition |
| 1933 Dutch general election, 1933 A general election of the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament was held in the Netherlands on April 26, 1933.-National summary:-Parties:* Anti Revolutionary Party... |
1 | 0 | Henk Sneevliet | Henk Sneevliet | opposition |
| 1935 | 1 | 0 | Henk Sneevliet | no elections | opposition |
| 1936 | 1 * | 0 | Henk Sneevliet | no elections | opposition |
| 1937 Dutch general election, 1937 A general election of the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament was held in the Netherlands on May 26, 1937.-National summary:-Parties:* Anti Revolutionary Party... |
0 * | 0 | not applicable | no elections | opposition |
| 1938 | 0 * | 0 | not applicable | no elections | opposition |
| 1939 | 0 * | 0 | not applicable | no elections | opposition |
Municipal and provincial government
The party was particularly strong in the city of Amsterdam. Here Sneevliet was a member of the local legislative.Electorate
The RSP was mainly supported by leftwing intellectuals, who were highly concentrated in the large cities. Out of the 48.405 votes it got in 1933 20.000 were obtained in Amsterdam.Linked organisations
The Leninist Young GuardLeninist Young Guard
Leninist Young Guard was the youth wing of the Revolutionary Socialist Workers Party in the Netherlands.Sal Santen became the secretary of LJG in 1936.LJG published Arbeidersjeugd 1937-1940....
(Dutch: Leninistische Jeugd Garde; LJG) was an independent youth organization linked to the RSAP. The party-magazine of the RSP was called The Revolutionary (Dutch: De Baanbreker), it continued as the New Torch, after the foundation of the RSAP.
International organizations
The RSP was in close contact with Leon TrotskyLeon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
and his followers in the International Left Opposition (which became the International Communist League) and signed the Declaration of the Four with the ICL in 1933. The OSP, however, was part of the International Revolutionary Marxist Centre
International Revolutionary Marxist Centre
The International Revolutionary Marxist Centre was an international association of left-socialist parties. The member-parties rejected both mainstream social democracy and the Third International.-Organizational history:...
, along with the British Independent Labour Party
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
. When the two merged into the RSAP, the alignment with the IRMC continued.
Pillarized organization
Although the RSP was too small to have a real pillar of social organizations around it, it did have strong links with the anarcho-syndicalist trade unionTrade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
National Labour Secretariat, which previously had strong links with the communist party.
Relationships to other parties
The RSP was shunned by other leftwing parties, because of its strong opposition to the social-democratic SDAP and the communist CPH. Cooperation with the leftwing opposition of the SDAP, united the OSP resulted in the foundation of the RSAP in 1935.International comparison
The RSP and the RSAP are very comparable to other dissident Marxist groups within the anti-Stalinist leftAnti-Stalinist left
The anti-Stalinist left is an element of left-wing politics that is critical of Joseph Stalin's policies and the political system that developed in the Soviet Union under his rule...
, including the left-communist movement, the Trotskyist
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
movement (e.g. the French Workers' Struggle
Workers' Struggle
Lutte Ouvrière is the usual name under which the Union Communiste , a French Trotskyist political party, is known, after the name of its weekly paper. Arlette Laguiller has been its spokeswoman since 1973 and has run in each presidential election, but Robert Barcia was its founder and central...
or American Workers Party, or parties formed as Marxist opposition within social-democratic parties, like Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany
Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany was a short-lived political party in Germany during the Second Reich and the Weimar Republic. The organization was established in 1917 as the result of a split of left wing members of the Social Democratic Party of Germany...
. Trotsky criticised the RSP/RSAP as "centrist".
External links
- Archive RSP of the International Institute for Social History
- The Life and Death of Sneevliet, Workers' Liberty