S. J. Rutgers
Encyclopedia
Sebald Justin Rutgers was a Dutch
Marxist theoretician and journalist who played an important role in the Left Wing section
of the Socialist Party of America
. He was also a construction engineer who was active in building industry in the Soviet Union
.
graduated as a civil engineer and took a job for the municipality of Rotterdam, where he worked on the expansion of the port. At the same time, he was active from 1899 in the SDAP. From
1911 to 1915 he was director of public works in Medan, and then buyer for Indian companies in the United States.
, Rutgers was a frequent contributor to the Left Wing socialist press in America. His influential articles in The International Socialist Review and other publications supported the antimilitarist Zimmerwald Left
movement and helped publicize the ideas of revolutionary socialism
to an American
audience. Rutgers was the moving force behind the establishment of a group called the Socialist Propaganda League
in 1915, a revolutionary socialist
forerunner of the Communist Party of America.
Rutgers was subsequently regarded as one of the leading theoreticians of the Left Wing of the Socialist Party of America
, a tendency which emerged as the Communist Party of America after 1919.
After the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, Rutgers made his way to Soviet Russia. From 1922-1926, he had the lead in the construction of an international workers cooperative, the Kuzbass Autonomous Industrial Colony
in the Kuzbas area of Siberia. From 1926-1938 he lived alternately in the Netherlands, Vienna, and Moscow.
In 1938 Rutgers left the Soviet Union fearing that he might otherwise become a victim of the Great Purge
(secret police terror) which was sweeping the USSR.
Back in the Netherlands, Rutgers lived out his life as a respected, but non-influential member of the Communist Party of the Netherlands
.
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
Marxist theoretician and journalist who played an important role in the Left Wing section
Left Wing Section of the Socialist Party
The Left Wing Section of the Socialist Party was an organized faction within the Socialist Party of America in 1919 which served as the core of the dual communist parties which emerged in the fall of that year — the Communist Party of America and the Communist Labor Party of America.-Precusors:A...
of the Socialist Party of America
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
. He was also a construction engineer who was active in building industry in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Early years
S.J. Rutgers was born in Leiden, Netherlands on January 25, 1879. He studied from 1896 to the Technical Polytechnic School in Delft, where he came into contact with socialism. In 1900 hegraduated as a civil engineer and took a job for the municipality of Rotterdam, where he worked on the expansion of the port. At the same time, he was active from 1899 in the SDAP. From
1911 to 1915 he was director of public works in Medan, and then buyer for Indian companies in the United States.
Political activities
During the world warWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Rutgers was a frequent contributor to the Left Wing socialist press in America. His influential articles in The International Socialist Review and other publications supported the antimilitarist Zimmerwald Left
Zimmerwald Left
The Zimmerwald Left was a revolutionary minority fraction at the Zimmerwald Peace Conference of 1915, headed by Lenin. The Left of the Zimmerwald Congress was made up of eight out of 38 people: Lenin, Zinoviev , Jānis K. Bērziņš , Karl Radek , Julian Borchardt , Fritz Platten , Zeth Höglund and...
movement and helped publicize the ideas of revolutionary socialism
Revolutionary socialism
The term revolutionary socialism refers to Socialist tendencies that advocate the need for fundamental social change through revolution by mass movements of the working class, as a strategy to achieve a socialist society...
to an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
audience. Rutgers was the moving force behind the establishment of a group called the Socialist Propaganda League
Socialist Propaganda League
The Socialist Propaganda League was a tiny socialist group active in London from circa 1911 to 1951.The League was formed as a result of an early dispute in the Socialist Party of Great Britain and of the optimistic belief of the Party’s founder members that the socialist revolution was near...
in 1915, a revolutionary socialist
Revolutionary socialism
The term revolutionary socialism refers to Socialist tendencies that advocate the need for fundamental social change through revolution by mass movements of the working class, as a strategy to achieve a socialist society...
forerunner of the Communist Party of America.
Rutgers was subsequently regarded as one of the leading theoreticians of the Left Wing of the Socialist Party of America
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
, a tendency which emerged as the Communist Party of America after 1919.
After the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, Rutgers made his way to Soviet Russia. From 1922-1926, he had the lead in the construction of an international workers cooperative, the Kuzbass Autonomous Industrial Colony
Kuzbass Autonomous Industrial Colony
The Kuzbass Autonomous Industrial Colony was a Soviet experiment in workers' control during the New Economic Policy, based in Kuzbass, Siberia.-Further reading:...
in the Kuzbas area of Siberia. From 1926-1938 he lived alternately in the Netherlands, Vienna, and Moscow.
In 1938 Rutgers left the Soviet Union fearing that he might otherwise become a victim of the Great Purge
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
(secret police terror) which was sweeping the USSR.
Back in the Netherlands, Rutgers lived out his life as a respected, but non-influential member of the Communist Party of the Netherlands
Communist Party of the Netherlands
The Communist Party of the Netherlands was a Dutch communist political party. The CPN is one of the predecessors of the GreenLeft.- Foundation :...
.
External links
- http://weblogs.nrc.nl/moskou/2011/08/20/siberie-4-nederlanders-in-kemerovo/ Dutch language