- Revolutionary Socialist Party (Netherlands)
The Revolutionary Socialist Party (in Dutch: Revolutionair Socialistische Partij, RSP) was a dutch
left-communist political party .Party history
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 byHenk Sneevliet . Another predecessor is the Socialist Party (Dutch: Socialistische Partij; SP), a syndicalist party, which was closely linked to theanarcho-syndicalist trade union 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-democracy of the SDAP and theauthoritarian ,stalinist communism of the CPH. A leading person in the foundation wasHenk Sneevliet , a prominent former member of CPH and an associate ofLeon 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 stalinist CPH which distrusted the "trotskyite" Sneevliet. [cite book
last=Vossen
first=Koen
title=Vrij vissen in het Vondelpark, kleine politieke partijen in Nederland 1918-1940
publisher=Wereldbibliotheek
year=2003 p. 154]1929-1935: RSP
The RSP entered in the 1929 elections 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 theDutch Indies . The RSP raised a large campaign with slogans as: "From the Cell to Parliament", "Make Sneevliet the public prosecutor in the Second Chamber" and "I accuse" (a clear reference toEmile 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.1935-1940: RSAP
In 1935 the RSP and the Independent Socialist Party (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 contrarevolutonairy sect" [idem, p.160] . 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 capitulation,
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 to the resistance organizationMarx-Lenin-Luxemburg Front . As such it supported theFebruary strike . In 1942 Sneevliet was executed. This prevented the re-foundation of the RSP after theSecond 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 communistCPN and the social-democraticPvdA .Ideology and issues
The RSP was a
left-communist party, which opposed both the authoritarianstalinism 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 SDleninist s, orthodoxmarxists , council communists andanarcho-socialist s. The party's main goal was the proletarian world revolution, which would replace the capitalist system by a system ofworkers' council s . In the end this would result in acommunist society, whereinequality ,exploitation and class would be eliminated.It also had several concrete issues it campaigned on:
*Government intervention to combatunemployment and government subsidies for the unemployed;
*Abolition ofDutch monarchy and the Upper house of parliament;
*Amnesty for allpolitical prisoner s andconscientious objector s;
*Replacing the army by a system of workers' militia;
*Equal treatment of men and women;
*Bettingworking condition s for workers: a 6 hour workdays, special protection of female and young workers, a ban on night work and an obligatory vacation;
*Aminimum wage ;
*Old age pension s form the age 55;
*Decolonization of theDutch Indies .Representation
In this table the election results of the RSP in Tweede Kamer and Eerste Kamer elections is represented, 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.
* as RSAPMunicipal 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.
Organization
Linked organisations
The
Leninist Young Guard (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
Due to ideological conflicts between
Leon Trotsky and RSP-strongman Sneevliet the RSAP did not join theFourth International .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 union 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 Trotskyist, anti-Stalinist, parties, like the French
Workers' Struggle , and to parties formed as orthodox marxist opposition within social-democratic parties, likeIndependent Social Democratic Party of Germany .References
External links
* [http://www.iisg.nl/archives/en/files/r/10767554full.php Archive RSP] of the International Institute for Social History
* [http://archive.workersliberty.org/wlmags/wl50/trots.htm The Life and Death of Sneevliet, "Workers' Liberty"]Template group
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