Social Democratic League

The Social Democratic League (in Dutch: "Sociaal-Democratische" Bond, SDB) was a Dutch socialist political party. The SDB was the first socialist party to enter the Dutch parliament.

Party history

Before 1881

In the 1860s a socialist movement began to develop in the Netherlands. The development was aided by the foundation of the First International and the foundation of the first trade unions.

Most of those unions however were united in the moderate Algemeen Nederlandsch Werklieden Verbond (General Dutch Workingmans' Association; ANWV) in 1871, which was founded by Protestants and liberals to combat the influence of the Dutch section of the First Internationale. Some prominent Dutch representatives of the First International joined the ANWV in order to radicalize the organization. In 1878 they, led by Willem Ansigh, left the ANWV to found the Sociaal-Democratische Vereeniging (Social-Democratic Association; SDV). It had branches in major cities like Amsterdam, the Hague, Haarlem and Rotterdam

1881-1893: SDB

The SDB was founded in 1881 by members of the SDV and similar local socialist parties. The strongest of these local socialist parties were located in the poor rural province Friesland. The party was based on Marxist principles and therefore expected a proletarian revolution. In 1882 Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis, a lapsed Lutheran minister, was elected as general secretary of the party. He would hold this position until 1887 and grow to become the party's strongman, he retained the position when he was in prison in 1886-1887 for insulting the monarchy. The party published the paper "Justice for All" ("Recht voor Allen") of which Domela was editor. The SDB was also member of the League for General Suffrage, which was a dominantly liberal organization which campaigned for universal suffrage.

In 1888, despite the party's revolutionary orientation it decided to participate in the elections. Domela Nieuwenhuis was elected into the Tweede Kamer for the district of Schoterland. The party was supported by the liberal Friesche Volkspartij (Frisian People's Party). Domela Nieuwenhuis won the seat in the second round with the support from the Protestant Anti Revolutionary Party who preferred a socialist over a liberal MP. In parliament Domela Nieuwenhuis tried to gain attention for the position of the Dutch workers, but he was ignored by other MPs.

In 1891 Domela decided not run again. His seat was taken by Willem Treub, a member of the left-liberal Radical League. This electoral defeat led to debate within the party. A group of 'moderates' wanted to continue the parliamentary work and the reformist course, another group, led by Domela Nieuwenhuis, wanted to pursue an anti-parliamentary course with a strong anarchist orientation. This led to split: during the SDB party conference of 1893 in Groningen, a majority voted to stop participating in the elections. A minority of members led by Pieter Jelles Troelstra tried to prevent this, and later left the party in order to create a new party. The split mirrored a larger conflict in the First International between reformists and revolutionaries, and Marxists and anarchists.

1893-1900: SB

In 1893 the SDB was forbidden by the Dutch government because the party had promoted illegal means to attain its goal. In response the party renamed itself Socialistenbond (Socialist League, SB). When the anarchist elements began to take full control of the SDB, important regional social-democratic figures joined the group around Troelstra. Together they formed a group called "the twelve apostles". They founded the Social Democratic Workers' Party in 1894. In 1896 the radical branch of the party, led by Domela Nieuwenhuis left the SB and continued without a party organization. They chose for an anarchist course and direct action. They founded the paper "De Vrije Socialist" ("The Free Socialist") and became strongly linked to the Nationaal Arbeidssecretariaat (National Workers' Secretariat; NAS) an anarcho-syndicalist union founded in 1893. In 1901 the district of Schoterland elected the independent Socialist candidate, Geert van der Zwaag as its MP. His views were similar to those of Domela Nieuwenhuis in the 1880s. In 1900 the SB joined the SDAP which had become electorally successful. When Domela Nieuwenhuis died in 1919 the anarchist movement in the Netherland lost significance.

Name

Before the Russian Revolution the term social-democrat, socialist and communist were used interchangeably to denote a Marxist ideology. Social-democrat was not more or less radical than socialist. The organizations called itself League (Bond) because it didn't see itself as a party in the traditional sense. It was entrenched in the extra-parliamentary opposition and only entered elections once.

Ideology and issues

The SDB was a marxist party and it saw a socialist revolution, which would replace the capitalist system with a socialist one, as inevitable. Important issues for the party were the prohibition of alcohol, the abolishment of the army and the replacement of the monarchy with a republic and the independence of the Dutch Indies.

Practical social-economic reforms the party wanted to implement were the free education, better pay for teachers, a ban on child labour, a limited working day for women, the implementation of a system of social security and a better housing for workers.

Representation

In this table the election results of the SDB in Eerste and Tweede Kamer elections is represented, as well as the party's political leadership: the fractievoorzitter, is the chair of the parliamentary party and the, in this case sole, candidate in the general election, these posts are normally taken by the party's leader.

Electorate

The electorate of the SDB was mainly located in the poor rural province of Friesland. In the 1888 the party profited from the extension of suffrage to small farmers and other members of the middle class. In the second round the support of the Protestant ARP was crucial. They supported the SDB because they preferred a socialist over a liberal. In the 1890s the party began to win support in the poor rural province of Groningen and larger cities like Amsterdam and Zaandam. The SDAP would however soon overtake the party in these regions.