At its height, the Second (Socialist) International (1889-1914) represented the majority of organized workers in the world, with the stated revolutionary aim of overthrowing capitalism. Several of Its major campaigns and initiatives—such as the eight-hour day, May Day, and International Women’s Day—remain today as testaments to its lasting influence.

To mark the release of Reform, Revolution, and Opportunism—a collection of debates at congresses of the Second International—join editor Mike Taber, along with David McNally, Anne McShane, and Tom Alter, for a discussion about the Second International’s strengths, weaknesses, contradictions, and legacy. The speakers will draw out the relevance of socialist debates from more than a century ago on topics that remain deeply contested: militarism and war, immigration, colonialism and imperialism, women’s rights, and socialist participation in government.

***Register through Eventbrite to receive a link to the video conference on the day of the event. This event will also be recorded and live captioning will be provided.***

Speakers:

Mike Taber has edited and prepared a number of books related to the history of revolutionary and working-class movements—from collections of documents of the Communist International under Lenin to works by James P. Cannon, Leon Trotsky, Malcolm X, Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Maurice Bishop, and Nelson Mandela.

David McNally is the Cullen Distinguished Professor of History and Business at the University of Houston and director of the Center for the Study of Capitalism. McNally is the author of seven books and has won a number of awards, including the Paul Sweezy Award from the American Sociological Associaton for his book Global Slump and the Deutscher Memorial Award for Monsters of the Market.

Anne McShane is a Marxist, a historian of the early Soviet women's movement and a human rights lawyer, specialising in representing asylum seekers. She has a long history of involvement in both the British and the Irish working class and leftwing movements. She contributes regular articles to the Weekly Worker, the journal of the British based CPGB and occasional pieces for Jacobin. She writes on Irish politics and the historical struggle to connect women's liberation with the socialist project. She is currently writing on the work of the Women's Department of the CPSU (Zhenotdel) in Soviet Central Asia, having completed a PhD on this subject in 2019 at Glasgow University. She is based in Cork, Ireland.

Tom Alter is an assistant professor of history at Texas State University, where he specializes in labor and working-class history. He is the author of Toward a Cooperative Commonwealth: The Transplanted Roots of Farmer-Labor Radicalism in Texas and has been involved in labor and social justice movement activism for nearly 30 years.