Socialism in the Netherlands
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This article gives an overview ofsocialism in theNetherlands,includingcommunismandsocial democracy.It is limited to communist, socialist, social democratic, and democratic socialistpartieswith substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ means a reference to another party in that scheme.
Overview[edit]
Socialism came relatively late to the Netherlands, because of its slow industrialization. In the 1860s a socialist movement began to develop. Although the socialists were aided by the foundation of theFirst Internationaland of the first Dutchtrade unions,united in theAlgemeen Nederlands Werklieden Vereniging,a socialist party was not founded until 1881, when theSocial Democratic Leaguewas founded. The slow industrialization was reflected in the support base of the first socialist parties. It wasn't the urban proletariat which supported them most, instead it were agricultural workers, who were the first to support the League.
Before the First World War, the socialist movement saw two major splits: in 1894 between revolutionary anarchists and parliament-oriented socialists. The latter left the League to found theSocial-Democratic Workers' Party,while the former kept control of the SDB, which was soon banned by the government. The second split was between a revolutionary Marxist opposition and areformist-revisionistestablishment. In 1907 the opposition group left the SDAP to found theSocial-Democratic Party,which would become the Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN) after the Russian Revolution. This was one of the first splits between reformists and revolutionaries within the European labour movement. Both the revolutionaries and the reformists have their own labour unions, the reformistNederlands Verbond van Vakverenigingenand the anarcho-syndicalistNationaal Arbeidssecretariaat.At the end of theFirst World War,a brief and very unsuccessful attempt at revolution occurred during theRed Week.
After theSecond World War,the SDAP merged with smaller left-liberal, progressive catholic and Protestant groups and parties to form theLabour Party(PvdA). The founders hoped that the old social structures would be replaced by a united progressive Netherlands, theBreakthrough.However, the Labour Party quickly found itself taking the SDAP's old place in the socialist pillar. It only gained only a third of the seats in the1946 elections.From 1946 and 1958, PvdA leaderWillem Dreesserved as prime minister of a broad coalition. The PvdA became social-democratic supporting awelfare state,amixed economy,decolonizationandNATO.In 1946 the CPN performed particularly well as it had gained support due to the role played by communists in theDutch Resistance.
During the 1960s and 1970s socialism was invigorated with the development of New Left-movements. In 1957 thePacifist Socialist Party(PSP) was founded out of the developingpeace movementand provided an alternative to the pro-American PvdA and the pro-Soviet CPN. In 1967 the Nieuw Links, a group of young socialists within the PvdA gained control of the party and set out on a new course, which included both social-democratic and New Left ideals, such as a strong welfare state, women's liberation, environmental protection and international development. They wanted to form a progressive majority-coalition, together with their left-liberal and progressive Christian allies. A group of social-democrats leave the PvdA to formDS'70.The PvdA and their allies were unsuccessful at gaining a majority however in the1971and1972 electionsand the PvdA's leaderJoop den Uylwas forced to form a tenuous coalition with the Christian democrats.
During the 1980s socialism, communism and social-democracy were forced into a defensive position. The smaller socialist parties, PSP and CPN, which prospered in the 1960s and 1970s, lost seats, whilst the CPN disappeared from theHouse of Representativesin the1986.The PvdA was confined to opposition, while the liberals and Christian democrats reformed the welfare state. The socialist labour union lost members and merged with the Catholic labour union to form theFederatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging.
In the 1990s socialists and social-democrats renewed themselves. In 1989 the PSP and CPN merged with two smallChristian leftparties (theEvangelical People's Partyand thePolitical Party of Radicals) to formGreenLeft.In the 1994 general electionWim Kok,the new leader of the PvdA, lost a considerable number of seats, but still emerged as leader of the largest party. He forms an unprecedentedpurplecoalition with progressive and conservative liberals which implements aThird Waypolicy, including privatisation of public companies, legalisation ofprostitutionandeuthanasiaand some institutional reforms. In 1994 a small formerly Maoist party, theSocialist Party(SP) also entered parliament.
In 2007 the PvdA re-enters thecoalition,now with Christian-democrats and the economically left-leaning but socially conservativeChristianUnion.The SP won an unprecedented 25 seats in the2006 elections.Since 2004, GreenLeft has radically renewed its image and is now promoting itself as a left-liberal party, breaking with its socialist roots.
Timeline[edit]
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SDB[edit]
- 1881 TheSocial Democratic League(Dutch:Sociaal Democratische Bond;SDB) is founded.[1]
- 1893 Moderate faction leaves the SDB to found the ⇒Social-Democratic Workers' Party.The SDB is consequently forbidden but continues as the secret Socialist League.
- 1900 The last members of the Socialist League join the ⇒SDAP.
SDAP[edit]
- 1894Social-Democratic Workers' Party(Dutch:Sociaal Democratische Arbeiderspartij;SDAP) is founded by a group known as the Twelve apostles, includingPieter Jelles Troelstra.
- 1907 A group of revolutionary Marxists are removed from party ranks and found the ⇒SDP.
- 1932 A group of orthodox Marxists led byJacques de Kadtleave the SDAP to found theIndependent Socialist Party(Dutch:Onafhankelijk Socialistische Partij;OSP), which in 1935 would merge with the ⇒RSP.
- 1941 The SDAP is banned by theGermanoccupying force.
- 1946 The SDAP merges into the ⇒Labour Party.
CPN[edit]
- 1907 A group of revolutionary Marxists are removed from SDAP party ranks and found theSocial Democratic Party(Dutch:Sociaal-Democratische Partij;SDP).
- 1918 The SDP form a commonparliamentary partywithBCSandSP.
- 1918 The SDP changes its name toCommunist Party Holland(Dutch:Communistische Partij Holland;CPH) to conform toCominternrules.
- 1937 The CPH changes its name toCommunist Party of the Netherlands(Dutch:Communistische Partij Nederland;CPN) to increase international clarity.
- 1941 The CPN is forbidden by theGermanoccupying force and goes into illegal resistance.
- 1958 The moderateBruggroepleaves the CPN to found theSocialist Workers' Party,in 1963 it joins thePSP.
- 1964 A Maoist group is removed from the party ranks. They form theCommunist Unity Movement of the Netherlands (marxist-leninist),which would become theSP
- 1983 The orthodox communistLeague of Communists in the Netherlandsleaves the CPN. In 1992 they would become theNew Communist Party of the Netherlands.
- 1989 The CPN joins theGreenLefttogether with the ⇒PSP,Political Party of Radicalsand theEvangelical People's Party.
BCS[edit]
- 1907 TheLeague of Christian Socialists(Dutch:Bond Christen Socialisten;BCS) is founded.
- 1918 The BCS form a commonparliamentary partywithSDPandSP.
- 1919 The BCS splits, some members leave to join theCommunist Party of the Netherlands,others join theSocial Democratic Workers' Partyand others remain independent and form theChristian Democratic Unionwith theChristian Socialist Partyand former members of theChristian Democratic Partyin 1926.
SP (Interwar)[edit]
- 1918 TheSocialist Party(Dutch:Socialistische Partij;SP) is founded by members of the syndicalist union,Nationaal Arbeidssecretariaat.
- 1918 The SDP form a commonparliamentary partywithBCSandSDP.
- 1928 The SP dissolves, many of its members would join the ⇒RSP.
RSP[edit]
- 1929 TheRevolutionary Socialist Party(Dutch:Revolutionair Socialistische Partij;RSP) is founded byHenk Sneevliet,a former member of the ⇒CPH.
- 1935 TheIndependent Socialist Party,a split from the ⇒SDAPin 1932, ledJacques de Kadtmerges with the RSP to form theRevolutionary Socialist Workers' Party(Dutch:Revolutionair Socialistische Arbeidersparty;RSAP).
- 1941 The RSP is forbidden by theGermanoccupying force and forms the illegal resistance groupMarx-Lenin-Luxemburg Front.
PvdA[edit]
- 1946 TheLabour Party(Dutch:Partij van de Arbeid;PvdA) is by ⇒SDAPtheChristian Democratic Union,theFreethinking Democratic Leagueand several resistance groups
- 1948 A small group of former Freethinking Democrats leaves the PvdA to join thePeople's Party for Freedom and Democracy
- 1970 A group of conservative social-democrats leaves the PvdA to found ⇒DS70.
- 2014 Two members of parliament resign from the party and form ⇒DENK.
PSP[edit]
- 1957 ThePacifist Socialist Party(Dutch:Pacifistisch Socialistische Partij) is founded by a group of politically homeless, former members of the ⇒PvdAand ⇒CPNand people involved in the peace movement.
- 1974 ATrotskyistgroup leaves the PSP to found the League of International Communists, which would becomeSocialist Alternative Politics.
- 1985 A group who opposes further cooperation with ⇒CPN and thePolitical Party of Radicals,led by MPFred van der Spekleaves the party to found the Party for Socialism and Disarmament, which would become thePacifist Socialist Party '92.
- 1989 The PSP joins theGreenLefttogether with the ⇒CPN,Political Party of Radicalsand theEvangelical People's Party.
DS70[edit]
- 1970Democratic Socialists 1970(Dutch:Democratisch Socialisten '70;DS70) is founded by a group of former members of the ⇒PvdA.
- 1983 DS70 is officially dissolved, many of its members return to the ⇒PvdA.
SP[edit]
- 1971 TheCommunist Party of the Netherlands/Marxist-Leninist(Dutch:Kommunistiese Partij Nederland/Marxisties-Leninisties,KPN/ML) splits from theCommunist Unity Movement of the Netherlands (marxist-leninist),which had split from theCPN
- 1972 The KPN/ML renames itselfSocialist Party(Dutch:Socialistiese Partij;SP)
- 1993 The SP renames itselfSocialist Party(Dutch:Socialistische Partij;SP)
GroenLinks[edit]
- 1989GroenLinks(English: GreenLeft) is formed by the ⇒PSP,the ⇒CPN,the greenPolitical Party of Radicalsand theChristian leftEvangelical People's Party.Although formed by a communist and a socialist party, Groenlinks lacks a specific socialist, communist or social-democratic profile and can better be classified as agreen party.
DENK[edit]
- 2014DENKis formed by members of ⇒PvdA after disagreements about the party's proposals for monitoring Turkish Islamist organisations.
- 2017 DENK becomes the first Dutch party advocating the interest of citizens with a migrant background to win seats in parliament.
BIJ1[edit]
- 2016 ⇒DENK memberSylvana Simonsleaves the party after disputes about the party's conservative positions and lack of support for her after receiving death threats. She founds a new party under the name "Article1", making reference to the first article in the Dutch constitution, that prohibits discrimination.
- 2017 Article1 does not win any seats in the parliamentary elections and is forced to change its name toBIJ1after complaints about copyright infringement regarding the party's name.
- 2018 BIJ1 gains parliamentary representation by winning a seat in the municipal council of Amsterdam.
- 2021 BIJ1 wins a seat in parliamentary elections with a far-left election programme.
Socialist leaders[edit]
- Social-Democratic League:Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis
- Social-Democratic Workers' Party:Pieter Jelles Troelstra
- Communist Party of the Netherlands:Paul de Groot
- Revolutionary Socialist Party:Henk Sneevliet
- Labour Party:Willem Drees,Joop den Uyl,Wim Kok,Wouter Bos,Job Cohen,Diederik Samsom,Lodewijk Asscher,Lilianne Ploumen
- Socialist Party:Jan Marijnissen,Agnes Kant,Emile Roemer,Lilian Marijnissen(current)
- DENK:Tunahan Kuzu,Farid Azarkan(current)
- BIJ1:Sylvana Simons(current)
Socialist thinkers[edit]
Influential Dutch socialist thinkers include:
- Anton Pannekoek,council communisttheorist.
- Jacques de Kadt,Marxist, anti-stalinist and social-democrat
See also[edit]
- History of the Netherlands
- Politics of the Netherlands
- List of political parties in the Netherlands
- Anarchism in the Netherlands
- Liberalism in the Netherlands
- Christian democracy in the Netherlands
- Trade unions in the Netherlands
References[edit]
- ^Verhoef, Jan (1974)."The Rise of National Political Parties in the Netherlands, 1888-1913".International Journal of Politics.4(1/2): 212.ISSN0012-8783.