Revolutionaries and racists : Australian socialism and the problem of racism, 1887-1917

Abstract

"Workers of the World, Unite.’" was the advice from Marx that his followers in Australia in the period 1887 to 1917 found most difficult to I fc. apply .^operating in a wider labour movement that enthusiastically endorsed the ruling racial ideas of the age, the experience of Australian socialism provides a vivid illustration of the complexities of the interaction between socialist groups and the working class they are seeking to influence. The relationship between ’the party’ and 'the class' involves not simply the question of how socialist groups deal with the problem of ideas in the working class that run counter to the tenets of socialist ideology, but also the extent to which these ’incorrect ideas’ affect the socialist groups themselves. The socialist groups examined include the Australian Socialist League, the Socialist Labor Party, the International Socialists, the Victorian Socialist Party, the Barrier Socialist Propaganda Group, the Socialist Federation of Australasia, the Australian Socialist Party, the Queensland Social Democratic Vanguard, the Broken Hill Social Democratic Club, the Kalgoorlie Social Democratic Association, the Western Australian Socialist Party, and the Social Democratic League of New South Wales. The influence of the Industrial Workers of the World, both the ’Detroit’ and the 'Chicago' factions, is crucial to an understanding of the approach to racism of these socialist groups. The emphasis, therefore, is on the attitudes of socialists outside the Labor Party. However, as essential background, attention is given to the development of working class racism and its political expression in the Labor Party's objective of "The cultivation of an Australian Sentiment based on the maintenance of racial purity" and its fighting platform of "Maintenance of White Australia". This involves discussion of the bases of Australian racism and of theories of racism in general, as an understanding of the role of racism is necessary before it is possible to appreciate the dimensions of the problem that working class racism poses for socialists. A study of Australian socialism between 1887 and 1917 reveals a variety of responses to the problem, ranging from uncritical conformity with racist ideas to critical dissent from any ideas, particularly racism, that would prevent the union of the world's workers. The thesis seeks to explain the reasons for the different reactions of the various socialist groups to the problem of working class racism.