The Founding and Evolution of the Second International

Responding to the spirit of advancing discipline construction promoted by the Party Committee of the Academy of Marxism, on the morning of February 16, 2023, the International Communist Movement Research Department of the Institute of Marxism of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences held the second academic salon of 2023. Li Kaixuan, Associate Research Fellow of the Contemporary World Capitalism Research Office of the Communist Movement Department, delivered a report entitled “The Founding and Evolution of the Second International.” The meeting was chaired by Pan Jin’e, Research Fellow and Director of the International Communist Movement Research Department. All scientific research personnel of the International Communist Movement Department and some doctoral students participated in the study and discussion.

响应马研院党委推进学科建设的精神，2023年2月16日上午，中国社会科学院马克思主义研究院国际共产主义运动研究部举办2023年第2期学术沙龙，共运部当代世界资本主义研究室李凯旋副研究员作了题为“第二国际的建立及其演变”的报告。会议由国际共产主义运动研究部主任潘金娥研究员主持，国际共运部全体科研人员和部分博士生参加学习讨论。

Director Pan Jin’e pointed out that the first academic salon activity of 2023 received a positive response and won the attention and affirmation of colleagues at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The International Communist Movement Department must continuously sum up experience, continue to refine and optimize the academic salon activities, explore new paths for integrating science and education that conform to disciplinary development, and continue to advance the “foundation-strengthening project” of the discipline of international communist movement.

潘金娥主任指出，2023年第一期学术沙龙活动取得了良好反响，赢得社科院同仁的关注和肯定。国际共运部要不断总结经验，继续把学术沙龙活动做精做优，探讨符合学科发展的科教融合新路径，继续推进国际共运学科“强基工程”。

Scene of the activity

活动现场

“The Founding and Evolution of the Second International” is the content of Chapter 3 of the textbook *History of the International Communist Movement*. Associate Research Fellow Li Kaixuan gave a trial lecture at this salon. She first provided a detailed explanation of the historical background of the Second International, then introduced its founding and activities, its bankruptcy, and its historical status. In the 1870s and 1880s, the capitalist system was fully established in the major capitalist countries of Europe and America. During this period, the scale of the workers’ movement continuously expanded, and the intensity, content, and forms of struggle were greatly enhanced compared with the 1850s and 1860s. During this period, Marx and Engels wrote important works such as *Critique of the Gotha Programme* and *Anti-Dühring*, providing the necessary ideological preparation for the growth and development of working-class parties. In the 1880s and 1890s, the establishment of working-class parties in various European and American countries laid the organizational foundation for the founding of the Second International. As capitalism transitioned from free competition to monopoly, the Second International held its first congress in Paris in 1889 and went bankrupt “ideologically and politically” in 1914. During its existence, the Second International promoted the integration of Marxism with the workers’ movement, formulated new struggle strategies for the working-class parties of various countries for international revolutionary struggle and domestic revolution, and actively waged struggles against capitalism, militarism, anarchism, and Bernstein’s revisionism. The Second International had a loose organizational form, adhered to the organizational principle of independence and autonomy, had a heterogeneous organizational composition, and relied more on moral force to induce the parties of various countries to abide by congress resolutions. After Engels’s death, new divisions emerged within the international workers’ movement, a gradualist reformist trend of thought arose, and the Second International waged a struggle against revisionism, but ultimately failed to stop the spread of revisionism.

“第二国际的建立及其演变”是《国际共运史》教材的第三章内容，李凯旋副研究员在本次沙龙进行试讲。她先对第二国际的历史背景进行了详细讲解，然后对第二国际的建立与活动、破产与历史地位进行了介绍。19世纪70-80年代，资本主义制度在欧美各主要资本主义国家完全确立。在这一时期，工人运动规模不断扩大，斗争激烈程度、内容与方式都比19世纪五六十年代有了很大提高。马克斯恩格斯在此期间撰写了《哥达纲领批判》、《反杜林论》等重要著作，为工人阶级政党的发展壮大提供了必要的思想准备。19世纪80-90年代，欧美各国工人阶级政党的建立为第二国际的建立奠定了组织基础。资本主义从自由竞争向垄断过渡，第二国际于1889年在巴黎召开第一次代表大会，1914年在“思想上政治上”破产。第二国际在其存在期间，推进了马克思主义与工人运动的结合，为各国工人阶级政党进行国际革命斗争和本国革命制定了新的斗争策略，积极开展反对资本主义、军国主义、无政府主义和反对伯恩施坦修正主义的斗争。第二国际组织形式松散，坚持独立自主的组织原则，组织成分庞杂，更多以道义的力量促使各国党遵守代表大会决议。恩格斯逝世后，国际工人运动内部出现新的分化，渐进的改良主义思潮兴起，第二国际开展了反对修正主义的斗争，但最终未能阻止修正主义的泛滥。

During the trial lecture, the teachers of the research department engaged in a lively discussion of the teaching content and methods and put forward suggestions for improvement. For example, adjust the proportions of the various parts of the course content, streamline the historical background, more prominently highlight the main thread in conjunction with the textbook, and achieve a more precise grasp of relevant historical nodes; appropriately increase two-way interaction with students. At the end of the salon, Associate Research Fellow Li Kaixuan stated that this activity was a profound “baptism of her teaching mindset.” As a scholar, research on the Second International can be very specialized and in-depth, but as a lecturer, one must, in light of the situation of the audience, explain profound things in a simple way, stimulate interest, and guide thinking. The teachers who participated in this lecture had profound scholarly cultivation, a precise grasp of knowledge points, and rich teaching experience. In a friendly and open interaction, they put forward constructive suggestions for Associate Research Fellow Li Kaixuan to improve her teaching methods.

在试讲的过程中，研究部各位老师对授课内容及方式进行了热烈的讨论并提出改进意见。如调整课程内容各部分比例，精简历史背景，结合教材更突出主线脉络，对相关历史节点进行更精准把握；适当增加与学生的双向互动。李凯旋副研究员在沙龙最后表示，这次活动是对她“授课思维”的深刻洗礼。作为学者，对第二国际的研究可以非常精专，而作为讲授者，则要针对听课对象的情况做到深入浅出，激发兴趣，引导思考。参与本次讲座的各位老师学养功底深厚，对知识点把握精准，教学经验丰富，在友好开放的互动中，为李凯旋副研究员提出了改进授课方式方法的建设性建议。

Li Kaixuan’s explanation sparked a lively discussion among all

李凯旋副研究员的讲解引发大家热烈讨论

The doctoral students who participated in this salon lecture believed that the organizational form of this activity was both orderly and relaxed and lively. Every participant was both a speaker and a learner, producing an effect of 1+1 greater than 2. This method of thematic lecture combined with interactive discussion not only expanded the audience’s knowledge of the Second International but also left a deeper impression than reading literature. The lively discussion atmosphere and the clear goal of collective lesson preparation allowed participants to gain an overall grasp of the background of the Second International’s founding, its development thread, historical status, and academic controversies very efficiently in a short time. This collaborative working method also helped scientific research personnel to enhance mutual understanding and was conducive to strengthening cooperation in academic research and teaching work. This salon lecture had a lively atmosphere, significant learning effects, efficient and relaxed work, and produced multi-dimensional influence.

参与本次沙龙讲座的博士生认为，这次活动的组织形式既井然有序又轻松活泼，每一位参与者既是发言者也是学习者，产生了1+1大于2的效果。以这种主题演讲配合互动研讨方式，不仅扩展了受众对第二国际相关知识的认知，而且比起阅读文献印象更深刻。活跃的研讨气氛，集体备课的清晰目标，都让参与者能在短时间内非常高效地对第二国际的成立背景、发展脉络、历史地位、学术争议等有了整体把握。这种协作式工作方式也有助于各位科研人员增进了解，有利于加强在学术研究和教学工作中的合作。本次沙龙讲座气氛活跃，学习效果显著，工作轻松高效，产生了多向度的影响力。

The International Communist Movement Academic Salon is an academic activity held irregularly by the International Communist Movement Research Department since 2018. In the past few years, it has achieved good results in cultivating disciplinary talent. This year’s teaching trial lectures further enlivened the atmosphere of the academic salon.

国际共运学术沙龙是国际共运研究部自2018年以来不定期举行的学术活动，过去几年在培养学科人才成长方面取得了良好的效果。本年度的教学试讲进一步活跃了学术沙龙的气氛。

(Contributors: Chang Qingyun, doctoral student at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Li Kaixuan, Institute of Marxism)

（供稿人：中国社会科学院大学博士生常庆云、马研院李凯旋）