The "Assoziation" in the Labour-movement in the German Revolution of 1848-49 : the Idea and the Practice of Co-operative Societies

Abstract

The "Assoziation" (association) was an "alternative" conception of the social change that was propagated by the labour-movement in the German revolution of 1848-49. It gave workers a perspective of a new social system that was to be built on the co-operative societies. This paper is a study of the idea and the practice of the "Assoziation" in the revolution. 1. S. Born, the leader of the largest workers' organisation in the revolution, the "Allgemeine deutsche Arbeiterverbruderung", propagated the idea of the "association-socialism" that aimed at the overturn of the capitalitic system of production especially through the building of producer co-operatives. He knew that the realization of his idea was possible, only after the working class seized the political power. Therefore the criticism by Engels and others that Born could not understand the importance of political triumph as the condition of a radical social change is not correct. 2. The idea of the "Assoziation" found an echo among so many workers, though the "association-socialism" of Born was not always understood and accepted correctly. In spite of many difficulties the workers tried to build various co-operatives. One of the reasons for this echo was probably the "artisan"-mentality of the working men of this time. In the co-operatives they saw a good chance of independence in business. 3. The significance of the idea and the practice of the "Assoziation" is not to be estimated only by the economic success or failure of the co-operative societies. We should see the "Assoziation" as one of the elements of the labour-movement in the revolution. In a case-study of the labour-movement in Chemnitz we pointed out that the organisations of the workers intended to fulfill several functions at a time, e.g. political, educational, or as trade unions and co-operative societies. We also researched the relation of the "Innung" and the development of the labour movement from the period before the revolution.