First Advisor

Cassio de Oliveira

Date of Award

Summer 8-31-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Liberal Studies and University Honors

Department

Liberal Studies

Language

English

Subjects

Finland, Finnish Revolution, Marxism, Second International, Socialism

Abstract

This paper will consider the Finnish revolution of 1917-1918 as it was understood by Second International Marxists--not because these Marxists were right, but because the revolution was led by Marxists of a socialist party formed in the Second International. By dint of the constraints of time, of resources, and of a language barrier, this paper cannot be an exhaustive historical account of the activities of the Finnish socialists, nor a comprehensive explanation of Marxism, nor would it assume to provide a proper 'Marxist' analysis of this history. Of the two 20th century English language histories of this revolution--the work of Anthony Upton and David Kirby--there is substantial engagement with Second International Marxism; this thesis seeks to draw it out into the open. Though this author cannot repeat their full immersion in the subject, there are nevertheless examples among their contemporaries, such as J. P. Nettl's study of the German Social Democrats, which can serve as a model for approaching the Finnish revolution with a focus on the Marxist Left's self-critique. Thus, along with reflections by Finnish socialist leaders, and writings by Marxist socialist intellectuals before and after the Finnish revolution, this paper will draw on the above resources for the purpose of placing the failure of the Finnish revolution and the defeat of the Red Guard by the White army in the Finnish civil war of 1918 into the context of a broader crisis within Marxism; that is, the global breakdown of the international socialist movement, and the red tide of revolutions (and counterrevolutions) spawned across the globe post-First World War.

Situating the events in the crisis of the International will permit 1) the evaluation and elaboration of the Marxist claim that the causes for the defeat of the Finnish revolution were both international and internal to the FSDP (Finnish Social Democratic Party), i.e. they came from within the global socialist camp and specifically from the party's leadership and 2) a comparative analysis of this hypothesis against related and dissimilar, non-Marxist socialist, or non-socialist accounts of the revolution. Both groups, in their analysis of this history, come to grips with the same fundamental question: How did a revolutionary party become a blockage to revolution? It is not the intention of this paper to settle or resolve the question of how this revolution failed, but merely to reiterate and restate the stakes involved for those who tried to answer it; whether by participating in revolutionary socialist politics at the time, or by opening a post mortem investigation. Their ideas have bearing on the general political questions of the modern age--questions about the trajectory of mass political parties opposed to the existing social order, the organization, composition, and theoretical outlook of those parties, and how this related to their ability to take advantage of and create a moment of accelerated social change in the direction of greater freedom. Hopefully, this paper will answer the question as to how an understanding of the Finnish revolution can be enriched and deepened by the ideas of Marx and Engels and their followers in the Second International.

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Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/42540

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