After the defeat of the Paris Commune
different ultra-left and
opportunist tendencies emerged within the First International, who
intrigued against the General Council and attempted to use the name of
the International for their own ends. This was finally resolved with the
expulsion of these elements with strict powers established for the
General Council and clear rules on how the International was to be run.

After the defeat of the Paris Commune
different ultra-left and
opportunist tendencies emerged within the First International, who
intrigued against the General Council and attempted to use the name of
the International for their own ends. This was finally resolved with the
expulsion of these elements with strict powers established for the
General Council and clear rules on how the International was to be run.

In 1872 in response to the intrigues
of Bakunin and his secret
society, the Hague conference of the First International adopted a
resolution prohibiting any organization with an independent programme to
function within the body of the International and proceeded to expel
Bakunin and his supporters, putting an end to the internal diatribe and
intrigues and establishing the principles upon which the organisation
would function.

In 1872 in response to the intrigues
of Bakunin and his secret
society, the Hague conference of the First International adopted a
resolution prohibiting any organization with an independent programme to
function within the body of the International and proceeded to expel
Bakunin and his supporters, putting an end to the internal diatribe and
intrigues and establishing the principles upon which the organisation
would function.

At the Hague congress of the First
International Bakunin was finally expelled, provoking the wrath of the
anarchists and like-minded people, some of which walked out of the
organisation, like the Blanquists. At the same time, the opportunists
such as the English trade union leaders lined up with the ultra-left in
demanding greater autonomy for the local sections, all of course
complaining about the authoritarianism of Marx and the General Council.

At the Hague congress of the First
International Bakunin was finally expelled, provoking the wrath of the
anarchists and like-minded people, some of which walked out of the
organisation, like the Blanquists. At the same time, the opportunists
such as the English trade union leaders lined up with the ultra-left in
demanding greater autonomy for the local sections, all of course
complaining about the authoritarianism of Marx and the General Council.