Did Marx have a theory of the labour aristocracy?
Yes he did, whatever our authors say. Their view is that when he referred explicitly to its existence, it was in a ‘descriptive’ not ‘analytic’ manner (p41), or he used the term to refer to the trade union leaders, not to the privileged workers they led in the late nineteenth century. In particular, they say that whenever Marx made reference to the bribery of this upper stratum, ‘the form of that bribery was left vague’ (p42). However, it was quite overt. Marx worked alongside English trade union leaders in the Workingmen’s International in the 1860s. The International was the prime force behind the formation of the Reform League in 1865, which agitated for universal male suffrage and a secret ballot. Its committee of twelve consisted of six workers and six middle class reformists. Despite Marx’s efforts, the workers soon adapted to the standpoint of the middle class reformists. The League started to receive considerable finance from far-sighted capitalists, and in particular leading L
