# Socialists — Essays character guide

> Socialists in Essays by Errico Malatesta.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the Parliamentarian Socialists, the Socialists

**First appearance:** 0003-a-bit-of-theory

## Snapshot

The parliamentary Socialists whose congresses, compromises, and faith in government concessions the anarchists reject — not as enemies of the workers, but as rivals for the movement's soul.

## Who they are

They are the respectable face of the workers' movement: organized, electorally minded, willing to treat with masters and authorities, and increasingly absorbed in the interests of their own unions rather than the mass of the unemployed. Malatesta watches this drift with a mixture of frustration and clear-eyed analysis, noting how large funds breed caution and how success breeds conservatism. Their quarrel with the anarchists is not about the destination but the road — and the book's middle chapters turn on whether the workers' movement can be pushed past them.

## Relationships

### [Anarchists](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/essays_se/characters/anarchists)

_rivalry_

Frequent ideological clashes over revolutionary methods and goals, with anarchists opposing socialist state-building.

### [the masters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/essays_se/characters/the_masters)

_rivalry_

Socialists oppose the masters' economic control, though with less radical antagonism than anarchists.

## In the story

### [Anarchy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/essays_se/chapters/anarchy)

Mentioned implicitly in the critique of parliamentary and reformist approaches, though not by name.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/essays_se/chapters/i)

Mentioned indirectly in the context of the oppressed masses seeking emancipation; the chapter critiques parliamentary socialism by advocating direct action and revolution.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/essays_se/chapters/ii)

Mentioned as authoritarians who wish to abolish private property but retain government.

### [The Duties of the Present Hour](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/essays_se/chapters/the-duties-of-the-present-hour)

Parliamentarian socialists who try to distance themselves from anarchists, which Kropotkin calls a strategic error.

### [Should Anarchists Be Admitted to the Coming International Congress?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/essays_se/chapters/should-anarchists-be-admitted-to-the-coming-international-congress)

Referred to as parliamentary Socialists or Social Democrats who seek to impose their political program on the labor movement, causing division.

### [Anarchism and Syndicalism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/essays_se/chapters/anarchism-and-syndicalism)

Parliamentarian Socialists are criticized for turning syndicates into electoral machines for individual advancement.

### [Anarchists and the Situation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/essays_se/chapters/anarchists-and-the-situation)

Criticized as parliamentarian Socialists who have been corrupted and now serve bourgeois interests.

### [The General Strike and the Insurrection in Italy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/essays_se/chapters/the-general-strike-and-the-insurrection-in-italy)

Mentioned as one of the opposition parties involved in the agitation and demonstrations, though divided by labels like Socialist, Anarchist, Syndicalist, or Republican.

### [Anarchists Have Forgotten Their Principles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/essays_se/chapters/anarchists-have-forgotten-their-principles)

Including Social Democrats; accused of abandoning class struggle and international fraternity to support national war efforts.

### [Italy Also!](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/essays_se/chapters/italy-also)

The great majority of Socialists and Syndicalists were solid against war, but Italy was still dragged into the slaughter.

### [Pro-Government Anarchists](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/essays_se/chapters/pro-government-anarchists)

Mentioned as having made common cause with the ruling class during the war, contrasted with true anarchists.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/essays_se/chapters/endnotes)

Referenced indirectly via the Socialist paper Avanti.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/essays_se/characters/socialists
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/essays_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/essays_se/characters