The relation of labor unions to the Socialist movement is in many countries the subject of sharp differences of opinion, even of bitter strife. In England, for example, after the break-up of the Chartist political movement in 1848 the union movement increased greatly and became a mighty organization of the workingmen. But this great body of workers remained indifferent to Socialism, or even inimical to it, and the Socialist party remained a small sect. In America the labor movement developed according to the English pattern. In Germany and Belgium, on the contrary, the situation is exactly reversed. There the Socialist party grew mightily in the first place; then the workers, who had learned how to conduct the fight on the political field, began to struggle for better conditions against individual employers. Here they are, however, comparatively weak, and it is to be expected that as they increase in strength they will make themselves more independent.
