Internationalism may be regarded as the philosophical antidote to nationalism, promoting not narrow national interests but greater cooperation (cultural, political and/or economic) between nations.
In some respects, internationalism was born out of the liberal, laissez-faire economic philosophy of Adam Smith (see here), David Ricardo and their ilk. In 1843, for instance, Richard Cobden – a noted campaigner against the protectionist Corn Laws in the UK – said:
Free Trade! What is it? Why, breaking down the barriers that separate nations; those barriers, behind which nestle the feelings of pride, revenge, hatred, and jealousy, which every now and then burst their bounds, and deluge whole countries with blood; those feelings which nourish the poison of war and conquest, which assert that without conquest we can have no trade, which foster that lust for conquest and dominion which sends forth your warrior chiefs to scatter devastation through other lands, and then calls them back that they may be enthroned securely in your passions, but only to harass and oppress you at home.
However, internationalism became more associated with socialism over the course of the 19th century. Leading socialist thinkers including Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Vladimir Lenin all saw their struggle as that of working people across boundaries – a class war, not a nationalist one. The International Workingmen’s Association (also known as the First International) was founded in London in 1864 to bring together left-wing groups from numerous countries, and claimed a membership of some eight million at its peak.
In the 20th century, internationalism took a new course, in part a response to the conflicts that marred the era. A desire for peaceful cooperation, rather than the dissemination of socialist ideals, became the driving force of internationalists. As early as 1889 the Frenchman Frédéric Passy (who in 1868 had co-founded the International and Permanent League of Peace) and a Briton, William Randal Cremer, set up the Inter-Parliamentary Union, with an initial aim of arbitrating in transnational conflicts. Then, in the aftermath of the First World War, the League of Nations was established with the remit to maintain world peace. Largely toothless at critical moments, it was subsequently replaced by the United Nations in 1945.
The era of European cohesion
In 1945, the Bretton Woods system was activated, with organizations including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund brought into being to regulate and mediate economic relations between nations. The precursors of the European Union first appeared in the 1950s, ushering in a new era of unprecedented – if sometimes rocky – European cohesion. Today, few nations operate in isolation, instead opting to join international organizations that promote trade, foster cultural cooperation, pursue common defence policies, sponsor scientific endeavours and rule on matters of international law.