Fraternal Democrats

an international revolutionary democratic society founded in London in September 1845 by representatives of the left wing of the Chartist Movement and by revolutionary emigrants living in England. (The leaders of the society included G. Harney, E. Jones, I. Moll, the Polish democrat L. Oborski.) It operated until late 1853. Proletarian elements predominated among the society’s membership; however, a petit-bourgeois influence also was felt strongly. (The society’s slogan was “All People Are Brothers.”) The Fraternal Democrats played a big role in propagating the ideas of international workers’ solidarity. K. Marx and F. Engels maintained contact with the society and helped educate its proletarian core in the spirit of scientific communism.