an appalling and unacceptable prospect. Various groups (including Italian sections, the Belgian Federation and the Jura Federation) rejected Marx's proposition at the 1872 Hague Congress. They saw it as an attempt to create state socialism that would ultimately fail to emancipate humanity. In contrast, they proposed political struggle through social revolution. Finally, anarchists were expelled from the First International. In response, the federalist sections formed their own International at the St. Imier Congress, adopting a revolutionary anarchist programme. Emergence of anarcho-communism Anarcho-communism developed out of radical socialist currents after the French Revolution but was first formulated as such in the Italian section of the First International. It was the convincing critique of Carlo Cafiero and Errico Malatesta that paved the way for anarcho-communism to surpass collectivism, arguing that collectivism would inevitably end in competition and inequality. Essayist Alain Pengam comments that between 1880 and 1890 the perspective of a revolution was thought to be closed. Anarcho-communists had anti-organisational tendencies, opposed political and trade union struggles (such as the eight-hour day) as being overly reformist, and in some cases favoured acts of terrorism. Finding themselves increasingly isolated, they opted to join the workers' movements after 1890. With the aid of Peter Kropotkin's optimism and persuasive writing, anarcho-communism became the major anarchist current in Europe and abroad—except Spain where anarcho-syndicalism prevailed. The theoretical work of Kropotkin and Errico Malatesta grew in importance later as it expanded and developed pro-organisationalist and insurrectionary anti-organisationalist sections. Kropotkin elaborated on the theory behind the revolution of anarcho-communism saying, "it is the risen people who are the real agent and not the working class organised in the enterprise (the cells of the capitalist mode of production) and seeking to assert itself as labour power, as a more 'rational' industrial body or social brain (manager) than the employers". Organised labour and syndicalism Due to a high influx of European immigrants, Chicago was the centre of the American anarchist movement during the 19th century. On 1 May 1886, a general strike was called in several United States cities with the demand of an eight-hour work day, and anarchists allied themselves with the workers' movement despite seeing the objective as reformist. On May 3, a fight broke out in Chicago when strikebreakers attempted to cross the picket line. Two workers died when police opened fire on the crowd. The next day anarchists staged a rally at Chicago's Haymarket Square. A