Language questions
FAQ - Has Esperanto failed?
One of the misunderstandings about Esperanto is that it was a world language attempt that failed, something that had its allotted time to succeed, but didn't. But this is to confound the language itself with an old vision about it. Esperanto itself exists today and is used around the world, albeit in a small scale. It is that linguistic fact that ought to be known.
There are many Esperantists (and Esperanto-speakers) who have the idea of "everyone's second language" as an ideal, but there are probably not many who have it as an explicit goal that is to be implemented. An ideal is something that one strives to get closer to, but that cannot be achieved; a goal is something that can be achieved. The aim of the Esperanto movement is to spread knowledge about Esperanto - and preferably proficiency in the language as well - to as many people as possible. How many speakers Esperanto will eventually have is unknown to everybody.
The language itself started with one speaker (L. L. Zamenhof) and was spread so that now 100 000 people or more can speak it. This community has also been able to maintain its existence, through ups and downs. This is unique in the history of languages. If we take that unique situation into account, we will have to classify Esperanto as a success.
More information about Esperanto can be found in Constructed Languages.