Socialist ideas vs Marxism. The German experience (second half of the 19th century)

The article considers alternatives to Marxist ideology within the German social-democratic movement, emphasizing that even before Marxism was being shaped in Germany, there were proposals for a distinct version of socialist emancipation, linked to the emergence of German or “true socialism”. Its leader, M. Hess, stood for the preservation of property in its anthropological interpretation and opposed the idea of socialist revolution. Further development of German social democracy led him to align more closely with Marx. In the late 19th century, E. Bernstein considered Marxism a utopia. His publication “The Preconditions of Socialism and the Tasks of Social Democracy” created a significant resonance within both German and global social democracy. In “The Preconditions”, in which he addressed practical issues of labor movement and allowed admitted that the proletariat’s rejection of seizing political power in the course of class struggle while elevating the role of tradition in the societal development. Bernstein’s position provoked a storm of criticism from K. Marx’s, F. Engels’, A. Bebel’s and K. Kautsky’s supporters, who accused him of misunderstanding the materialist conception of history and Marx’s dialectics. The liberal establishment, represented by F. Naumann, responded to Bernstein favorably, believing that his critique of Marxism would contribute to the affirmation of the national ideal. Both Hess and Bernstein played an important role in the development of German social democracy by offering an alternative to Marxism while addressing the challenges of their era. 

1. Carsten, F.L. (1993), Eduard Bernstein, 1850–1932. Eine politische Biographie, C.H. Beck, München, Germany.

2. Conze,W. (1954),„Vom ‚Pöbel‘ zum ‚Proletariat‘. Sozialgeschichtliche Voraussetzungen für den Sozialismus in Deutschland“, Vierteljahrschrift für Sozial-und Wirtschaftsgeschichte, Bd. 41, no. 4, S. 333–364.

3. Kan, S.B (1967), Iz istorii sotsialisticheskikh idei [From the history of socialist ideas], Vysshaya shkola, Moscow, USSR.

4. Kretinin, S.V. (1995), “Karl Kautsky. An attempt at rethinking (1854–1938)”, Novaya i noveishaya istoriya, no. 1. pp. 141–160.

5. Kretinin, S.V. (2007), Karl Kautsky: 1854–1914, Nauchnaya kniga, Voronezh, Russia.

6. Meyer, T. (1991), „Karl Kautsky im Revisionismusstreit und sein Verhältnis zu Eduard Bernstein“, in Royan, J., Schelz, T. und Steuberg, H.-J., Hrsg., Marxismus und Demokratie. Karl Kautskys Bedeutung in der sozialistischen Arbeiterbewegung, Campus, Frankfurt a/M., Germany, New York, USA, pp. 57–71.

7. Mikhailov, M.I. (1981), “On the question of ‘true socialism’ ”, Iz istorii sotsial’nykh dvizhenii i obshchestvennoi mysli [From the history of social movements and social thought], Nauka, Moscow, USSR, pp. 24–40.

8. Mönke, W. (1980), „Vorwort“, in Hess, M., Philosophische und sozialistische Schriften, 1837–1850: Eine Ausw., Akademie, Berlin, Germany, S. IX–XIII.

9. Na’amen, S. (1982), Emanzipation und Messianismus: Leben und Werk von Moses Hess, Campus, Frankfurt a/M, Germany, New York, USA.

10. Ovcharenko, N.E. (1994), “Two lives of Eduard Bernstein”, Novaya i noveishaya istoriya, no. 3, pp. 195–226.

11. Rostislavleva, N.V. (1992), “Moses Hess about Proudhon”, Anarkhiya i vlast’ [Anarchy and power], Nauka, Moscow, Russia, pp. 41–49.

12. Shtekli, A.E. (1989), “Equality and freedom. On a study of the concept of barracks communism”, in Istoriya sotsialisticheskikh uchenii – 1989 [History of socialist teachings – 1989], AN SSSR, Moscow, USSR, pp. 3–34.

13. Silberner, E. (1966), Moses Hess: Geschichte seines Lebens, E.J. Brill, Leiden, Netherlands.

14. Steger, M.B. (1997), The quest for evolutionary Socialism. Eduard Bernstein and social democracy, Cambridge University Press, New York, USA.