Eduard Bernstein On Socialism Past And Present: Essays And Lectures On Ideology

Description

This book presents six major texts and selected shorter writings by the social-democratic thinker and politician Eduard Bernstein, translated into English for the first time: Socialism Past and Present; The Social Doctrine of Anarchism; Social Liberalism or Collectivism?; How is Scientific Socialism Possible?; What is Socialism?; The Socialisation of Enterprises; and articles from the periodicals Neue Zeit and Sozialistische Monatshefte alongside several unpublished manuscripts. Written over the period 1893 to 1931, these works focus on socialism as an ideology, and trace debates about ethics, social science, and class struggle that preoccupied the early-20th-century socialist movement. Bernstein carefully demarcates the boundaries between socialism and its ideological rivals, contrasting its communitarian aspirations with individualistic liberalism and anarchism, and its adherence to democratic methods with the totalitarian violence of communism and fascism. He revisits the intellectual canon of socialist thought, recentring contributions by Ferdinand Lassalle, Karl Rodbertus, and other neglected figures alongside those of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Urging socialists to seize the opportunities afforded by their growing political representation, Bernstein addresses the strategies needed to achieve progressive policy reforms, including the prospects for realising socialism with the foundation of the Weimar Republic. Contents Chapter 1: Introduction Problems of Socialism, Continued: Socialism After the Revisionist Controversy The Workers’ Perspective on Society: Bernstein’s Account of Socialist Ideology Ideology between Science and Utopia: The Prospects for Bernsteinian Socialism Part I: Socialism Past and Present: Historical and Contemporary Disputes Within Socialism Chapter 2: Prologue Chapter 3: Socialism as a Social-Scientific Theory of Development Chapter 4: The Natural Rights Justification of Socialism Chapter 5: The Significance of Theories of Value for Scientific Socialism Chapter 6: The Nature of Society in Advanced Capitalism Chapter 7: Socialism and the Theory of Class Struggle Chapter 8: Theory of the State and Socialism Chapter 9: Socialism as Democracy and Parliamentarism Chapter 10: The Bolshevist Perversion of Socialism Chapter 11: The Nearest Possible Realisations of Socialism Part II: Writings on Ideology and Socialist Theory Chapter 12: The Social Doctrine of Anarchism I. An Anarchist “Picture of Civilisation” II. Max Stirner and The Ego III. Proudhon and Mutualism IV. Bakunin’s Anarchism and the Various Anarcho-Communist Hybrid Constructs Chapter 13: Social Liberalism or Collectivism I. Posing the Question II. The Point of Departure and Remedy of Oppenheimer’s Social Liberalism III. The Flaw in Oppenheimer’s Calculation IV. The Liberal Principle and State Intervention Chapter 14: How is Scientific Socialism Possible? I. II. Addendum I Addendum II Addendum III Addendum IV Addendum V Chapter 15: What is Socialism? I. The Emergence and Transformations of the Concept of Socialism II. Liberalism as the Preliminary Stage of Socialism III. Socialism and the Ideology of the Workers’ Movement IV. Difficulties on the Way Towards Socialism V. On the Why and How of the Realisation of Socialism Chapter 16: The Socialisation of Enterprises: Guiding Principles for a Theory of Socialisation I II III Part III: Selected Articles Chapter 17: A Piece of Materialist Propaganda-Writing Chapter 18: Right and Justice Chapter 19: Natural Science Contra Social Science Chapter 20: Morality and Politics Chapter 21: Proudhon as a Politician and Publicist Chapter 22: Two Political Programmatic Symphonies I. A Socialist Symphony II. A Sextet of Young Liberals Chapter 23: Idealism, the Theory of Struggle, and Science Chapter 24: The Core of the Dispute Chapter 25: On the German Worker Past and Present Chapter 26: The Latest Prognosis of Social Revolution I II Chapter 27: Parties and Classes Chapter 28: Socialism and Liberalism in the Prussian Landtag Elections Chapter 29: On the Value of Parliamentarism Chapter 30: Class and Class Struggle Chapter 31: On Class Struggle Chapter 32: Democracy in Social Democracy Chapter 33: Class Struggle and Cultural Progress Chapter 34: The Intellectuals in the Reichstag Elections Chapter 35: Science, Value-Judgments, and the Party Chapter 36: What is Socialisation? Chapter 37: Class Struggle and Coalition Politics Chapter 38: Limits to the Formal Implementation of Democracy Chapter 39: Idea and Interest in History Chapter 40: Who and What are Social Fascists? Index