Eduard Bernstein: Basic Ideas

It was he who questioned the inviolability of Marxist teaching. A vivid supporter of Social-Democratic ideas, he was the author of a new theory of revisionism, the basis of which were transformations in the system of views held by the Social Democrats. This man is Edward Bernstein. The "beating" of Marxism and the head of the Second International was fully convinced that the doctrine of the "collapse of capitalism" and the theory of "impoverishment of the proletariat" were fundamentally erroneous. So who is he, Edward Bernstein, and why suddenly he became an opponent of Marx? Let's consider this issue in more detail.

Years of childhood and adolescence

It is known that Edward Bernstein, whose brief biography is of some interest to historians and political scientists, was born into a Jewish family. This happened on January 6, 1850 in Germany. Edward's parents were not wealthy people, but, nevertheless, they were able to give their offspring education. The future esdek graduated from a private male school, after which he began to attend a gymnasium.

Then the young man entered a commercial school. Becoming a graduate, he was employed by a simple clerk in a banking institution owned by the Rothschilds in the German capital.

PSD

Eduard Bernstein, already a young man, begins to get carried away with the theory of socialism. While studying at the gymnasium, he establishes a collective called Utopia, which includes people who share his views. And in 1872 the young man replenishes the ranks of the German Social Democratic Party. In parallel, he is engaged in journalistic activities within the political field. Soon Edward Bernstein, whose biography is not known to everyone, becomes an adherent of the socialist theory developed by Dühring. In the late 1870s, the German authorities banned newspapers published by the Social Democrats, after which the young man was forced to leave his homeland.

Emigration

He moves to Switzerland. For some time the young man has been acting as a secretary for businessman Hechberg, who finances several printed editions of the Social Democrats.

In the early 1880s, Eduard Bernstein began to work in the periodical "Sotsial-Democrat" as an editor. In this position, he worked for almost 10 years, turning into an outspoken radicalist, after which the patience of the Swiss authorities burst, and the Social Democrat was expelled from the country. After Edward goes to the UK, where his fate reduces himself to Engels. They become close friends, and Bernstein is an adherent of Marxist teaching.

In Germany

In the early 1890s, Edward was finally allowed to return to his homeland, where he concentrated efforts on his political career. At this point, he finally decided on the choice of doctrine.

In 1902, the Social Democrat became a member of the German parliament. He will work with a small break in this capacity until 1928.

Theory of revisionism

In history, Bernstein came in as an antagonist of the Marxist teaching, and he does not agree with all his provisions, but only with some. He also developed the doctrine of revisionism.

Her author insisted that Marx's theory needs further elaboration, since it runs counter to the new historical experience and the graduation of socialism as a political doctrine and as a teaching is simply necessary. But the views held by Edward Bernstein, and the birth of revisionism were hostile to the leader of the Russian revolution, Vladimir Lenin.

In his works "Problems of Socialism" and "Problems of Socialism and Social Democracy" the esdek formulated his basic thesis: "Movement is everything, the ultimate goal is nothing."

The essence of criticism of Marxist teaching

He, as indicated above, questioned the correctness of certain provisions of Marxism from the point of view of scientific validity. These include, in particular, the dogma that the development of capitalism will provoke the impoverishment of the proletariat. What else did Eduard Bernstein disagree? The basic ideas of Marxism, based on the assumption that the bourgeois system presupposes mandatory concentration of capital in all spheres of the economy, were also rejected by them. According to the esdek, the more the capitalist system develops, the less noticeable are class contradictions, and the life of ordinary workers in this case should be improved through state reforms.

And in the construction of a bourgeois state, a very important instrument is a legislative body in which the "left" should be represented in the majority.

At the same time, Bernstein is a supporter of the gradual reform of political and economic institutions. Moreover, the principles of self-determination, solidarity and democracy must also be "softly" and "adjusted" to be implemented. At the same time, the Social Democrat warns against the inadmissibility of violating (by a mechanical) way such a sequence, otherwise the society may face a crisis.

It is paradoxical that the practice did not confirm the theory of Engels and Marx, according to which only armed seizure of power by proletarians can lead to the "socialization" of the economy.

"Is scientific socialism possible?"

This is the name of the work of Eduard Bernstein, written by him in 1901. In it he listed the main directions of reforms concerning the Marxist model of development. The concept of socialism is analyzed from three points of view. The first implies socialism as a theory based on class contradictions.

The second point of view positions the object as a movement for transforming the capitalist system into a collective farm with management bodies. The third presupposes that socialism is a doctrine that indicates the path to development of society.

Edward Bernstein in this work stressed that declaring the goals of class confrontation as the ideal goals of the development of society is a classic delusion.

"Every postulate of the theory of socialism, elevated to the status of science, should be positioned as an unchanging rule in the chain of its logical evidence. And under the condition of close interaction with the practice to which socialism aspires, this fact can in some cases reduce the practical movement to nothing, "writes the" flogger "of Marxism.

Bernstein suggests that socialism as a consolidation of practice and theory does not lend itself to scientific justification, although it does not need it. The fact is that the doctrine of socialism is viable only on the condition that it contains certain moral and legal dogmas.

At the same time, the revisionist approach of the Socialist-Revolutionaries was interpreted by contemporaries as an absolute rejection of the methodology and theory of Marxism.

Personal attitude of the Social Democrat to Marxism

Edward Bernstein as an ideologist of social democracy to the teachings of Karl Marx treated ambiguously. He perceived it as the focus of the theory of class struggle, history, philosophy, political economy of capitalism, and this symbiosis was updated by advanced studies of the state of civil society.

Eduard Bernstein partially managed to level out the inviolability of the basic provisions of Marxism, but he also excluded the positive aspects. In particular, the Social Democrat considered as a plus the fact that two interpretations of socialism were able to consolidate and coexist in the teachings of Karl Marx: class struggle and spiritual and theoretical activity.

Historians are of the opinion that the main component of Bernstein's thinking was intellectual honesty. He was the first of the followers of the teachings of Engels and Marx to emphasize his status and effectiveness in the new historical conditions.