Utopian socialism

As early socialism or socialist utopian socialism early theories are summarized: utopias of a just ideal state, early forms of common property and especially socialist movements and theories of modern times, which arose prior to 1848. Known early socialists were Henri de Saint -Simon, Robert Owen and Charles Fourier.

Concept and nature

The term early socialism refers to the fact that the mentioned theories and ideas before the revolutions of 1848/ 49, before the first really socialist associations and especially before the writings of Karl Marx were published. In addition to the work of Marx and the emergence of social democracy and personalities of gaining strength, especially in Southern and Eastern Europe anarchism as Pierre- Joseph Proudhon and Mikhail Bakunin played a role in replacing early socialist ideas.

The concept of utopian socialism is the definition by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, what modern researchers also point out that ( partially quoted ) assume the term. An example of this is Albert S. Lindemann, who also speaks of the " first socialist ", which he located in time around 1800 until 1848. These early or utopian socialists all lived around the same time, namely from 1770 to 1825. Spite of all the differences is worth it, according to Lindemann, the summary in a group. These socialist writers were but was not utopians in the sense of Thomas More, because they believed that their ideal featured companies were to realize in the near future.

Central in the early socialists is the concept of human nature, as Leszek Kolakowski. In this fundamental sense, all men are equal - with the same rights and obligations. For these authors, relates principally to the question of why the previous history had gone exactly the opposite with their wars and the exploitation of the natural destiny of man. The traditional Christian doctrine refers in this context to the original sin, what the early socialists on the other hand - even if they were Christians - not believed.

The concept of human nature leads then to the idea of ​​communist despotism. It is important for the early socialists, whether people are responsible for the realization of communism. Kolakowski quotes the communist author Jean -Jacques Pillot, according to which one does not ask the inmates of a lunatic asylum, whether they want to take her bath. Kolakowski met the with the question of who decides about who is a doctor and who was lunatic.

Starting point of the early socialists is to be abolished, the misery of the proletariat. However, they were not actually politically active, Kolakowski, as purely political changes could bring a new economic order. Socialism will necessarily dominate the world as a historical law. They could not reconcile with the idea of socialism as a project with a moral value in accordance acceptance of the historical necessity. For Marx, however, the starting point is not the misery, it was the " dehumanization ", the alienation of man from man-made world. Germ of socialism according to Marx, will be the realization of this dehumanization.

Prehistory

Antiquity

The common property, which should be accessible to all people and thus unnecessary social differences alike, has been known in some ancient religions, such as the Persian Mazdakiten, Taoism and Judaism. This understanding of the necessities of life as a gift from a God or a universal order to all people and derive requirements for a collective from to distribute the ownership limits, or to manage together.

In ancient Near Eastern societies a primitive class was often invoked, in which there have not been any splits in possession and have-nots: so the ideal of the great commonality in Confucianism. In Bible prophecy, since about 700 BC, the forgotten God's law of the Jubilee year is ( Lev 25 EU) component of the end-time expectation. In early Christianity, the community property of the Jerusalem church to the normative ideal of the coexistence of all Christians, which stimulated many attempts of goods Communities and social criticism in the history of Christianity was. In Greek philosophy since about 400 BC, appear designs of an ideal state, which knows no private property and was projected to prehistoric times or a fictional island world: as in Plato's Republic, in Phaleas of Chalcedon or in Iambulos ' Utopian sunshine state.

Middle Ages

In the so-called heretics and poverty movements of the Middle Ages, there were various attempts to goods Communities and anti-hierarchical oriented church reforms.

Early Modern Times

The humanism of the 16th century had - parallel to the economic distress caused by peasant revolts - developed ideas of a just, of all citizens supported social order, which in turn drew upon the ancient polis and its democratic ideas.

Consequentially was particularly the Latin Bildungsroman Utopia of the English constitutional law expert Thomas More of 1516 without the term itself presented Morus here a kind of communism as the antithesis of European feudalism is. Working all and have everything in common, even and especially land, the former means of production. However, the strict hierarchy differs on the island of Utopia, this society still very many later socialist ideas.

Tommaso Campanella also attacked in 1602 in his work La città del Sole again back to the idea of ​​Sun State.

Enlightenment and Revolutions

In the 17th and 18th century, technological progress in the manufacturing and publishing already allowed mass production of products, even without mechanical means of production. This changed the living conditions and interests for ever larger segments of the population enormously.

In the wake of the Enlightenment with the idea of ​​human rights emerged notions of equitable and nonhierarchical coexistence. In many - always threatened by the authorities - secret societies and associations destitute artisans, peasants and intellectuals sought a forum and supporters for their ideas. They were barely interested in the scientific collection of empirical data, but developed their ideas from the contradictory experience of disappointed hopes democracy and relative rights progress. But only with the emancipation of the bourgeoisie were given these ideas a political impact force.

Significant early socialists

François Noël Babeuf (1760-1797) was probably the first author who aspired to socialism as a form of government. He founded during the French Revolution to the conspiratorial Société des égaux ( " society of equals " ): For the early socialism began to organize themselves politically. About Filippo Buonarroti, Babeuf's ideas came to the early socialist Charles Fourier (theory of the four movements and the general provisions, 1808) and Louis -Auguste Blanqui ( 1805-1881 ). From his ideas and those of Henri de Saint -Simon, in turn, the federal government established in Paris in 1834 of the outlaws was affected. From his 1836 split from the League of the Just, whose leadership took over until 1848, the Schneider Wilhelm Weitling. Far Ling, a breakfast with Christian socialist beliefs, is considered the first German theorist of communism

Early socialists were also the German - Jewish philosopher Moses Hess (1812-1875), who founded the socialist wing of Zionism, Hermann Kriege and German journalist Karl Green ( 1817-1885 ). The German economist Karl Rodbertus (1805-1875) is considered the founder of state socialism.

In England, Robert Owen was the most prominent early socialist who has worked his way up from poverty to the entrepreneur at a young age. Above all, until his public commitment to atheism, he was very popular in the upscale strata of society. Owen was an exception among the early socialists, and practically politically active, he influenced, for example, the worker protection laws and tried (unsuccessfully) in America with a socialist pattern of settlement. He is considered the co-operative socialism. A trade union movement, founded by his ideas in 1830 was opposed by business and government, so that Owen disbanding in 1834.

Relation to Marxism

Walther Theimer, according to the early or utopian socialism was the strongest of those currents that have influenced Marx: This socialism " gave him the first direction; otherwise it would only be a bourgeois radical Young Hegelians longer exists, "said Theimer. Marx got to know this direction only in the 1840s in Paris.

The ideas of the early socialists seem to anticipate the main ideas of Marx, writes Kolakowski. In the field of analysis of history and capitalism he lists, among other things:

• The system of distribution of goods can only be changed by changing the system of production and ownership throughout.
• Socialism was "the inevitable result of historical laws."
• " Competition and anarchy of production necessarily generate exploitation, poverty, crises of overproduction and unemployment. "
• The working class could " only liberate itself from its own resources ."

With regard to the "Configuring the socialist society of the future " is Kolakowski than similarities between Marx and the early socialists, among other things that:

• Private ownership of the means of production should be quashed.
• A national or global planned economy would eliminate competition and crisis.
• A right to work as a human right.
• Abolition of division of labor.

Marx sparked wide- Ling 1848 League of the Righteous from and executed in its own opinion a fundamental distinction of all former socialist theorists whose ideas he criticized as not scientifically justified idealism. The early socialists were, according to Marx largely noble and petty-bourgeois romantics who turned not only against the consequences of industrialization, but against technical progress itself. Since the Communist Manifesto by Marx and Friedrich Engels, the early socialist equality and democratization efforts, which also extended to the economy, summarized as Utopian socialism.

Marxism is bordered his theory on the basis of the font, the development of socialism from utopia to science as " scientific socialism " of all precursors and socialist counter-currents from. He sees the utopian socialism an outgoing Civil and literary phrase that had emerged from left currents of Young Hegelianism and the proletarian class struggle negate. This utopian socialists agree even after Marxist considers that it is with the goal of a classless communist society of the future, this track however, in its opinion on unrealistic and doomed way because of class antagonism and the question of the conditions of a successful revolution in their thinking no primary role games.

After this criticism Utopias are purely mental constructs that abstract from the historical growth of the power relations and where such political intuition is disconnected from the social, in particular economic foundations. The utopians try therefore a system from the head to develop out, rather than revolutionary, subversive side of contemporary historical misery to detect. Scientific socialism goes out the emergence of socialism in contrast to the Utopians as a necessary processual and dialectical ( contradictory propulsive ) development from the concrete historical situation.

Other theorists did not believe in the inevitability of historical development to progress and socialism. Ernst Bloch developed his " principle of hope ", therefore, from the utopian content of almost all socialist ideas. With the concept of concrete utopia he also criticized the abstract, not just reality utopias of early socialism.