Marxist Revisionism

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the opinions of Marxist revisionist, Eduard Bernstein. Th writer notes that, although Eduard Bernstein believed in Marxism, many did not see him as a true Marxist. He challenged the orthodoxy of Marxism because he believed in revisionism. The writer discusses that Bernstein believed that moral ideals should be the guide to the future. He thought that plans should be bent in order to adapt to new environments and circumstances, as opposed to following orthodox Marxist ideals without considering the current circumstances of society. The writer maintains that because of this, Bernstein brought new light to Marxism, and reformed it in many ways. The writer concludes that the idea for Bernstein was to help the working-class understand the process of legislative reform, and ultimately enable them to rise up against their oppressors through peaceful and longer-lasting methods. To transcend the self-deception of orthodox Marxism was to transcend the tyranny of the bourgeois, and ultimately bring about a new era of economic conditions.

From the Paper:

"Bernstein also believed that Marx contradicted himself. Marx said that political action was the most important duty of the movement, and yet he challenged his own convictions. For one, he said that the proletariat was not mature enough for their emancipation, and that the economic conditions for this were not present. On the other hand, he stated several times that all culture and virtue is only to be found among the
working class, and that even the most extreme revolutionaries should be right. Marx believed that legislative work over a long time appeared only as a temporary device. Bernstein, being a revisionist saw that Marx himself did not recognize free will of the people to decide their own economic conditions. Marx believed that everything would evolve automatically, and yet in contradiction to himself, he still sought to develop a revolution through appealing to the proletariat."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Engels, Friedrich; Marx, Karl The Communist Manifesto. London: Penguin Classics, 2002.
• Bernstein, Eduard. "Eduard Bernstein (1850-1932)." In Socialist Thought: A Documentary History, edited by Albert Fried and Ronald Sanders, 422-34. New York: Columbia University Press, 1992.
• Kautsky, Karl. "Karl Kautsky (1854-1938)." In Socialist Thought: A Documantary History, edited by Albert Fried and Ronald Sanders, 434-45. New York: Columbia University Press, 1992.

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