Socialism: From Babeuf to Marx

Paper Summary:

This paper briefly defines the concept of socialism and outlines its early stirrings in the eighteenth century, right up to the middle of the nineteenth century. In so doing, the paper notes how socialism was not a steady escalation of rhetoric that ultimately culminated in Karl Marx's "Manifesto," but rather, an idea about socio-economic organization that first emerged in its modern form in the fiery writings and outbursts of Francois Noel Babeuf. The paper further shows how socialism went through a period of fairly intellectualized and rational discussion during the first few decades of the nineteenth century.

From the Paper:

"By the dawn of the 1850s, thinkers such as Louis Blanc were calling for the advent of social workshops that would be controlled wholly by workers. This approach still sought to involve the capitalists in a cooperative fashion, but Blanc's approach to socialism soon gave way to Marx's highly-charged writings on the nature of social class relations. Specifically, Marx portrayed as inevitable a revolutionary conflict between capital and labor, and he also chastised the socialists as "theoretical utopian dreamers who disregarded the necessity of revolutionary struggle to implement their doctrines" ("Socialism," 44396). In one fell swoop, Marx had sharply rebuked the more measured and thoughtful tone of the early socialists and created a new kind of socialism (or, rather, the revolutionary socialism of Babeuf in a new dress) that avowedly sought the destruction of the existing capitalist order. It was, suffice it to say, the most radical step yet undertaken by the left in its battle against the "oppressive" forces of the classical liberal right."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Corkin, Stanley. "Edmund Wilson and the Problem of Marx: History, Biography, and 'To the Finland Station.'" CLIO, 22(2): 129+. Questia.com. 15 Apr. 2007 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5000188717>
• Levin, Michael. "John Stuart Mill: A Liberal Looks at Utopian Socialism in the Years of Revolution, 1848-49." Utopian Studies, 14(2): 68+. Questia.com. 15 Apr. 2007 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5002095303>
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