Review by Choice Review
More than four decades have passed since the publication of Peter Gay's study of Bernstein and his views (The Dilemma of Democratic Socialism, 1952), so Steger's examination is a timely addition to the literature on modern socialism. Bernstein is presented as a thoughtful and humane character whose attitudes on Marxist socialism were altered dramatically during his years of exile in England, where he began a synthesis of socialism and liberalism by using neo-Kantian ethical idealism in lieu of Hegelian philosophy. Because of his prominent position among German socialists, Bernstein had an impact unlike any others who sought to modernize Marx. Steger points out that neither Bernstein nor most of his major critics, except Rosa Luxemburg, possessed the intellectual tools to fully comprehend Marx's abstruse writings. Steger maintains, moreover, that Bernstein changed the meaning of socialism while never recognizing that he had actually refuted Marx. He suggests that had Bernstein's evolutionary socialism been adopted by the German Social Democratic Party before WW I, the Weimar Republic may have had a better chance of surviving as a result of closer socialist-liberal collaboration. Steger's impressive study should be the standard work in English on this subject for many years. Upper-division undergraduates and above. T. M. Keefe; Saint Joseph's University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
