The Two Souls of Socialism
Encyclopedia
The Two Souls of Socialism by Hal Draper
is a socialist
pamphlet
that posits a fundamental division in socialist thought and action between those who favor "Socialism from Above" and those who favor "Socialism from Below."
The pamphlet was first published as a lengthy article in the journal New Politics
in 1966, expanding upon an earlier version published in 1960 in the socialist student magazine Anvil. It has been anthologized, reprinted, and reissued in pamphlet form many times since then.
Socialism from Above is the name given by Draper to philosophies of collectivized property that envision administration from above by an elite, whether intellectual, political, or technical. Socialism from Below would proceed from a very different conception of common ownership, with power instead flowing from the workers themselves, with decision-making capacities broadly distributed. The divide between these two souls of socialism, Draper argues, underlies all other divisions such as "reformist or revolutionary, peaceful or violent, democratic or authoritarian, etc."
Most of the pamphlet is a detailed typology and strongly worded criticism of various forms of Socialism from Above. Among the practitioners of Socialism from Above, Draper includes such varied forms of socialism as utopian socialism
, Communist dictatorship
and Stalinism
, social democracy
, and anarchism
. Confessing that Socialism from Below "has had few consistent exponents and not many inconsistent ones," he nevertheless identifies it with Marx
, "whose notion was from the very beginning that the emancipation of the working class must be the act of the working class itself."
The piece is organized primarily as a brief history of socialism and important socialist thinkers, beginning with a critical glance at "ancestors" such as Plato
, Pythagoras
and the Gracchi
before turning to Babeuf
, Saint-Simon
, and utopians such as Fourier
and Owen
. Draper then lauds Marx as the first champion of Socialism from Below, "who finally fettered the two ideas of Socialism and Democracy together."
The next sections of the pamphlet consider in turn subsequent manifestations of Socialism from Above, including anarchists (specifically Proudhon
and Bakunin
), Lassalle
, the Fabians, Eduard Bernstein
, and American socialists such as Edward Bellamy
. The final sections separate out "six strains of Socialism from Above" (philanthropism, elitism, plannism, communionism, permeationism, and Socialism from Outside) and conclude with a call to intellectual
s "to choose the road of Socialism from Below."
Notably, the pamphlet does not devote consideration to the question of whether the Soviet Revolution at its inception was guided by the principles of Socialism from Below or Socialism from Above, although the entire pamphlet is implicitly guided by the moral and political opposition to Stalinism
that shaped Draper's life work.
Hal Draper
Hal Draper was an American socialist activist and author who played a significant role in the Berkeley, California, Free Speech Movement and is perhaps best known for his extensive scholarship on the history and meaning of the thought of Karl Marx.Draper was a lifelong advocate of what he called...
is a socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
pamphlet
Pamphlet
A pamphlet is an unbound booklet . It may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths , or it may consist of a few pages that are folded in half and saddle stapled at the crease to make a simple book...
that posits a fundamental division in socialist thought and action between those who favor "Socialism from Above" and those who favor "Socialism from Below."
The pamphlet was first published as a lengthy article in the journal New Politics
New Politics (magazine)
New Politics is an independent socialist journal founded in 1961 and still published in the United States today. While it is inclusive of articles from a variety of left-of-center positions, the publication leans strongly toward a Third camp, democratic Marxist perspective, placing it typically to...
in 1966, expanding upon an earlier version published in 1960 in the socialist student magazine Anvil. It has been anthologized, reprinted, and reissued in pamphlet form many times since then.
Socialism from Above is the name given by Draper to philosophies of collectivized property that envision administration from above by an elite, whether intellectual, political, or technical. Socialism from Below would proceed from a very different conception of common ownership, with power instead flowing from the workers themselves, with decision-making capacities broadly distributed. The divide between these two souls of socialism, Draper argues, underlies all other divisions such as "reformist or revolutionary, peaceful or violent, democratic or authoritarian, etc."
Most of the pamphlet is a detailed typology and strongly worded criticism of various forms of Socialism from Above. Among the practitioners of Socialism from Above, Draper includes such varied forms of socialism as utopian socialism
Utopian socialism
Utopian socialism is a term used to define the first currents of modern socialist thought as exemplified by the work of Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, and Robert Owen which inspired Karl Marx and other early socialists and were looked on favorably...
, Communist dictatorship
Communist state
A communist state is a state with a form of government characterized by single-party rule or dominant-party rule of a communist party and a professed allegiance to a Leninist or Marxist-Leninist communist ideology as the guiding principle of the state...
and Stalinism
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
, social democracy
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
, and anarchism
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
. Confessing that Socialism from Below "has had few consistent exponents and not many inconsistent ones," he nevertheless identifies it with Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
, "whose notion was from the very beginning that the emancipation of the working class must be the act of the working class itself."
The piece is organized primarily as a brief history of socialism and important socialist thinkers, beginning with a critical glance at "ancestors" such as Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
, Pythagoras
Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, so very little reliable information is known about him...
and the Gracchi
Gracchi
The Gracchi brothers, Tiberius and Gaius, were Roman Plebian nobiles who both served as tribunes in 2nd century BC. They attempted to pass land reform legislation that would redistribute the major patrician landholdings among the plebeians. For this legislation and their membership in the...
before turning to Babeuf
François-Noël Babeuf
François-Noël Babeuf , known as Gracchus Babeuf , was a French political agitator and journalist of the Revolutionary period...
, Saint-Simon
Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon
Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, often referred to as Henri de Saint-Simon was a French early socialist theorist whose thought influenced the foundations of various 19th century philosophies; perhaps most notably Marxism, positivism and the discipline of sociology...
, and utopians such as Fourier
Charles Fourier
François Marie Charles Fourier was a French philosopher. An influential thinker, some of Fourier's social and moral views, held to be radical in his lifetime, have become main currents in modern society...
and Owen
Robert Owen
Robert Owen was a Welsh social reformer and one of the founders of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement.Owen's philosophy was based on three intellectual pillars:...
. Draper then lauds Marx as the first champion of Socialism from Below, "who finally fettered the two ideas of Socialism and Democracy together."
The next sections of the pamphlet consider in turn subsequent manifestations of Socialism from Above, including anarchists (specifically Proudhon
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon was a French politician, mutualist philosopher and socialist. He was a member of the French Parliament, and he was the first person to call himself an "anarchist". He is considered among the most influential theorists and organisers of anarchism...
and Bakunin
Mikhail Bakunin
Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin was a well-known Russian revolutionary and theorist of collectivist anarchism. He has also often been called the father of anarchist theory in general. Bakunin grew up near Moscow, where he moved to study philosophy and began to read the French Encyclopedists,...
), Lassalle
Ferdinand Lassalle
Ferdinand Lassalle was a German-Jewish jurist and socialist political activist.-Early life:Ferdinand Lassalle was born on 11 April 1825 in Breslau , Silesia to a prosperous Jewish family descending from Upper Silesian Loslau...
, the Fabians, Eduard Bernstein
Eduard Bernstein
Eduard Bernstein was a German social democratic theoretician and politician, a member of the SPD, and the founder of evolutionary socialism and revisionism.- Life :...
, and American socialists such as Edward Bellamy
Edward Bellamy
Edward Bellamy was an American author and socialist, most famous for his utopian novel, Looking Backward, set in the year 2000. He was a very influential writer during the Gilded Age of United States history.-Early life:...
. The final sections separate out "six strains of Socialism from Above" (philanthropism, elitism, plannism, communionism, permeationism, and Socialism from Outside) and conclude with a call to intellectual
Intellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
s "to choose the road of Socialism from Below."
Notably, the pamphlet does not devote consideration to the question of whether the Soviet Revolution at its inception was guided by the principles of Socialism from Below or Socialism from Above, although the entire pamphlet is implicitly guided by the moral and political opposition to Stalinism
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
that shaped Draper's life work.
External links
- The Two Souls of Socialism at the Marxists Internet Archives