The Quest for Evolutionary Socialism: Eduard Bernstein and Social Democracy

The Quest for Evolutionary Socialism uses Eduard Bernstein’s life and works as the basis for an examination of the interactions between European social democratic politics and socialist political ideas. It is thus a timely response to the need for a new, comprehensive biography of Bernstein, the German ‘Father of Marxist Revisionism’. Professor Steger incorporates recent academic developments and addresses current debates on the ‘End of Socialism’ resulting from the collapse of Marxism-Leninism and the chronic ailments of European social democracy. This study is set within the historical context of the European labor movement and thus Steger interprets Bernstein’s ‘Evolutionary Socialism’ as an ethically-motivated quest for liberty, solidarity and distributive justice. Steger stresses that the future of social democracy depends on its ability to heed Bernstein’s call for critical self reflection and to reorientate toward more liberal ideals.