Lassallism is the

strategy Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the " ar ...

of the pursuit of

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

through the use of the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * '' Our ...

. This school of thought developed from German jurist and socialist activist

Ferdinand Lassalle Ferdinand Lassalle (; 11 April 1825 – 31 August 1864) was a Prussian- German jurist, philosopher, socialist and political activist best remembered as the initiator of the social democratic movement in Germany. "Lassalle was the first man in ...

. This school of thought diverged from the route to socialism propounded by

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

. Marx advocated a revolutionary strategy and focused on organizing through workers' organizations. Lassalle, on the other hand, emphasized pursuing socialism through electoral institutions, particularly through

universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...

. Lassalle focused on organizing through engagement with the state via

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or po ...

. Opponents of Lassalle critiqued his socialism as ''

state socialism State socialism is a political and economic ideology within the socialist movement that advocates state ownership of the means of production. This is intended either as a temporary measure, or as a characteristic of socialism in the transition fr ...

.'' The practice of Lassallism carried forward in the

General German Workers' Association The General German Workers' Association (german: Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiter-Verein, ADAV) was a German political party founded on 23 May 1863 in Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony by Ferdinand Lassalle. It was the first organized mass working-class ...

(ADAV), formed in 1863, and after the 1864 death of Lassalle. The General German Workers' Association would be a precursor to the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). The SPD aimed for revolution and threatened the German political status quo, which induced

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of ...

to introduce the first

social reform A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary mov ...

s (

State Socialism State socialism is a political and economic ideology within the socialist movement that advocates state ownership of the means of production. This is intended either as a temporary measure, or as a characteristic of socialism in the transition fr ...

) for workers in Imperial Germany while suppressing the SPD with laws. The SPD exercised a fundamental opposition to the government until the 1890s when they supported the

s in the domestic policies by Arthur von Posadowsky-Wehner. The tension between Lassallism and Marxism in the United States would receive later attention in Philip S. Foner's ''History of the Labor Movement in the United States, Volume II'' and in David Caute's ''The Left in Europe.'' Caute contended that the Marxists in Europe gained advantage relative to Lassallism with Lassalle's passing in 1864.David Caute, ''The Left in Europe,'' World University Library mprint of McGraw-Hill Wallop, Hampshire, England, 1966, 53.

Notes

{{reflist Eponymous political ideologies Political ideologies Types of socialism Ferdinand Lassalle

See also

Notes