Moses (Moritz) Hess (21 January 1812 – 6 April 1875) was a German-Jewish philosopher, early

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

thinker. His theories led to disagreements with

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

and

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. He is considered a pioneer of

Labor Zionism Labor Zionism () or socialist Zionism () is the left-wing, socialist variant of Zionism. For many years, it was the most significant tendency among Zionists and Zionist organizations, and was seen as the Zionist faction of the historic Jewish ...

Biography

Moses Hess was born in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, which was under French rule at the time. In his French-language birth certificate, his name is given as "Moïse"; he was named after his maternal grandfather. His father was an ordained rabbi, but never practiced this profession. Hess received a Jewish religious education from his grandfather, and later studied philosophy at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

, but never graduated. Markenheft

He married a poor

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

seamstress, Sibylle Pesch, "in order to redress the injustice perpetrated by society". Although they remained happily married until Hess' death, Sibylle may have had an affair with

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

, and a precursor to what would later be called

Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

. As a correspondent for the '' Rheinische Zeitung'', a radical newspaper founded by liberal Rhenish businessmen, he lived in Paris. He was a friend and important collaborator of

, who was the editor of the , following his advice, and befriended also with

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hess initially introduced Engels to communism, through his theoretical approach. Marx, Engels and Hess took refuge in Brussels, Belgium, in 1845, and used to live in the same street. By the end of the decade, Marx and Engels had fallen out with Hess. The work of Hess was also criticized in part of ''

The German Ideology ''The German Ideology'' (German: ''Die deutsche Ideologie''), also known as ''A Critique of the German Ideology'', is a set of manuscripts written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels around April or early May 1846. Marx and Engels did not find a p ...

'' by Marx and Engels. Hess fled to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

temporarily following the suppression of the 1848 commune. He would also go abroad during the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

of 1870–1871. During the 1850s Hess immersed himself into studying the natural sciences and gaining, in an autodidactic fashion, a scientific foundation for his thoughts. Hess died in Paris in 1875. A non-religious ceremony was held in which he was eulogized by representatives of French radical democrats, German socialists, and the German workers in Paris. As he requested, he was buried in the Jewish cemetery of

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. In 1961, he was re-interred in the Kinneret Cemetery in Israel along with other Socialist-Zionists such as Nachman Syrkin, Ber Borochov, and

Berl Katznelson Berl Katznelson (; 25 January 1887 – 12 August 1944) was one of the intellectual founders of Labor Zionism and was instrumental to the Israeli Declaration of Independence, establishment of the modern state of Israel. He was also the editor of ' ...

. Moshav Kfar Hess in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

was named in his honour.

Views and opinions

Hess became reluctant to base all history on economic causes and

class struggle In political science, the term class conflict, class struggle, or class war refers to the economic antagonism and political tension that exist among social classes because of clashing interests, competition for limited resources, and inequali ...

(as Marx and Engels did), and he came to see the struggle of races, or nationalities, as the prime factor of history. According to George Lichtheim, Hess, who differed from Marx on a number of issues, still testified in a letter to Alexander Herzen that what he and Herzen were writing about "resembles a neat sketch drawn on paper, whereas Marx's judgment upon these events uropean upheavalsis as it were engraved with iron force in the rock of time" (Paraphrased by George Lichtheim, ''A Short History of Socialism'', 1971 p. 80). From 1861 to 1863, he lived in Germany, where he became acquainted with the rising tide of German

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

. It was then that he reverted to his Jewish name Moses (after going by Moritz Hess) in protest against

Jewish assimilation Jewish assimilation (, ''hitbolelut'') refers either to the gradual cultural assimilation and social integration of Jews in their surrounding culture or to an ideological program in the age of emancipation promoting conformity as a potential so ...

. He published '' Rome and Jerusalem'' in 1862. Hess interprets history as a circle of race and national struggles. He contemplated the rise of Italian nationalism and the German reaction to it, and from this he arrived at the idea of Jewish national revival, and at his prescient understanding that the Germans would not be tolerant of the national aspirations of others and would be particularly intolerant of the Jews. His book calls for the establishment of a Jewish socialist commonwealth in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, in line with the emerging national movements in Europe and as the only way to respond to antisemitism and assert Jewish identity in the modern world. Hess grave

Scholarly work

Hess's '' Rome and Jerusalem: The Last National Question'' went unnoticed in his time, as most German Jews preferred

cultural assimilation Cultural assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a society's Dominant culture, majority group or fully adopts the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group. The melting pot model is based on this ...

. His work did not stimulate political activity or discussion. When

Theodor Herzl Theodor Herzl (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist and lawyer who was the father of Types of Zionism, modern political Zionism. Herzl formed the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organizat ...

first read ''Rome and Jerusalem'' he wrote that "since

Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (24 November 163221 February 1677), also known under his Latinized pen name Benedictus de Spinoza, was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, who was born in the Dutch Republic. A forerunner of the Age of Enlightenmen ...

, Jewry had no bigger thinker than this forgotten Moses Hess." He said he might not have written (''The Jewish State'') if he had known ''Rome and Jerusalem'' beforehand. Vladimir Ze'ev Jabotinsky honored Hess in ''The Jewish Legion in the World War'' as one of the people that made the Balfour declaration possible, along with Herzl, Walter Rothschild and Leon Pinsker.

Published works

*'' Holy History of Mankind'' (1837) *'' European Triarchy'' (1841) *
Socialism and Communism
' (1842) * ''Die Philosophie der Tat'' (''The Philosophy of Action'', 1843) *'' On the Monetary System'', also translated as ''On the Essence of Money'' (Über das Geldwesen, 1845) *'' Communist Confession of Faith'' (London, 1846) *'' Consequences of a Revolution of the Proletariat'' (1847) *'' Rome and Jerusalem'' Leipzig: Eduard Mengler (1862) *'' Letters on the Mission of Israel'' (1864) *'' High Finance and the Empire'' (1869) *'' Les Collectivistes et les Communistes'' (1869) *'' The Dynamic Theory of Matter'' (1877) *
Jüdische Schriften
' (anthology edited by Theodor Zlocisti; Berlin: Louis Lamm, 1905)

Translations

*'' The Holy History and Mankind and Other Writings''. ed. Shlomo Avineri (Cambridge University Press, 2005). *'' The History of the Jews'', Volume III, Graetz (1866–1867, into French)

References

International Institute of Social History International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

Kalonymos, Gregor Pelger: About the restoration of the Jewish state. Moses Heß (1812-1875)
Kalonymos, Gregor Pelger: "Zur Restauration des jüdischen Staates. Moses Heß (1812-1875)"] (in German)
Archived
at the Wayback Machine.
''Moses Hess Projects.''
Homepage Moses Hess Projects (in German)
Archived
at the Wayback Machine. * Wolfgang Deuling: Bookburning Bonn Review. Rückblick auf 10 Jahre Einweihung des „Lese-Males“ auf dem Bonner Marktplatz zur Erinnerung an den 10. Mai 1933
''Archivalia, 19. November 2024 ''
* Wolfgang Deuling: Bookburning Bonn Review. Rückblick auf 10 Jahre Einweihung des „Lese-Males“ auf dem Bonner Marktplatz zur Erinnerung an den 10. Mai 1933
''sites.google.com. April 2023 ''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hess, Moses 1812 births 1875 deaths 19th-century German Jews 19th-century German philosophers Forerunners of Zionism German communists German socialists Jewish communists Jewish philosophers Jewish socialists Labor Zionists Pantheists People from the Rhine Province Philosophers of Judaism Writers from Bonn Burials at Kinneret Cemetery