Lassallism or Lassalleanism is the

strategy Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "troop leadership; 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 " a ...

of the pursuit of

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 ...

through the use of the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

. This school of thought developed from German jurist and socialist activist Ferdinand Lassalle. This school of thought diverged from the route to socialism propounded by

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) ...

. 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 or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

. 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 area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

. Opponents of Lassalle critiqued his socialism as '' state socialism.'' The practice of Lassallism carried forward in the General German Workers' Association (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 The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...

(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 (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...

to introduce the first

social reform 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 movements which reject t ...

s ( State Socialism) for workers in

Imperial Germany The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

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