Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The Social Democratic Party of Germany (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, SPD) was founded in 1875. Its original leaders included such prominent Marxist theoreticians and activists as Ferdinand Lassalle, Wilhelm Liebknecht, and August Bebel. The Social Democrats weathered intense persecution under the rule of Otto von Bismarck, who banned the party from 1878 to 1890. The SPD emerged from this period not only intact, but as the largest party within the Second International, a primarily European organization of socialist parties. By the turn of the century, the SPD had hundreds of thousands of members, and enjoyed the support of millions of voters; in nationwide elections in 1912, the SPD garnered more votes than any other party. Social democracy was a diffuse movement, comprising not only a political party but also a network of auxiliary organizations and sporting and social clubs. From its earliest years, the party experienced internal division between its more moderate and radical wings, as the SPD simultaneously advocated revolution and adopted a parliamentary, reformist strategy. Eduard Bernstein was the most visible leader of the “revisionist” or moderate faction. His 1899 book, Die Voraussetzungen des Sozialismus und die Aufgaben der Sozialdemokratie , known in English as Evolutionary Socialism , argued for gradual reform, which would presumably bring about an equitable ... log in or subscribe to read full text