- Research Article
- 10.31271/jopss.10153
Edward Bernstein's Revisionist View for Achieving Socialism
- Apr 22, 2026
- Journal for Political and Security studies
- Jabar Ahmed + 1 more +1
The views of thinkers regarding the paths to achieving socialism vary. Some emphasize the revolutionary path, while others propose different approaches. Some believe that history itself plays this role, guiding society towards socialism. However, others, such as the revisionists, believe that achieving socialism should be through peaceful means, reform, and the use of democratic and parliamentary tools. As a revisionist thinker, Bernstein believed that humans are active, history-making characters, and therefore it is humanity that should guide society towards socialism, not history itself. Bernstein also reviewed many of Marx's ideas, placing the role of economics alongside other factors. He did not believe that only surplus value and capital accumulation played a role in the nature and survival or collapse of capitalism. Instead, he argued that other factors, such as the diversity of goods and the type of production, also play a role. Therefore, he did not believe in the theory of the final crisis of capitalism, and he thought that capitalism could adapt to developments and changes, overcome crises, and survive. The survival of capitalism, he argued, requires us to strive to secure the rights of the proletariat through reform, trade union struggles, and parliamentary means, and to transform state institutions towards the achievement of socialism. This is because Bernstein did not believe that the state was a biased institution serving only capitalism; rather, he believed that the state was neutral and could be put at the service of the proletariat and the struggles of socialist movements. He also believed that within the framework of the state, we could secure the freedoms of the proletariat, and by gaining a parliamentary majority, we could enact laws that serve the rights of workers.
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