Friedrich Engels and the Origins of German Revisionism: Another Look
| Author | Manfred B. Steger |
| Published date | 01 June 1997 |
| Date | 01 June 1997 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9248.00079 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Friedrich Engels and the Origins of German
Revisionism: Another Look
MANFRED B. STEGER
Illinois State University
The precise nature of Friedrich Engels' theoretical role following Marx's death in
1883 has remained a hotly disputed topic among historians of socialist thought.
However, despite their intellectual disagreements, the exponents of various perspec-
tives frequently share a serious interpretive de®ciency: the failure to anchor their
readings of crucial texts in an analysis of speci®c political contexts. Situating
Engels' later writings ± his 1890s Letters on Historical Materialism, and his 1895
Introduction to Marx's The Class Struggles in France ± within the dramatically
changed political situation in ®n de sie
Ácle Germany, this essay seeks to recast the
entire gestalt of the quarrel over Engels' alleged revisionism by illuminating the
historical and political framework that shaped his late Marxism and its theoretical
premises.
Even a century after Friedrich Engels' ashes wereco mmitted to the ocean o his
favourite English seaport of Eastbourne, the precise nature of his theoretical
role following Marx's death in 1883 has remained a hotly disputed topic among
historians of socialist thought. While there is general agreement about Engels'
extraordinary eorts in helping to guide the European socialist movement, three
related themes have formed the core of contention.
First, did Engel ± either mistakenly or intentionally ± embark in his later
writings on a substantial reinterpretation of Marx's work, thereby signi®cantly
departing from their common intellectual venture? Returning to earlier
interpretations of Engels as Marx's alter ego,1recent studies have challenged
fashionable `dichotomist' views'.2Instead, they argue that some of the most
#Political Studies Association 1997. Published by Blackwell Publishers, 108 CowleyRoad, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK and 350 Main
Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.
I would like to thank two anonymous referees for Political Studies for their helpful suggestions.
I am also indebted to Terrell Carver for his excellent comments on an earlier draft.
1See, for example, B. Nikolaievsky and O. Maenchen-Helfen, Karl Marx: Man and Fighter
(Bungay, Suolk, Penguin, [1936] 1976); G. Mayer, Friedrich Engels (Haag, Martinus Nijho,
2 vols, 2nd ed., 1934); Y. Stepanova, Friedrich Engels (Moscow, Foreign Language Publishing
House, 1958); and F. Mehring, Karl Marx: the Story of his Life (Ann Arbor, University of
Michigan Press, 1973).
2See, for example, S. H. Rigby, Engels and the Formation of Marxism: History, Dialectics and
Revolution (Manchester, ManchesterUniversity Press, 1992); J. D. Hunley, The Life and Thought of
Friedrich Engels: a Reinterpretation (New Haven CT, Yale University Press, 1991); P. Kellogg,
`Engels and the roots of ``Revisionism'': a re-evaluation', Science & Society, 55 (1991), 158±74; J. L.
Stanley and E. Zimmermann, `On the alleged dierences between Marx and Engels', Political
Studies, XXXII (1984), 226±48; and G. Welty, `Marx, Engels and ``anti-Du
Èhring'',' Political
Studies, XXXI (1983), 284± 94.
Political Studies (1997), XLV, 247±259
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