Friedrich Engels and the Foundations of Socialist Governance (SpringerBriefs in Philosophy)

This book states that the political systems of China, Vietnam, Cuba and other socialist countries are showing distinct maturity and ability to deal effectively with challenges – the most recent being the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to understand how they have developed their structures, it is time to return to the roots of the Marxist tradition and re-examine the question of socialist governance. It was Friedrich Engels (and less so Marx) who laid out some of the theoretical foundations for socialist governance. On the basis of extensive research in 1870s and 1880s, Engels developed his analysis of the nature of hitherto existing states as a ‘separated public power’; the role of the dictatorship of the proletariat and its exercise of power; the actual meaning of the ‘withering away of the state’, which would be one of the very last outcomes of socialist construction; and the nature of socialist governance itself. On this matter, he proposed a de-politicised public power that would stand in the midst of society and focus on managing the processes of production for the sake of the true interests of society. Preface 7 Contents 9 About the Author 12 Abbreviations 13 1 Introduction and Synopsis 14 1.1 Opening Remarks 14 1.2 Why Engels? 15 1.3 Secondary Literature 15 1.4 Chapter Synopsis 16 1.5 Approach to Citations 20 References 20 2 The State as a Separated Public Power 22 2.1 Opening Remarks 22 2.2 Hitherto Existing States 23 2.3 Instrument, Nature or Autonomy? 26 2.4 Indirect Rule: The Example of Bismarck’s Germany 28 2.5 The Role of Gewalt 29 2.6 Conclusion 32 References 33 3 Socialist Gewalt and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat 38 3.1 Opening Remarks 38 3.2 Defining Dictatorship 40 3.3 The Housing Question (1872–1873) 41 3.4 Introduction to the Third Edition of Marx’s ‘The Civil War in France' (1891) 43 3.5 Critique of the Erfurt Program (1891) 46 3.6 Introduction to Marx’s ‘The Class Struggles in France' (1895) 50 3.7 Letter to Conrad Schmidt (1890): Gewalt is also an Economic Potenz 53 3.8 Socialist Gewalt 55 3.9 Conclusion 57 References 59 4 Abolition or Dying Away of the State? 64 4.1 Opening Remarks 64 4.2 The Socialist Context: Debates of the 1840s 67 4.2.1 From Anti-Statism to Transforming the State 67 4.2.2 Moses Hess 68 4.2.3 Max Stirner 70 4.3 Engels: Towards 1850 71 4.3.1 The Delay in Abolishing Private Property 72 4.3.2 The Communist Aufhebung 75 4.3.3 Max Stirner’s Willpower 79 4.3.4 ‘On the Slogan of the Abolition of the State’ 82 4.4 Struggle with the Anarchists 84 4.4.1 Bakunin and the Alliance 85 4.4.2 The Struggle 87 4.4.3 The Anarchist Fiasco in Lyons 91 4.5 Dying Away 92 4.5.1 Letter to August Bebel: Making Use of the State Until It Dissolves 93 4.5.2 On the Death of Karl Marx: Gradual Dissolution of the State as a Final Result 94 4.5.3 Anti-Dühring: Dying Away of the State 95 References 96 5 Towards Enmeshed Socialist Governance 103 5.1 Opening Remarks 103 5.2 Public Gewalt, Political Character and the Administration of Things 104 5.2.1 Public Gewalt 105 5.2.2 Political Character 106 5.2.3 De-politicised Elections 107 5.2.4 Administration of Things and Managing Production 109 5.3 Standing in the Midst of Society 112 5.3.1 Pre-State Organisation of Society 113 5.3.2 Naturally Evolved Democracy 115 5.4 Aufhebung of Baseline Communism 116 5.4.1 The Mark: History 116 5.4.2 The Mark: Organisation 118 5.4.3 The Mark: Aufhebung 119 5.5 Conclusion: Enmeshed Governance 120 References 121 6 Conclusion: What is in a Name? 125 6.1 Socialist Governance in Practice 125 6.2 What Should We Call These New Political Forms? 126 6.3 A Work in Progress 127 References 128 Index 130