Bernstein, Eduard

Bernstein, Eduard (1850-1932), German Social Democratic leader and writer, born in Berlin, and educated at Berlin University. In 1872 he joined the Social Democratic party, and from 1881 to 1890 he and the Social Democratic leader August Bebel jointly edited the newspaper Sozialdemokrat (Social Democrat). While living in exile in London from 1888 to 1901, Bernstein became acquainted with the German co-author of the Communist Manifesto, Friedrich Engels, and studied the theories developed by Engels and Karl Marx dealing with the nature of capitalist society and the establishment of socialism. Bernstein rejected the arguments by Marx and Engels for the violent overthrow of capitalism; instead, he developed his own theory, known as revisionism, emphasizing evolutionary rather than revolutionary methods to bring about a socialist society. In 1901, he was elected to the Reichstag, serving there in 1902-1906, 1912-1918, and 1920-1928. His book Die Voraussetzungen des Sozialismus und die Aufgaben der Sozialdemokratie (The Postulates of Socialism and lessons of Social Democracy, 1899) presents his criticisms of the Marxist system.