German economists-philosophers occupy a special place in world economic theory. One of the remarkable people of his time was Karl Kautsky. His works had much in common with the works of K. Marx, but had a number of special features that made the views of this German philosopher unique in their own way. He managed to attract a lot of supporters, and some of his works are still relevant. And at present, the right-wing socialist leaders in their books use the ideas voiced by Karl Kautsky.
Biography
The life of a future economist begins in ancient Prague, where this great man was born in 1854. In those days, Central Europe led a fairly quiet life, and its educational institutions competed with eminent British universities.
Karl Kautsky received an excellent education at the University of Vienna. Even in his student years, he shared the views of the socialists and got acquainted in detail with the works of K. Marx. Withlate 1870s, he shared many of the views of the Marxists. In particular, the so-called agrarian question began to interest him along with the peculiarities of the working-class movement and the struggle against revisionism. The position of editor of the rather popular journal "Die Neue Zeit" contributes to the spread of socialist ideas in Central and Western Europe, although his readers noted some pedantry of his work and a penchant for scientific scholasticism.
Propaganda of Marxism
In 1885 -1888 Karl Kautsky lives in London, where he closely communicates with Engels and supporters of Marxism. Since 1890 he moved to Germany, where he continued to publish articles on various aspects of Marxism. The talent of the enlightener and the virtuosity of the word made Kautsky's works quite popular among supporters of socialist and radical movements. Among his works are an analysis of the activities of Thomas More and his dystopia (1888), "Comments on the Exfurt program" (1892), "The forerunners of modern socialism (1895).
Kautsky and Christianity
The German economist and philosopher devoted one of his works to the birth and development of the most large-scale religious trend of his time - Christianity. In his book, Kautsky talks about the economic and social reasons that determined the need for a new faith in society, explains the significance of historical realities and Jewish monotheism, thanks to which Christianity arose as a separate religion. The work "The Origin of Christianity" was highly appreciatedcontemporaries, although even now it causes a lot of controversy among believers and among atheists.
Economic work
A detailed analysis of economic relations was carried out by him in 1887. "The Economic Teachings of Karl Marx" is perhaps the most famous work of this scientist. It presents the main theses of the famous "Capital" in an accessible and understandable language. The places where Kautsky describes the theory of capital contain understandable artistic images accessible to people who are far from economic education.
Agricultural issues
The ideas of capitalism in agriculture were brilliantly revealed in K. Kautsky's book The Agrarian Question. Here he describes the main trends that gradually developed attitudes towards landed property over a long time: from the early feudal economic order to the modern era of developed capitalism. The German economist was able to streamline the descriptive and statistical material, which by that time had accumulated a huge mass. In his work, Kautsky relies on official data from various surveys and censuses conducted in England, France, the USA, and Germany.
The smooth flow of the story from early feudal relations to modern farming shows how farming in a short time has evolved from a patriarchal occupation to a science that allows you to achieve maximum profits. All his reasoning fits perfectly with Marx's calculations and his economic theses.
Departure from ideasMarxism
At the beginning of the century, the idea of the dictatorship of the proletariat was gaining more and more popularity. The idea of changing the economic structure was also voiced at the II Congress of the RSDLP, which began in 1903 in Brussels, and then continued to work in London. Kautsky closely followed the discussions of the delegates, but in his judgments he took the side of the Mensheviks (anti-Iskrovites). On this occasion, Karl Kautsky published several works written in the spirit of Marxism. Among them were "The Path to Power", "Slavs and Revolution". The works of the German economist were carefully studied by V. I. Lenin, who often quoted them in his speeches. Kautsky's articles with Lenin's comments were frequently published in Iskra.
Before the World War
The gradual rethinking of the ideas of K. Marx makes Kautsky move away from the ideas of the revolutionary struggle and the labor movement. He pursues a policy of reconciliation with various revisionists. Nevertheless, this did not prevent him in his writings from supporting the liquidationist movement among the Russian Social Democrats. He also denies the partisan principles of Marxist philosophy, paying tribute to various non-organizational forms of protest. The scientific socialism of his writings tried to coexist with non-Marxist philosophical ideas. Kautsky's views are undergoing an essential change. Moving away from the revolutionary view of Marxism, he tries to explain and spread the principles of social chauvinists.
Kautsky in 1917
At the beginning of 1917, Kautsky was directly involved in the creation of a new party,whose views he fully shared. This is an independent social democratic party in Germany, which attracted a lot of votes in the first round of elections. But Kautsky reacted extremely negatively to the October Revolution, opposing the transfer of power to the workers and peasants, while maintaining the principles of bourgeois democracy.
During the period of major political unrest in Germany, he maintained a course of reconciling capitalism with socialist ideas. The position of the German scientist on this issue was examined in detail and criticized by V. I. Lenin in his work "The Proletarian Revolution and the Degenerate Kautsky".
As is often the case, the ideas of the German philosopher have outgrown their creator. In post-war Germany, the capitalist system remained dominant. Kautsky's favorite brainchild (the Social Democratic Party) took on frightening features. When fascism reared its head in Central Europe, Kautsky did not fully realize what terrible consequences this could lead to. In 1938, the Nazis came to his beloved Vienna, and Karl Kautsky was forced to move to Prague, and then to Amsterdam, where he ended his life.
