"Antisemitism is the socialism of fools" (German: "Der Antisemitismus ist der Sozialismus der dummen Kerle") is a phrase denouncing the notion that Jewish "wealth" or "power" is the root of social injustice.[1]
While the phrase is often attributed to German socialist activist and politician August Bebel or even to German philosopher, political theorist and economist Karl Marx,[2] Bebel himself,[3] and later British historians Peter G. J. Pulzer and Richard J. Evans all attributed it to Austrian left-liberal politician Ferdinand Kronawetter,[2][4][5] The first known usage of the phrase by Kronawetter was in a speech at an April, 1889, general meeting of the Margarethen District Electoral Association in Vienna;[6] on 24 April 1889, the Neue Freie Presse published Kronawetter's speech, wherein he said: "Der Antisemitismus ist nichts als der Socialismus des dummen Kerls von Wien" ('Antisemitism is nothing but the socialism of the idiot of Vienna').[7][6] By the 1890s, the expression was widely used among German social democrats.[4]
Neoconservative philosopher Leo Strauss argued that Soviet leader Joseph Stalin may have believed that, because fools were numerous, a "socialism of fools" would be advantageous. Strauss suggested that Stalin deliberately fostered antisemitism for this reason.[8][9]
References
edit- ^ Wuliger, Michael (1 July 2013). "SPD der dummen Kerls". Jüdische Allgemeine (in German). Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ^ a b Friedman, Max Paul (2012). Rethinking Anti-Americanism: The History of an Exceptional Concept in American Foreign Relations. Cambridge University Press. p. 264-265. ISBN 9780521683425.
- ^ Bebel, August, quoted in Bahr, Hermann (1894). Der Antisemitismus: Ein internationales Interview (in German). p. 21.
Bei Ihnen hat man einmal gesagt – ich glaube, es war Kronawetter –: „Der Antisemitismus ist der Sozialismus des dummen Kerls."
[Someone – I believe it was Kronawetter – has once told you: “Antisemitism is the socialism of fools.”] - ^ a b Evans, Richard J. (2005). The Coming of the Third Reich. Penguin. p. 496. ISBN 9781101042670.
- ^ Pulzer, Peter G. J. (1988) [1964]. The Rise of Political Anti-semitism in Germany & Austria (Revised ed.). Harvard University Press. p. 262. ISBN 9780674771666.
- ^ a b Street, Dale (30 September 2020). "The "idiot of Vienna"". Alliance for Workers' Liberty. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
- ^ Kronawetter, Ferdinand, quoted in "Der Strike der Tramwaykutscher". Neue Freie Presse (in German) (8859): 18 (2). 24 April 1889.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ Strauss, Leo (1994) [4 February 1962]. "Why We Remain Jews: Can Jewish Faith and History Still Speak to Us?". Leo Strauss: Political Philosopher and Jewish Thinker. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 48.
- ^ Smith, Steven B. (2007). Reading Leo Strauss: Politics, Philosophy, Judaism. University of Chicago Press. p. 148. ISBN 9780226763897.
Further reading
edit- Battini, Michele; Mazhar, Noor; Vergnano, Isabella (2016). Socialism of Fools: Capitalism and Modern Anti-Semitism. Columbia University Press. doi:10.7312/batt17038. ISBN 9780231541329.
- Lipset, Seymour Martin (1969). "The Socialism of Fools": The Left, the Jews & Israel. Anti-Defamation League.
- Lerner, Michael (1992). The Socialism of Fools: Anti-Semitism on the Left. Tikkun Books. ISBN 9780935933055.
- Brustein, William I.; Roberts, Louisa (2015). The Socialism of Fools?: Leftist Origins of Modern Anti-Semitism. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781316368176.
- Jürgens, Peer (2013). Antisemitismus: Sozialismus des dummen Kerls? Sozialdemokratie und Antisemitismus im Deutschen Kaiserreich (in German). Diplomica Verlag. ISBN 9783842868953.
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