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American Socialists and Evolutionary Thought, 1870-1920 (Paperback, New)
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American Socialists and Evolutionary Thought, 1870-1920 (Paperback, New)
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American Socialists and Evolutionary Thought, 1870-1920
demonstrates how evolutionary theories fundamentally shaped, and
ultimately undercut, the American socialist movement. Mark
Pittenger examines the attempts of radicals in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries to synthesise the evolutionary ideas of
Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer with socialist philosophy,
social theory and political practice. In contrast to authors who
have shown the influence of Darwinism on conservative and
progressive political ideologies, Pittenger establishes that
radicals also took scientific ideas seriously and wanted to link
the public fascination with evolution to their own cause. Looking
at theoretical, political and fiction writing by American
socialists, Pittenger identifies debates among factions during two
distinct periods: the Gilded Age, during which socialism was a
fragmented aggregation of largely non-Marxist individuals and
organisations; and the Progressive Era, when socialism coalesced
into a distinctly Marxist movement, seeking political and economic
power via the American Socialist Party. Many activists of both eras
saw evolutionary science as the necessary foundation for socialist
theory and practice. Some tried in various ways to incorporate
pragmatism, cultural relativism, and rights for blacks and women
into their programmes, or worked to democratise scientific
knowledge in service of the class struggle. But, as a result of the
social pressure on socialists to adopt less radical positions and
of their own desires to appeal to a broader constituency, the
Marxist call for a workers' revolution receded in importance,
replaced by the less painful notion that socialism would arrive as
the result of natural and inevitable processes. As socialists
broadened their message it became difficult to distinguish it from
other types of progressive reform. Pittenger's insights regarding
the role of evolutionary science in American socialist thought are
an important contribution to understanding why socialism has not
had more of an impact on modern American society.
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