The Quest for Evolutionary Socialism studies the interaction between social democratic politics and socialist ideals.

Reconstructs the history of scientific thought by American socialists, showing how ideas about evolution shaped the national movement and its place in the international movement. Documents the enthusiasm that lured both Marxists and non-Marxists far beyond Darwin and Spencer to a vision of inevitable progress toward socialism. Paper edition (unseen), $24.95. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Eduard Bernstein, a German politician of the socialist party, sets out his beliefs in peaceful, incremental legislative transition to a socialist planned economy. Writing in 1899, the mature Bernstein had by this time disavowed the earlier doctrines of Marxism which crucially advocated violence in the form of revolutionary upheaval. Across three chapters, he details the practical steps a given nation can take to instilling socialism via peaceful means. Quoting Marx's later works, as well as the words of Friedrich Engels, Bernstein develops an alternative thesis that goes against the grain of early Communist thought. Bernstein discusses how a society can realign its industry, production and workers toward achieving a purely socialist-communist outcome. Under no illusions about the stark differences between a capitalist, free market economy and a planned, socialist one, the author details how and in what order the incremental changes towards socialism should be implemented.

Evolutionary socialism, or socialist reformism, was first put forward by Eduard Bernstein in this quintessential essay, which was first published at the end of the 19th century. Evolutionary socialism is the belief that gradual changes through and within existing institutions of a society can ultimately change a society's fundamental economic relations, economic system, and political structures. This belief grew out of opposition to revolutionary socialism, which contends that revolutions are necessary for fundamental structural changes to occur.

This important new study is an intellectual history exploring the reception of Darwinism by prominent German socialist theoriests: Karl Marx, Friedrich Engles, Friedrich Albert Lange, Ludwig B chner, August Bebel, Karl Katusky, and Eduard Bernstein. It relies not only on published books, articles, and speeches by these men, but also on some unpublished correspondence. In addition, one chapter covers the anti-socialist stance of prominent Darwinian biologists, including Charles Darwin and the foremost champion of Darwinism in Germany, Ernst Haeckel. Darwinism's effect on German socialism's view of eugenics, race and religion are also discussed.