‘Reform or revolution’, redux: Eduard Bernstein on the 1918–19 German Revolution

Abstract

Abstract The 1918–19 German Revolution forced an abrupt moment of decision among German socialists on the question of ‘social reform or revolution’. This article traces the arguments of Eduard Bernstein, the founder of ‘reformism’, on the lessons social democracy should draw from the events of the Revolution and the transition from the Kaiserreich to the Weimar Republic. It argues that Bernstein makes significant advances on his early reformism in his post-Revolution writings, and explores his refinement of the concept of ‘revolution’ as well as his critique of Bolshevism and the U.S.S.R. as a new ideological rival within the socialist movement.