Antisemitism is the socialism of fools

"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]

Etymology

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]

Legacy

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

1. Wuliger, Michael (1 July 2013). "SPD der dummen Kerls". Jüdische Allgemeine (in German). Retrieved 27 May 2019.
2. 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.
3. Bebel, August, quoted in Bahr, Hermann (1894). Der Antisemitismus: Ein internationales Interview (in German). Berlin, S. Fischer. p. 21. Bei Ihnen hat man einmal gesagt – ich glaube, es war Kronawetter –: „Der Antisemitismus ist der Sozialismus des dummen Kerls."[In your country someone once said – I think it was Kronawetter – ‘Antisemitism is the socialism of the idiot.’]
4. Evans, Richard J. (2005). The Coming of the Third Reich. Penguin. p. 496. ISBN   9781101042670.
5. Pulzer, Peter G. J. (1988) [1964]. The Rise of Political Anti-semitism in Germany & Austria (Revised ed.). Harvard University Press. p. 262. ISBN   9780674771666.
6. Street, Dale (30 September 2020). "The "idiot of Vienna"". Alliance for Workers' Liberty . Retrieved 2024-01-30.
7. Kronawetter, Ferdinand, quoted in "Der Strike der Tramwaykutscher". Neue Freie Presse (in German) (8859): 18 (2). 24 April 1889.
8. 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.
9. Smith, Steven B. (2007). Reading Leo Strauss: Politics, Philosophy, Judaism. University of Chicago Press. p. 148. ISBN   9780226763897.

Further reading

• 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.