Impossibilism
Encyclopedia
Impossibilism is an interpretation of Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...

. It emphasizes the limited value of reforms in overturning capitalism and insists on revolutionary political action as the only reliable method of bringing about socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...

.

Origins of the concept

The concept of impossibilism — though not the specific term — was introduced and heavily influenced by the American Marxist theoretician
Theoretician (Marxism)
A theoretician is a term from the vernacular of Marxism relating to an individual who observes and writes about the condition or dynamics of society, history, or economics, making use of the main principles of Marxian socialism in the analysis....

 Daniel De Leon
Daniel De Leon
Daniel DeLeon was an American socialist newspaper editor, politician, Marxist theoretician, and trade union organizer. He is regarded as the forefather of the idea of revolutionary industrial unionism and was the leading figure in the Socialist Labor Party of America from 1890 until the time of...

, on the basis of theory that De Leon generated before his interest in syndicalism began (see De Leonism
De Leonism
De Leonism, occasionally known as Marxism-Deleonism, is a form of syndicalist Marxism developed by Daniel De Leon. De Leon was an early leader of the first United States socialist political party, the Socialist Labor Party of America....

). It came to be focused especially on the question of whether socialists should take part in government under capitalism.

At the Paris Congress of the Second International, in 1900
International Socialist Congress, Paris 1900
The 5th International Socialist Congress of the Second International era was held in Paris from September 23rd to 27th in Paris. It was originally supposed to be held in Germany in 1899, but difficulties with the German authorities prevented this....

, those who favored entry into government, with all the implied compromises, called themselves Possibilists, while those who opposed them characterized them as "Opportunists
Opportunism
-General definition:Opportunism is the conscious policy and practice of taking selfish advantage of circumstances, with little regard for principles. Opportunist actions are expedient actions guided primarily by self-interested motives. The term can be applied to individuals, groups,...

." Conversely, the revolutionary socialists
Revolutionary socialism
The term revolutionary socialism refers to Socialist tendencies that advocate the need for fundamental social change through revolution by mass movements of the working class, as a strategy to achieve a socialist society...

 who opposed ameliorative reforms and participation in capitalist governments were called "Impossibilists" by their detractors because they sought the impossible.

Impossibilist political organizations

Impossibilism was particularly popular in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 in the early 20th century, through the influence of E.T. Kingsley
E.T. Kingsley
Eugene Thornton Kingsley was a founder and leader of the Socialist Party of Canada and an editor of the Western Clarion newspaper in the first decade of the 20th century...

. Several members of Kingsley's Socialist Party of Canada
Socialist Party of Canada
There have been two different but related political parties in Canada that called themselves the Socialist Party of Canada . The current Socialist Party is an electorally inactive and unregistered federal political party in Canada...

 were elected to the British Columbia legislature between 1901 and 1910. It is also the basis of the theory and practice of the oldest British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Marxist party, the Socialist Party of Great Britain
Socialist Party of Great Britain
The Socialist Party of Great Britain , is a small Marxist political party within the impossibilist tradition. It is best known for its advocacy of using the ballot box for revolutionary purposes; opposition to reformism; and its early adoption of the theory of state capitalism to describe the...

 (SPGB), founded in 1904.

In the United States the DeLeonist Socialist Labor Party of America
Socialist Labor Party of America
The Socialist Labor Party of America , established in 1876 as the Workingmen's Party, is the oldest socialist political party in the United States and the second oldest socialist party in the world. Originally known as the Workingmen's Party of America, the party changed its name in 1877 and has...

 (SLP) was viewed as "impossibilist" by its opponents, particularly those in the electorally-oriented Socialist Party of America
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...

. A more self-consciously impossibilist organization emerged in 1920 as the Proletarian Party of America
Proletarian Party of America
The Proletarian Party of America was a small communist political party in the United States, originating in 1920 and terminated in 1971. Originally an offshoot of the Communist Party of America, the group maintained an independent existence for over five decades. It is best remembered for carrying...

, an organization headed by the Scottish-born John Keracher
John Keracher
John Keracher was a Scottish-born American Marxist politician who founded the Proletarian Party of America in 1920.-Early years:...

 which was directly influenced by the ideas of the Socialist Party of Great Britain and the Socialist Party of Canada.

See also

  • Possibilism
  • Socialist Party of Great Britain
    Socialist Party of Great Britain
    The Socialist Party of Great Britain , is a small Marxist political party within the impossibilist tradition. It is best known for its advocacy of using the ballot box for revolutionary purposes; opposition to reformism; and its early adoption of the theory of state capitalism to describe the...

  • Socialist Party of Canada
    Socialist Party of Canada
    There have been two different but related political parties in Canada that called themselves the Socialist Party of Canada . The current Socialist Party is an electorally inactive and unregistered federal political party in Canada...

  • Socialist Labor Party of America
    Socialist Labor Party of America
    The Socialist Labor Party of America , established in 1876 as the Workingmen's Party, is the oldest socialist political party in the United States and the second oldest socialist party in the world. Originally known as the Workingmen's Party of America, the party changed its name in 1877 and has...

  • Proletarian Party of America
    Proletarian Party of America
    The Proletarian Party of America was a small communist political party in the United States, originating in 1920 and terminated in 1971. Originally an offshoot of the Communist Party of America, the group maintained an independent existence for over five decades. It is best remembered for carrying...

  • Karl Kautsky
    Karl Kautsky
    Karl Johann Kautsky was a Czech-German philosopher, journalist, and Marxist theoretician. Kautsky was recognized as among the most authoritative promulgators of Orthodox Marxism after the death of Friedrich Engels in 1895 until the coming of World War I in 1914 and was called by some the "Pope of...

  • Eduard Bernstein
    Eduard Bernstein
    Eduard Bernstein was a German social democratic theoretician and politician, a member of the SPD, and the founder of evolutionary socialism and revisionism.- Life :...


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