by Erik P.
The very first socialists, such as Saint-Simon [1]., Fourier [2]., and Owen [3]., were idealists who wanted to move towards a just society. However, they lacked a scientific analysis of the economic structures that prevented such a society from developing. Engels therefore called them “utopian socialists.”
With the work of Marx and Engels, the focus of socialism shifted towards historical materialism. The evolution of society, they argued, was not driven by ideas, but by the conditions of production and the ongoing class struggle. Every social order is rooted in its specific way of producing and distributing the means of production.
Engels saw capitalism as a transitional stage: on the one hand, it develops the productive forces to an unprecedented degree; on the other, it generates crises, exploitation, and the antagonism between bourgeoisie and proletariat. In this way, capitalism itself creates the conditions for its own downfall, because its contradictions become unbearable.
Only the working class can overcome capitalism and free itself, since it owns no share of the means of production. As Engels provocatively asked: Would a class abolish itself? The class struggle, culminating in revolution, leads to the political power of the proletariat.
Unlike the early socialists, Marx and Engels did not argue from a moral standpoint but from the analysis of economic laws. Socialism, therefore, is not a utopian dream of a better society, but a historical necessity. Once the means of production are socialized, class society itself will vanish. Engels describes socialism as the conscious and planned organization of the economy in the interest of all, the interest of the community, the commune, or communism.
Engels text “The Development of Socialism from Utopia to Science” marks a turning point. It separates the utopian visions of early thinkers (based on idealistic visions), from the foundation of scientific socialism (based on economic analysis and class struggle) rooted not in dreams, but in the laws of history itself.