On Karl Kautsky's Democratic Thought And Its Influence On European Socialist Movement

Karl Kautsky is one of most important theorists in the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Second International,his political thought has a significant impact on the Germany,the Second International and even the development of the entire European politics.In the international academia,the study on his political thought is relatively rich,but the systematic and specialized study on his democratic thought is not much.Before the 21st Century,the domestic studies on Kautsky are in the political criticism position.After the 21st Century,the domestic study on Kautsky's political thought increased gradually,but the specialized study on his democratic thought is still not much.The systematic studies on Kautsky's democratic thought not only help to understand his political thought deeply and comprehensively,but also help to understand the evolution history of Marxism and the history of the international communist movement.The first chapter puts the study of Kautsky's democratic thought on the European background,analyzes its formative historical background via the drastic change in the European economy,politics and social class.The second chapter specifically discusses the formative and developing process of Kautsky's democratic thought,and analyzes the specific features in different periods and changing reasons of it.The third chapter discusses the main content of his democratic thought from the primary features and the important relations of democracy.In consideration of Kautsky's Centrism position in the socialism movement,the fourth chapter not only compares and analyzes Kautsky's democratic thought with Marx and Engels' democratic thought,but also selects representatives' democratic thought of the other two factions in the socialism movement to compare and analyze with it.Through the compare and analyses of texts,we can profoundly understand the reasons of Kautsky's turning to the Centrism.The fifth chapter not only analyzes his democratic thought's impact on the Social Democratic Party of Germany,but also focuses on more broad politics of Europe.The 20st Century's Democratic Socialism permeated Kautsky's democratic thought in the aspect of its programme,guiding thought,etc.And the Eurocommunism in the 1970s even directly quoted it in the programme,principle,strategy.It follows that Kautsky's democratic thought has far-reaching effects on the development of later European politics.This article objectively evaluates Kautsky's democratic thought in the academic position,and considers his Centrism position is a middle way considering Germany conditions.From his comprehension of democracy and his choice in strategy of realizing socialism,Kautsky's democratic thought adheres to Marxism's position as a whole.But he is an idealist theorist and strategist,his democratic theory is more of idealist theory analyses,and it difficultly reaches his idealist state in the revolutionary practice.