Introduction

Many of the generation which had come to maturity in the beginning of the 20th century believed socialism to be not only just but inevitable as well. They imagined that the advent of socialism would come about through the continuation of the same peaceful progression that it saw before its eyes. World War I disrupted socialism and weakened belief in its inevitability. Socialism, like any other great movement which strove for a new world, had a Utopian and even religious aspect. Socialism adopted much of its ideology from liberalism and radicalism, with their faith in science, progress, rationality, and justice. The Great Depression pointed out the essential inadequacy of a socialist movement whose ultimate goals had become more and more detached from its real actions. The old reformist leadership agreed that it was permissible for socialists to exercise power within the capitalist framework to defend democracy against fascism.