German Social Democrats were intellectually Marxist yet programmatically Ricardian in economics

Evidence

As Sheri Berman brilliantly illuminates, the German Social Democrats of this period (the SPD) were intellectually Marxist but programmatically Ricardian: classical liberals in socialist clothing. Marx’s economics were, apart from his view of the rate of profit and the possibility of a general failure of demand, as much Ricardo’s as they were his own, especially as they were interpreted by the leading “theologians” of the German Social Democrats. Upon such a view, when the economy was in a slump, there was literally nothing to be done except let the system melt down until socialism magically appeared. — Mark Blyth, Austerity, 529

Categorization

• DEFINE: Berman’s formulation ‘intellectually Marxist but programmatically Ricardian’ is a precise identifying label for a distinctive political-economic stance worth remembering.
• XREF: This explains the otherwise puzzling cross-party austerity consensus in Weimar Germany and connects to Mattei’s account of austerity doctrine’s intellectual roots. — connects to: German Social Democracy’s Marxism was colored by Social Darwinism from the 1880s. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 93; For social democrats, Marxism was ideology, not practical program. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 104; German Social Democrats neglected and censored Marx and Engels’ papers — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 116 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• The ECB justified austerity through rational-expectations Ricardian consumer theory #qualifies (0.72) — Mark Blyth, Austerity, 174