The Austro-Marxists 1890-1918: A Psychobiographical Study

In the brilliant world of Vienna at the turn of the century four men -- Karl Renner, Otto Bauer, Max Adler, and Friedrich Adler -- sought to develop political and economic resolutions to the racial and cultural tensions that were beginning to strain the bonds of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In this highly original study of these Austro-Marxists, Mark E. Blum uses the insights of depth psychology to trace the roots of their political philosophy in their family and social backgrounds. "The Austro-Marxists 1890--1918" is the first book to offer a systematic examination of the thought and milieu of these four thinkers. The only major work on the subject in English, it is a significant contribution to the history of European socialism and, in particular, to the development of Marxist thought outside Russia.