Socialism: Utopian and Scientific

Why did modern socialism appear when it did, and how did it differ from earlier dreams of a better world? In this short, forceful book, Friedrich Engels answers those questions by surveying the great utopian thinkers—Saint-Simon, Fourier and Robert Owen—and then explaining the new approach he developed with Karl Marx. He moves from German philosophy and Hegel's dialectic to the rise of capitalist production, the factory system and the recurring crises that he believed would push society toward change. The result is a short, widely read introduction to Marxist thought and a window into the intellectual world of the 1880s.

This edition is for general readers, students and book clubs coming to Engels for the first time. It presents the complete English text translated by Edward Aveling, with Engels's 1892 introduction to the English edition. A new introduction sets Engels and the book in context. A guide to key ideas explains terms such as historical materialism, the proletariat and the state. A summary follows the argument from utopian socialism to scientific socialism. Themes highlight the main threads, a glossary defines period words and names, and discussion questions invite readers to test Engels's claims for themselves.