Marx called himself a scientist; but he lacked the solid groundwork of facts on which to operate a scientific method. His theories are dogma, true only because he said so; and any study of them is nearer to theology than to science. Mr. Landauer is particularly anxious to show that Marx, though personally assertive, was not a believer in dictatorship in the Stalinist sense; and this is true. Marxism could develop into German social democracy or into Bolshevism, with a certain amount of perversion in each case; neither was more than implicit in Marx's own writings.

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Marx called himself a scientist; but he lacked the solid groundwork of facts on which to operate a scientific method. His theories are dogma, true only because he said so; and any study of them is nearer to theology than to science. Mr. Landauer is particularly anxious to show that Marx, though personally assertive, was not a believer in dictatorship in the Stalinist sense; and this is true. Marxism could develop into German social democracy or into Bolshevism, with a certain amount of perversion in each case; neither was more than implicit in Marx's own writings." in the context of "A. J. P. Taylor, review of European Socialism. A History of Ideas and Movements from the Industrial Revolution to Hitler's Seizure of Power by Carl A. Landauer in The English Historical Review, Vol. 77, No. 304 (July 1962), p. 571" to mean that wisdom is timeless.