[Rezension zu Georg Adler: Rodbertus, der Begründer des wissenschaftlichen Socialismus]

Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk: Review of Georg Adler’s Rodbertus, der Begründer des wissenschaftlichen Socialismus (1886)

Böhm-Bawerk’s brief book review assesses Adler’s 1884 study as a compact exposition of Rodbertus’s social theory. Its judgment rests on both the economy of the presentation and the quality of its criticism:

Die vorliegende Schrift bietet auf dem knappen Raum von 90 Seiten eine gedrängte Uebersicht der Rodbertus'schen Socialtheorie, die der Verfasser mit zahlreichen, grösstentheils zutreffenden kritischen Bemerkungen begleitet.

English translation: In the narrow compass of 90 pages the present work offers a condensed survey of Rodbertus's social theory, which the author accompanies with numerous and for the most part apt critical remarks.

The qualification “grösstentheils” makes the endorsement measured rather than unconditional. Böhm-Bawerk then recommends the study to readers seeking a rapid introduction to the socialist theorist’s newly prominent doctrine. The review moves from assessment to recommendation without examining particular doctrines or objections. Its significance lies in this favorable appraisal of Adler as a critical guide to Rodbertus, not in an explicit endorsement of the title’s claim that Rodbertus founded scientific socialism.