Albin Prepeluh
Encyclopedia
Albin Prepeluh was a Slovenia
n left wing politician
, journalist
, editor
, political theorist and translator
. Before World War I
, he was the foremost Slovene Marxist revisionist
theoretician. After the War, he became one of the most persistent advocates of Slovenian autonomy within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
, and, together with Dragotin Lončar
, the ideologist of the democratic reformist faction of Slovenian Social Democrats. In the late 1920s, he evolved towards agrarianism
. He was also known under the pseudonym
Abditus.
, in what was then the Duchy of Carniola
. Before World War One, he worked as a clerk of the Austro-Hungarian administration in various Carniola
n towns. After the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the proclamation of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
, he became employed in the Slovenian Commission for Social Welfare, where he worked under the supervision of the Christian Socialist thinker Andrej Gosar
. This was the only public political office he ever held in his life.
After 1919, he worked as an editor in the prestigious Blasnik Publishing House, one of the oldest publishing houses in the Slovene Lands, dating to early 19th century. In 1920, he became its owner, renamed it to University Publishing House, and transformed it into one of the most prestigious academic publishing houses in Yugoslavia
. In the mid 1920s, he also became an editor in the renowned publishing house Slovenska matica
, led by his friend Dragotin Lončar
.
He died in Ljubljana at the age of 56.
on the possibilities to activate the peasantry in favour of socialism
. The same year, he founded the journal Naši zapiski ('Our Notes'), in which he propagated radical socialist reformism. The journal soon became the herald of young Slovene reformist Social Democrats, which included Anton Dermota, Dragotin Lončar
, and Josip Ferfolja
.
In 1904, Prepeluh became member of the Yugoslav Social Democratic Party. He soon entered in conflict with the party's mainstream. Prepeluh rejected the official Austromarxist orientation of the party, and soon entered in confrontation with the party leader Etbin Kristan
. Differently from Kristan, Prepeluh endorsed the Bersteinian
critique of Marx; he also supported the quest for territorial autonomy of the South Slav peoples
against the official Social Democrat suppoert for a purely cultural autonomy.
During this time, Prepeluh became a close friend and collaborator of the Social democratic author Ivan Cankar
. They both shared a similar personalist and autonomist vision of socialism, and they both opposed the gradual cultural and linguistic assimilation of all South Slavs, officially supported by the Yugoslav Social Democratic Party.
After 1908, Prepeluh developed a friendly relationship with the Christian Social
politician Janez Evangelist Krek
, who unsuccessfully tried to persuade him to leave the Social Democratic Party and join the Slovene People's Party
. Prepeluh remained in the Social Democratic Party, but in the following years he grew closer to Christianity
. In 1910, he rose in defense of the "popular faith" against the prevailing Anti-Catholicism
of Slovene liberals
and social democrats, and criticised the prolongation of the Kulturkampf
in the Slovene Lands
.
In 1917, Prepeluh became the leader of the internal opposition against the main current of the Yugoslav Social Democratic Party, which continued to put the social question before the issue of national emancipation. In 1918, with the creation of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
, Prepeluh rose to the leadership of the party. He was the leader of its right wing in a sharp confrontation against the left wing, represented by Dragotin Gustinčič, Anton Štebi and Rudolf Golouh. He was in favour of collaboration with the Democratic Party
and supported the social-liberal coalition government of Ljubomir Davidović
.
After the Yugoslav Social Democratic Party, which was a preponderately Slovenian organization, merged with the Centrumaši
and formed the Socialist Party of Yugoslavia in 1921, Prepeluh became marginalized. In 1920, he and Dragotin Lončar
re-founded the journal Naši zapiski. They both opposed the centralist program of the new unified Yugoslav Socialist party, and called for a territorial autonomy of Slovenia within Yugoslavia. In 1921, he was one of the proponents of the influential Autonomist Declaration, in which the majority of the most important Slovene intellectuals voiced their support for Slovenian autonomy.
In 1924, Prepeluh and Lončar founded the Slovenian Agrarian Labour Party, which soon merged with the small Slovenian Republican Party into the Slovenian Labour Agrarian Republican Party. The party established close connections with the Croatian Peasant Party
. In 1926, it merged with the Independent Agrarian Party, into the Slovenian Peasant Party, of which Prepeluh became the main ideologist.
After the party was dissolved with the establishment of the dictatorship of king Alexander I of Yugoslavia
in 1929, Prepeluh retrieved from public life.
. Influeced by Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, he wrote the essay 'Problems of a Small Nation'. In the book 'Ideological Precursors of Contemporary Socialism and Communism', he stressed the difference between the democratic and emancipatory versions of socialism and the totalitarian Bolshevism. In the 'Observations to Our Revolutionary Era', written shortly before his death and published posthumously in 1938, he reflected on the significance of the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the creation of Yugoslavia, reasserting his belief in the Yugoslav project.
He also wrote several historical works, among them 'Protestant Reformation and the Social Struggle of Slovenian Peasants' (1908), and the 'Peasant Movement among Slovenes after World War One' (1928).
He also translated Machiavelli's The Prince
to Slovene.
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n left wing politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
, political theorist and translator
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
. Before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he was the foremost Slovene Marxist revisionist
Revisionism (Marxism)
Within the Marxist movement, the word revisionism is used to refer to various ideas, principles and theories that are based on a significant revision of fundamental Marxist premises. The term is most often used by those Marxists who believe that such revisions are unwarranted and represent a...
theoretician. After the War, he became one of the most persistent advocates of Slovenian autonomy within the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
, and, together with Dragotin Lončar
Dragotin Lončar
Dragotin Lončar was a Slovenian historian, editor and Social Democratic politician.He was born as Karel Lončar in Selo near Lukovica in Upper Carniola. After finishing the State Gymnasium in Ljubljana, he studied history at the Charles University in Prague, graduating in 1904...
, the ideologist of the democratic reformist faction of Slovenian Social Democrats. In the late 1920s, he evolved towards agrarianism
Agrarianism
Agrarianism has two common meanings. The first meaning refers to a social philosophy or political philosophy which values rural society as superior to urban society, the independent farmer as superior to the paid worker, and sees farming as a way of life that can shape the ideal social values...
. He was also known under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Abditus.
Life
He was born in a working class family in LjubljanaLjubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, in what was then the Duchy of Carniola
Duchy of Carniola
The Duchy of Carniola was an administrative unit of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg Monarchy from 1364 to 1918. Its capital was Ljubljana...
. Before World War One, he worked as a clerk of the Austro-Hungarian administration in various Carniola
Carniola
Carniola was a historical region that comprised parts of what is now Slovenia. As part of Austria-Hungary, the region was a crown land officially known as the Duchy of Carniola until 1918. In 1849, the region was subdivided into Upper Carniola, Lower Carniola, and Inner Carniola...
n towns. After the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the proclamation of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs was a short-lived state formed from the southernmost parts of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy after its dissolution at the end of the World War I by the resident population of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs...
, he became employed in the Slovenian Commission for Social Welfare, where he worked under the supervision of the Christian Socialist thinker Andrej Gosar
Andrej Gosar
Andrej Gosar was a Slovenian and Yugoslav politician, sociologist, economist and political theorist.- Early life and career :...
. This was the only public political office he ever held in his life.
After 1919, he worked as an editor in the prestigious Blasnik Publishing House, one of the oldest publishing houses in the Slovene Lands, dating to early 19th century. In 1920, he became its owner, renamed it to University Publishing House, and transformed it into one of the most prestigious academic publishing houses in Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. In the mid 1920s, he also became an editor in the renowned publishing house Slovenska matica
Slovenska matica
Slovenska matica , also known as Matica slovenska, is the second-oldest publishing house in Slovenia, founded in the 19th century as an institution for the scholarly and cultural progress of Slovenes...
, led by his friend Dragotin Lončar
Dragotin Lončar
Dragotin Lončar was a Slovenian historian, editor and Social Democratic politician.He was born as Karel Lončar in Selo near Lukovica in Upper Carniola. After finishing the State Gymnasium in Ljubljana, he studied history at the Charles University in Prague, graduating in 1904...
.
He died in Ljubljana at the age of 56.
Political career
Already at a young age, Prepeluh became influenced by Marxist and autonomist ideas. In 1902, he corresponded with the German Marxist theoretician Karl KautskyKarl Kautsky
Karl Johann Kautsky was a Czech-German philosopher, journalist, and Marxist theoretician. Kautsky was recognized as among the most authoritative promulgators of Orthodox Marxism after the death of Friedrich Engels in 1895 until the coming of World War I in 1914 and was called by some the "Pope of...
on the possibilities to activate the peasantry in favour of socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
. The same year, he founded the journal Naši zapiski ('Our Notes'), in which he propagated radical socialist reformism. The journal soon became the herald of young Slovene reformist Social Democrats, which included Anton Dermota, Dragotin Lončar
Dragotin Lončar
Dragotin Lončar was a Slovenian historian, editor and Social Democratic politician.He was born as Karel Lončar in Selo near Lukovica in Upper Carniola. After finishing the State Gymnasium in Ljubljana, he studied history at the Charles University in Prague, graduating in 1904...
, and Josip Ferfolja
Josip Ferfolja
Josip Ferfolja was a Slovene lawyer and Social democratic politician, and human rights activist from the Province of Gorizia...
.
In 1904, Prepeluh became member of the Yugoslav Social Democratic Party. He soon entered in conflict with the party's mainstream. Prepeluh rejected the official Austromarxist orientation of the party, and soon entered in confrontation with the party leader Etbin Kristan
Etbin Kristan
Etbin Kristan was a Slovenian labour leader and Social Democratic politician and writer during the late-Austrian-Hungarian and the Yugoslav monarchy.-Biography:...
. Differently from Kristan, Prepeluh endorsed the Bersteinian
Eduard Bernstein
Eduard Bernstein was a German social democratic theoretician and politician, a member of the SPD, and the founder of evolutionary socialism and revisionism.- Life :...
critique of Marx; he also supported the quest for territorial autonomy of the South Slav peoples
South Slavs
The South Slavs are the southern branch of the Slavic peoples and speak South Slavic languages. Geographically, the South Slavs are native to the Balkan peninsula, the southern Pannonian Plain and the eastern Alps...
against the official Social Democrat suppoert for a purely cultural autonomy.
During this time, Prepeluh became a close friend and collaborator of the Social democratic author Ivan Cankar
Ivan Cankar
Ivan Cankar was a Slovene writer, playwright, essayist, poet and political activist. Together with Oton Župančič, Dragotin Kette, and Josip Murn, he is considered as the beginner of modernism in Slovene literature...
. They both shared a similar personalist and autonomist vision of socialism, and they both opposed the gradual cultural and linguistic assimilation of all South Slavs, officially supported by the Yugoslav Social Democratic Party.
After 1908, Prepeluh developed a friendly relationship with the Christian Social
Christian socialism
Christian socialism generally refers to those on the Christian left whose politics are both Christian and socialist and who see these two philosophies as being interrelated. This category can include Liberation theology and the doctrine of the social gospel...
politician Janez Evangelist Krek
Janez Evangelist Krek
Janez Evangelist Krek was a Slovene Christian Socialist politician, priest, journalist and author.He was born in a peasant family in the village of Sveti Gregor , in what was then the Austrian Empire. His father died when he was a child...
, who unsuccessfully tried to persuade him to leave the Social Democratic Party and join the Slovene People's Party
Slovene People's Party (historical)
The Slovene People's Party was a Slovenian political party in the 19th and 20th centuries, active in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Between 1907 and 1941, it was the largest and arguably the most influential political party in the Slovene Lands...
. Prepeluh remained in the Social Democratic Party, but in the following years he grew closer to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. In 1910, he rose in defense of the "popular faith" against the prevailing Anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism is a generic term for discrimination, hostility or prejudice directed against Catholicism, and especially against the Catholic Church, its clergy or its adherents...
of Slovene liberals
Liberalism in Slovenia
This article gives an overview of liberalism in Slovenia. It is limited to liberal parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ means a reference to another party in that scheme...
and social democrats, and criticised the prolongation of the Kulturkampf
Kulturkampf
The German term refers to German policies in relation to secularity and the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, enacted from 1871 to 1878 by the Prime Minister of Prussia, Otto von Bismarck. The Kulturkampf did not extend to the other German states such as Bavaria...
in the Slovene Lands
Slovene Lands
Slovene Lands or Slovenian Lands is the historical denomination for the whole of the Slovene-inhabited territories in Central Europe. It more or less corresponds to modern Slovenia and the adjacent territories in Italy, Austria and Hungary in which autochthonous Slovene minorities live.-...
.
In 1917, Prepeluh became the leader of the internal opposition against the main current of the Yugoslav Social Democratic Party, which continued to put the social question before the issue of national emancipation. In 1918, with the creation of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs was a short-lived state formed from the southernmost parts of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy after its dissolution at the end of the World War I by the resident population of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs...
, Prepeluh rose to the leadership of the party. He was the leader of its right wing in a sharp confrontation against the left wing, represented by Dragotin Gustinčič, Anton Štebi and Rudolf Golouh. He was in favour of collaboration with the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Yugoslavia)
The Yugoslav Democratic Party, State Party of Serbian, Croatian and Slovene Democrats and Democratic Party was the name of a series of social-liberal political parties that existed in succession in the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and the Kingdom...
and supported the social-liberal coalition government of Ljubomir Davidović
Ljubomir Davidovic
Ljubomir Davidović was a prime minister of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.Davidović was born in Vlaško Polje....
.
After the Yugoslav Social Democratic Party, which was a preponderately Slovenian organization, merged with the Centrumaši
Centrumaši
Centrumaši was a reformist faction in Communist Party of Yugoslavia, called the Socialist Labour Party of Yugoslavia in the early 1920s. After the Second Congress in Vukovar in 1920, the name was changed to Communist Party of Yugoslavia and Centrumaši became more marginalised and, after...
and formed the Socialist Party of Yugoslavia in 1921, Prepeluh became marginalized. In 1920, he and Dragotin Lončar
Dragotin Lončar
Dragotin Lončar was a Slovenian historian, editor and Social Democratic politician.He was born as Karel Lončar in Selo near Lukovica in Upper Carniola. After finishing the State Gymnasium in Ljubljana, he studied history at the Charles University in Prague, graduating in 1904...
re-founded the journal Naši zapiski. They both opposed the centralist program of the new unified Yugoslav Socialist party, and called for a territorial autonomy of Slovenia within Yugoslavia. In 1921, he was one of the proponents of the influential Autonomist Declaration, in which the majority of the most important Slovene intellectuals voiced their support for Slovenian autonomy.
In 1924, Prepeluh and Lončar founded the Slovenian Agrarian Labour Party, which soon merged with the small Slovenian Republican Party into the Slovenian Labour Agrarian Republican Party. The party established close connections with the Croatian Peasant Party
Croatian Peasant Party
The Croatian Peasant Party is a center and socially conservative political party in Croatia.-Austria-Hungary:The Croatian People's Peasant Party was formed on December 22, 1904 by Antun Radić along with his brother Stjepan Radić. The party contested elections for the first time in the Kingdom of...
. In 1926, it merged with the Independent Agrarian Party, into the Slovenian Peasant Party, of which Prepeluh became the main ideologist.
After the party was dissolved with the establishment of the dictatorship of king Alexander I of Yugoslavia
Alexander I of Yugoslavia
Alexander I , also known as Alexander the Unifier was the first king of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia as well as the last king of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes .-Childhood:...
in 1929, Prepeluh retrieved from public life.
Work
Prepeluh wrote many political treatises. His first major work was 'The Commune and Socialism' (1903), in which he articulated an autonomist vision of socialismSocialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
. Influeced by Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, he wrote the essay 'Problems of a Small Nation'. In the book 'Ideological Precursors of Contemporary Socialism and Communism', he stressed the difference between the democratic and emancipatory versions of socialism and the totalitarian Bolshevism. In the 'Observations to Our Revolutionary Era', written shortly before his death and published posthumously in 1938, he reflected on the significance of the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the creation of Yugoslavia, reasserting his belief in the Yugoslav project.
He also wrote several historical works, among them 'Protestant Reformation and the Social Struggle of Slovenian Peasants' (1908), and the 'Peasant Movement among Slovenes after World War One' (1928).
He also translated Machiavelli's The Prince
The Prince
The Prince is a political treatise by the Italian diplomat, historian and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli. From correspondence a version appears to have been distributed in 1513, using a Latin title, De Principatibus . But the printed version was not published until 1532, five years after...
to Slovene.