Holy History of Mankind
Encyclopedia
Holy History of Mankind is a book by the philosopher Moses Hess
. Although the work was completely disregarded at the time it was published, the work is significant not only as Hess’s first large-scale expression of socialism, but also as the first expression of socialism written in Germany. This was among Hess’s earliest works, published in 1837, and in it he foresees a future socialistic Europe, drawing its inspiration from the initial Jewish commonwealth in which politics was subservient to ethical precepts.
Hess claims that the original harmony that the Jews had with God was lost, but that now the Jews had the opportunity to reestablish this harmony through socialism. Hess divides the work in two sections of time; the past and the future. Hess defines the past as “the foundation of that which is to come”, and the future as “a consequence of that which has happened.”
The past is divided into three parts, in which the time before Christ is regarded as the Jews’ unconscious union with God, where a harmony founded on a community of possessions reigned. Christ disjoints the harmony, but the disjuncture does not reach its climax until the Middle Ages
, which laid the inevitable foundations for the appearance of private property in modern society.
Influenced heavily by Spinoza, a Jew in his own right, Hess points out that the French Revolution
lays the way for the retrieval of the original social unity, initially expressed through the old Jewish commonwealth, now to be recreated through the disappearance of private property and the re-established unity of spirit and matter enunciated by Spinoza.
Hess describes the future as a society in which the ideals of freedom and equality are realized through communism
. Hess expresses the hope that the change would come about through peaceful means, but feared otherwise because of the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor.
Moses Hess
Moses Hess was a Jewish philosopher and socialist, and one of the founders of Labor Zionism.-Life:Hess was born in Bonn, which was under French rule at the time. In his French-language birth certificate, his name is given as "Moises"; he was named after his maternal grandfather...
. Although the work was completely disregarded at the time it was published, the work is significant not only as Hess’s first large-scale expression of socialism, but also as the first expression of socialism written in Germany. This was among Hess’s earliest works, published in 1837, and in it he foresees a future socialistic Europe, drawing its inspiration from the initial Jewish commonwealth in which politics was subservient to ethical precepts.
Hess claims that the original harmony that the Jews had with God was lost, but that now the Jews had the opportunity to reestablish this harmony through socialism. Hess divides the work in two sections of time; the past and the future. Hess defines the past as “the foundation of that which is to come”, and the future as “a consequence of that which has happened.”
The past is divided into three parts, in which the time before Christ is regarded as the Jews’ unconscious union with God, where a harmony founded on a community of possessions reigned. Christ disjoints the harmony, but the disjuncture does not reach its climax until the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, which laid the inevitable foundations for the appearance of private property in modern society.
Influenced heavily by Spinoza, a Jew in his own right, Hess points out that the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
lays the way for the retrieval of the original social unity, initially expressed through the old Jewish commonwealth, now to be recreated through the disappearance of private property and the re-established unity of spirit and matter enunciated by Spinoza.
Hess describes the future as a society in which the ideals of freedom and equality are realized through communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. Hess expresses the hope that the change would come about through peaceful means, but feared otherwise because of the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor.