The Socialization Debate: Revolutionary Confusion after the German Revolution of 1918

What happens when the chance to radically reshape one’s own society presents itself, but no one can agree on what to do? This question will be explored in this article, particularly with regard to the debate on socialization that unfolded in Germany and Austria between 1918 and 1921 in a multitude of newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, books, speeches, and protocols. By recovering this lost debate, and systematizing its contents, the hope is that some of the confusion over the meaning of socialization can be, if not dissolved, at least explained. One suggestion offered here is that the ambiguity of the term is not coincidental but strategic. Resolving the meaning of socialization is thus a political question and not a semantic one.