| Ernest Belfort Bax |
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Born into a Nonconformist religious family in Leamington , he was first introduced to Marxism while studying Philosophy in Germany . He combined Marx's ideas with those of Immanuel Kant , Arthur Schopenhauer and Eduard Von Hartmann . Keen to explore possible Metaphysical and Ethical implications of socialism, he came to describe a "religion of socialism" as a means to overcome the Dichotomy between the personal and the social, and also that between the Cognitive and the Emotional . He saw this as a replacement for Organised Religion , and was a fervent Atheist , keen to free workers from what he saw as the Moralism of the Petty Bourgeoisie . Bax moved to Berlin and worked as a Journalist on the '' Evening Standard ''. On his return to England in 1882 , he joined the SDF , but grew disillusioned and in 1885 left to form the Socialist League with William Morris . After Anarchist s gained control of the League, rejoined the SDF, and became the chief theoretician, and editor of the party paper ''Justice''. He opposed the party's participation in the Labour Representation Committee , and eventually persuaded them to leave. Almost throughout his life, he saw Economic conditions as ripe for socialism, but felt this progress was delayed by a lack of education of the Working Class . He supported Karl Kautsky over Eduard Bernstein , but Kautsky had little time for what he saw as Bax's Utopianism , and supported Theodore Rothstein 's efforts to spread a more orthodox Marxism in the SDF. Initially very anti-nationalist, Bax came to support the British in World War I , but by this point he was concentrating on his career as a Barrister and did little political work. EXTERNAL LINKS
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