A phrase first used by
Karl Marx and later extensively flogged by
Lenin,
Stalin, and other
Communist leaders to describe their variant of
socialist ideology. Like "
Christian Science", "
scientific astrology", or "
creation science", the expression "scientific socialism" describes a formulation that has little if anything to do with what we now know as
science.
Karl Marx believed that his formulation of socialism was "scientific" because it was firmly based on what he believed was a philosophically sound basis. That basis was dialectical materialism, Marx's economic variant of Hegel's mystical dialectic. Academics who believed Marx's economic claims, and who wanted to place their political position on the footing of science, widely promulgated the expression.
The Soviet leaders used "scientific socialism" in their propaganda in attempt to convince people that socialism was more progressive than the free market. During the Cold War, science and technology were equated on both sides of the Iron Curtain with progress and the improvement of society. Because of this, each superpower tried to convince the world that its economic system was the "scientific" (and hence forward-looking) one.
Today, the phrase is rare. There is a shortage of Communist propaganda since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and most of the academy's Marxists now describe themselves as "Marxians" and distance themselves from a literal interpretation of Marx's works. Moreover, actual scientists now tend to raise a well-deserved fuss when the word "scientific" is used to describe anything (such as socialism) which does not rest on experimental (not merely philosophical) evidence.