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Abstract

„New ways“ of socialism are the basic problems of this paper. Search for them is conditioned by an intellectual revival and free theoretical elaboration. This seems to be the central point of the inner process. It is really difficult to explain that no adequate and impressive intellectual and theoretical increase corresponds to the enormous practical development of socialism in the world. It is not important to mention specific causes of this state. The state itself is important and, therefore, socialism must begin strong and daring self-criticism to attain the necessary intellectual and theoretical level. Primarily, it must admit the necessity of free discussion on any level, in any area, on all its problems. It must abandon the prejudice that „everything“ or „almost everything“ is already solved and that now it is sufficient „to administer the inheritance“. Social sciences must regain, in the framework of socialistic culture, their entire creative autonomy as it was already done by natural and economic sciences. In the twentieth century, it is not possible to consider theoretical work as an, appanage of some small groups which are endowed with omniscience by the unearthly world. It is not possible to ask socialism to create groups endowed in such a miraculous way. Autonomy of social sciences means that theoretical work has its specific properties and specific methodology and cannot be mistaken for practical political work. At Stalin’s time highest price had to be paid for different opinions in social and political sciences. If the political organism wants to -solve it, it will be obliged to abandon its previous attitudes towards science. Science will be able to confront politics as well only by adding concreteness which is intrinsic to politics, to purely intellectual estimations. As a matter of fact, neither statesman nor scientist accomplish their specific task. Autonomy of theoretical work is a fundamental element for creating unity between politics and culture. Without it, this unity will be reduced to an immediate and pragmatical identity, and then culture brings nothing new into the relation with politics, only its contribution in the service of politics. The same may be said also about the relations between socialistic culture and the other culture. It must be repeatedly more and more compared with different culture by exclusively cultural measures and, at the same time, must renounce the determination of presuppositions which, in fact, are to be conclusions.