andhistorica lmaterialismof orthodox Marxism, he introduces theambitio us pro-
gramofaculture of socialismbased on,and sustainedthrough,class unity, har-
mony,and solidarity–thatis,the positive feelingsflowing from real andimagined
experiencesof“we.”¹³Rejectingarguments that theproblemof culturecanonly
be addressedafter therevolution, de Manpointstothe original meaningofculture
as aformofcultivation–in short, away of life.Socialismfor himrepresentsnoth-
inglessthananewart of livi ng andanewattitudetowardlifebestdescrib ed as“a
spiritualexperience”and“auniquelycommunitarian wayoffeeling.”¹⁴Making
workerspartofthe long historyofthe people, thisunique feelingisa
direct expression of the deeper layers of existencewhereemotional bonds areforgedthat
connect peopleto their ancestors, their fellow human beings,and their own times.Reason
helps us to recognize and realize our lifegoals,but it does not set them for us.Everyone
amongusholds in his mind an ideal image of life that he triesto realize on the basis of
aclear feelingabout what is worth and notworth fightingfor.¹⁵InWe!,proletarian identifications are achievedthrough choralspeaking,sing-
ing,and dancing,and the self-transformation of the collective speakingsubject
through the rhetorical meansoforation and declamation. In the text,the com-
munity in the act of becomingisalternatelydescribed as“The Great Chorus,”
“Everyone,”or“One and All.”But are theyasocial class orapolitical move-
ment?Acommunity oracollective?The multitudes or the masses?Asatheatri-
cal genre, theSprechchortypicallydraws onalimited number ofdramatis per-
sonaeand presents them in predictable constellations.Tensions are introduced
through antagonists against whom the ubiquitous“we” asserts its affective
charge and critical stance. Predictably,these antagonists include exploitative
factory owners, greedy bankers,and therepresentativesofwhat Louis Althusser
calls state apparatuses (e.g., police, church, school). Equallyimportant for the
processofclassformation are the historical precursors that,byrepresenting ear-
lier stages ofawareness,bear witness to the psychological obstacles to class con-
Hendrik de Man,Der Sozialismus als Kulturbewegung(Berlin: Arbeiterjugend-Verlag, 1926), 8
and 37.For an introduction and selection of keytexts,see Peter Dodge,ADocumentaryStudy of
Hendrik de Man,SocialistCritic ofMarxism(Princeton:Princeton University Press,1979). Fora
historical assessment of de Man’swritings fromthe prewaryears,also see chapter5inGerd-
Rainer Horn,European SocialistsRespond toFascism: Ideology,Activism, and Contingency(Ox-
ford: OxfordUniversity Press,1996). And on de Man asalapsedMarxist,see chapter2in Stanley
Pierson,LeavingMarxism: Studies in the Dissolution of an Ideology(Stanford: StanfordUniv ersity
Press,2001).
de Man,Der Sozialismus als Kulturbewegung,11and 37.
Hendrik de Man,ZurPsychologie des Sozialismus(Jena: EugenDiedrichs, 1926), 13.
230 Chapter 12