Scientific works of Ferdinand Lassalle

The article examines the main provisions of Ferdinand Lassalle’s philosophical works and monographs on law and economics. In his philosophical publications, Lassalle defended and developed the main postulates of Hegelianism. In his System of Acquired Rights, the author strived to prove the legitimacy of revolutions, which he regarded as a process of “abolition-acquisition” of rights by the citizens. In his work on economics Mr. Bastiat-Schulze von Delitzsch, the Economic Julian, or Capital and Labour, Lassalle envisaged a society of the future, where workers would co-own the means of production. Such a society could be achieved by peaceful revolution, through reforms. Lassalle used his scientific achievements to substantiate his political theory. Not all Lassalle’s ideas have stood the test of time, but some of them have subsequently been developed by the theorists of European social democracy.