The "Alternative" Socialism of Professor Alexander Tsankov

Abstract

The paper presents the economic views and political activities of one of the most influential Bulgarian political economists – Alexander Tsankov. They were strongly influenced by his socialist worldview. The socialism of professor Tsankov is alternative only if one accepts the self-definition of Marxism as the sole scientific socialism. Then any deviation from orthodoxy should be considered as alternatives to scientifically based ideas. In the context of what is seen as socialism during the nineteenth and almost up to the end of the twentieth century, the views of professor Tsankov are not a departure from, but a variant of the socialism. He combined the elements which are characteristic of social democracy and conservative statist (and hence nationalistic) socialism.