The article is devoted to the study of the relationship of philosophy of history and ethics in the philosophy of Mikh. Lifshitz. The basis for consideration is the question of the future of socialism. Turning to the works of Lifshitz of different years, it becomes possible to trace a coherent system of views, referring to the tradition of classical Marxism, the most important position of which is the complex dialectic of the ideal and the real in history, where not only material but also moral forces act. Through the prism of this dialectic, the question of the substantive assessment of the socialist movement - its success and failure, and what can give us their understanding today - is examined. Thus, according to Mikh. Lifshitz, the most important thing that socialism today can offer to humanity is the development of the economy on the basis of fellowship, the restoration of not only the ideal, but above all the practice of honest and free labor.