Author: Alexander Yakovlev
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300105407
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 284
Book Description
Alexander Yakovlev, a major architect of perestroika and a leading sponsor of glasnost, was a senior Soviet official who worked at the highest echelon of government side by side with Mikhail Gorbachev. In this powerful book, Yakovlev acknowledges the decay of his country and reveals his painful intellectual and political odyssey as he progressed from stalwart Party ideologist and propagandist to disillusioned critic of Marxism and Communism. Yakovlev vividly describes the ways that Marxism has proven to be not only wrong but ruinous to Russia, as it demolished civil society and ruthlessly replaced it with immorality and state-supported atheism. He discusses the pervasive, historical roots of the Russian authoritarian consciousness that helps explain why Russian society was so susceptible to the totalitarian implications of Marxism. He describes the triumvirate structure of power in the USSR before and during perestroika, the political reforms that were initiated, the ways that Soviet attitudes toward glasnost and perestroika evolved in both the reformist and conservative wings of the Party, and the reasons for the seemingly final swift collapse of the old ruling structures--the crushing defeat of the Party--in August 1991. Assessing the situation in Russia now that Marx's teachings and the Communist Party have been rejected, Yakovlev warns that if the economic situation worsens further, Russian society will be prepared to sacrifice democracy for even modest economic growth. He urges the restructuring of Soviet society on a new basis of democracy, morality, common sense, and economic efficiency. The book includes as appendixes five speeches given by Yakovlev in the West between November 1991 and January 1992 that provide further insight into his thinking after the collapse of the Communist Party.
The Fate of Marxism in Russia
Author: Alexander Yakovlev
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300105407
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 284
Book Description
Alexander Yakovlev, a major architect of perestroika and a leading sponsor of glasnost, was a senior Soviet official who worked at the highest echelon of government side by side with Mikhail Gorbachev. In this powerful book, Yakovlev acknowledges the decay of his country and reveals his painful intellectual and political odyssey as he progressed from stalwart Party ideologist and propagandist to disillusioned critic of Marxism and Communism. Yakovlev vividly describes the ways that Marxism has proven to be not only wrong but ruinous to Russia, as it demolished civil society and ruthlessly replaced it with immorality and state-supported atheism. He discusses the pervasive, historical roots of the Russian authoritarian consciousness that helps explain why Russian society was so susceptible to the totalitarian implications of Marxism. He describes the triumvirate structure of power in the USSR before and during perestroika, the political reforms that were initiated, the ways that Soviet attitudes toward glasnost and perestroika evolved in both the reformist and conservative wings of the Party, and the reasons for the seemingly final swift collapse of the old ruling structures--the crushing defeat of the Party--in August 1991. Assessing the situation in Russia now that Marx's teachings and the Communist Party have been rejected, Yakovlev warns that if the economic situation worsens further, Russian society will be prepared to sacrifice democracy for even modest economic growth. He urges the restructuring of Soviet society on a new basis of democracy, morality, common sense, and economic efficiency. The book includes as appendixes five speeches given by Yakovlev in the West between November 1991 and January 1992 that provide further insight into his thinking after the collapse of the Communist Party.
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300105407
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 284
Book Description
Alexander Yakovlev, a major architect of perestroika and a leading sponsor of glasnost, was a senior Soviet official who worked at the highest echelon of government side by side with Mikhail Gorbachev. In this powerful book, Yakovlev acknowledges the decay of his country and reveals his painful intellectual and political odyssey as he progressed from stalwart Party ideologist and propagandist to disillusioned critic of Marxism and Communism. Yakovlev vividly describes the ways that Marxism has proven to be not only wrong but ruinous to Russia, as it demolished civil society and ruthlessly replaced it with immorality and state-supported atheism. He discusses the pervasive, historical roots of the Russian authoritarian consciousness that helps explain why Russian society was so susceptible to the totalitarian implications of Marxism. He describes the triumvirate structure of power in the USSR before and during perestroika, the political reforms that were initiated, the ways that Soviet attitudes toward glasnost and perestroika evolved in both the reformist and conservative wings of the Party, and the reasons for the seemingly final swift collapse of the old ruling structures--the crushing defeat of the Party--in August 1991. Assessing the situation in Russia now that Marx's teachings and the Communist Party have been rejected, Yakovlev warns that if the economic situation worsens further, Russian society will be prepared to sacrifice democracy for even modest economic growth. He urges the restructuring of Soviet society on a new basis of democracy, morality, common sense, and economic efficiency. The book includes as appendixes five speeches given by Yakovlev in the West between November 1991 and January 1992 that provide further insight into his thinking after the collapse of the Communist Party.
Marx and Russia
Author: James D. White
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1474224091
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
Marx and Russia is a chronological account of the evolution of Marxist thought from the publication of Das Kapital in Russian translation to the suppression of independent ideological currents by Stalin at the end of the 1920s. The book demonstrates the progressive emergence of different schools of Marxist thinking in the revolutionary era in Russia. Starting from Marx's own connections with Russian revolutionaries and scholars, James D. White examines the contributions of such figures as Sieber, Plekhanov, Lenin, Bogdanov, Trotsky, Bukharin and Stalin to Marxist ideology in Russia. Using primary documents, biographical sketches and a helpful timeline, the book provides a useful guide for students to orientate themselves among the various Marxist ideologies which they encounter in modern Russian history. White also incorporates valuable new research for Russian history specialists in a vital volume for anyone interested in the history of Marxism, Soviet history and the history of Russia across the modern period.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1474224091
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
Marx and Russia is a chronological account of the evolution of Marxist thought from the publication of Das Kapital in Russian translation to the suppression of independent ideological currents by Stalin at the end of the 1920s. The book demonstrates the progressive emergence of different schools of Marxist thinking in the revolutionary era in Russia. Starting from Marx's own connections with Russian revolutionaries and scholars, James D. White examines the contributions of such figures as Sieber, Plekhanov, Lenin, Bogdanov, Trotsky, Bukharin and Stalin to Marxist ideology in Russia. Using primary documents, biographical sketches and a helpful timeline, the book provides a useful guide for students to orientate themselves among the various Marxist ideologies which they encounter in modern Russian history. White also incorporates valuable new research for Russian history specialists in a vital volume for anyone interested in the history of Marxism, Soviet history and the history of Russia across the modern period.
Marxism in Russia
Author: Neil Harding
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521251230
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
This book is a documentary record of the statements and debates that defined the formative period of a movement that has affected modern politics and history more than any other. It is generally acknowledged that not only were the theoretical problems faced by Russian Marxists during this period more complex than those encountered elsewhere but that they also brought to the resolution of these problems an originality and intellectual rigour second to none in the Marxist tradition. As predominantly a movement of intellectuals during these years they achieved a level of articulation and sophistication unsurpassed in the literature of Marxism, and that makes them such a rewarding subject of study. Plekhanov, Akselrod, Lenin, Struve, Martov, Trotsky, Luxemburg and Kautsky all feature in both celebrated and little-known texts alongside anonymous pamphleteers and writers of resolutions, editorials, flysheets and programmes.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521251230
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
This book is a documentary record of the statements and debates that defined the formative period of a movement that has affected modern politics and history more than any other. It is generally acknowledged that not only were the theoretical problems faced by Russian Marxists during this period more complex than those encountered elsewhere but that they also brought to the resolution of these problems an originality and intellectual rigour second to none in the Marxist tradition. As predominantly a movement of intellectuals during these years they achieved a level of articulation and sophistication unsurpassed in the literature of Marxism, and that makes them such a rewarding subject of study. Plekhanov, Akselrod, Lenin, Struve, Martov, Trotsky, Luxemburg and Kautsky all feature in both celebrated and little-known texts alongside anonymous pamphleteers and writers of resolutions, editorials, flysheets and programmes.
Late Marx and the Russian Road
Author: Teodor Shanin
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 1583678085
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 299
Book Description
Explores Marx’s attitude to “developing” societies. Includes translations of Marx’s notes from the 1880s, among the most important finds of the last century.
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 1583678085
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 299
Book Description
Explores Marx’s attitude to “developing” societies. Includes translations of Marx’s notes from the 1880s, among the most important finds of the last century.
Twenty-first-century capital
Author: Aleksander Buzgalin
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 1526131471
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 182
Book Description
How would Marx have understood twenty-first-century capitalism? For Buzgalin and Kolganov, the answer lies in a theoretical investigation of how and why the fundamental elements of capitalism– commodities, money and capital – have changed since the publication of Marx’s Capital more than 150 years ago. Introducing the concepts of social creativity, markets for simulacra and virtual fictitious capital – Buzgalin and Kolganov offer a recovery and development of Marx’s understanding of social transformations. Twenty-first century capitalism not only demonstrates Marxism’s relevance to the core economic questions of our time and its superiority over neoclassical economics, but it leads English-language readers into the ‘undiscovered country’ of Soviet and post-Soviet critical Marxism. How might modern Marxism respond to the contemporary challenges of the commodification of knowledge and information? And can it arrive at something resembling a Capital for the twenty-first century? This accessible and comprehensive account is essential reading for those wanting to understand the problems of the modern economy.
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 1526131471
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 182
Book Description
How would Marx have understood twenty-first-century capitalism? For Buzgalin and Kolganov, the answer lies in a theoretical investigation of how and why the fundamental elements of capitalism– commodities, money and capital – have changed since the publication of Marx’s Capital more than 150 years ago. Introducing the concepts of social creativity, markets for simulacra and virtual fictitious capital – Buzgalin and Kolganov offer a recovery and development of Marx’s understanding of social transformations. Twenty-first century capitalism not only demonstrates Marxism’s relevance to the core economic questions of our time and its superiority over neoclassical economics, but it leads English-language readers into the ‘undiscovered country’ of Soviet and post-Soviet critical Marxism. How might modern Marxism respond to the contemporary challenges of the commodification of knowledge and information? And can it arrive at something resembling a Capital for the twenty-first century? This accessible and comprehensive account is essential reading for those wanting to understand the problems of the modern economy.
Reinventing Russia
Author: Yitzhak M. BRUDNY
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674028961
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 366
Book Description
What caused the emergence of nationalist movements in many post-communist states? What role did communist regimes play in fostering these movements? Why have some been more successful than others? To address these questions, Yitzhak Brudny traces the Russian nationalist movement from its origins within the Russian intellectual elite of the 1950s to its institutionalization in electoral alliances, parliamentary factions, and political movements of the early 1990s. Brudny argues that the rise of the Russian nationalist movement was a combined result of the reinvention of Russian national identity by a group of intellectuals, and the Communist Party's active support of this reinvention in order to gain greater political legitimacy. The author meticulously reconstructs the development of the Russian nationalist thought from Khrushchev to Yeltsin, as well as the nature of the Communist Party response to Russian nationalist ideas. Through analysis of major Russian literary, political, and historical writings, the recently-published memoirs of the Russian nationalist intellectuals and Communist Party officials, and documents discovered in the Communist Party archives, Brudny sheds new light on social, intellectual, and political origins of Russian nationalism, and emphasizes the importance of ideas in explaining the fate of the Russian nationalist movement during late communist and early post-communist periods. Table of Contents: Acknowledgments 1. Russian Nationalists in Soviet Politics 2. The Emergence of Politics by Culture, 1953-1964 3. The First Phase of Inclusionary Politics, 1965-1970 4. The Rise and Fall of Inclusionary Politics, 1971-1985 5. What Went Wrong with the Politics of Inclusion? 6. What Is Russia, and Where Should It Go? Political Debates, 1971-1985 7. The Zenith of Politics by Culture, 1985-1989 8. The Demise of Politics by Culture, 1989-1991 Epilogue: Russian Nationalism in Postcommunist Russia Notes Index Reviews of this book: Mr. Brudny provides a salient background to understanding one of the great phenomena of post-1945 history: how Russians arrive at their view of the West. --Ron Laurenzo, Washington Times Reviews of this book: Brudny is a good guide to the origins of what probably lies ahead. --Geoffrey A. Hosking, Times Literary Supplement Reviews of this book: If readers think that today's anti-Western, antimarket, antisemitic variety of Russian nationalism is simply the fallout from the country's current misery, they should think again. With care and intelligence, Brudny traces its lineage back to the Khrushchev years. What began among the so-called village prose writers as a lament for a rural past ravaged by Stalin's experimentation gradually accumulated further grievances: the devastation of Russian culture and monuments, the infiltration of 'corrupting' Western values, and ultimately under Gorbechev the 'criminal' destruction of Russian power. Much of the book concentrates on how Khrushchev and Brezhnev tried--but ultimately failed--to harness this discontent for their own purposes. --Robert Legvold, Foreign Affairs Reviews of this book: Brudny's survey of relations between Russian nationalism and the Soviet state provides an in-depth insight into one of the most complicated aspects of the Soviet multi-national state. --Taras Kuzio, International Affairs Reviews of this book: A thought-provoking book. --Virginia Quarterly Reviews of this book: Brudny shows that Russian cultural nationalism was a powerful force in the post-Stalin years, with ultimate political consequences. In meticulous detail Brudny sets out the various strains of Russian nationalism and points to the regime's encouragement of a certain kind of nationalism as a means of bolstering legitimacy through the 'politics of inclusion'...This volume is a significant contribution to the literature. --R. J. Mitchell, Choice Reviews of this book: In Reinventing Russia, situated at the intersection of culture (specifically the literature of the village prose movement) and politics, Brudny has managed admirably to draw out the wider implications of his inquiry and provided an extremely useful set of orientation points in the current, seemingly so chaotic, political debate in Russia. --Hans J. Rindisbacher, European Legacy Reviews of this book: Brudny's book paints a fascinating picture. It delineates a rich Soviet culture and society, one that is much more varied than has been previously depicted by most Western researchers. The overriding importance of the book derives from its argument that the post-Stalinist cultural debate in the Soviet Union is what created the infrastructure for the seemingly odd alliance between communist ideology and the nationalist intelligentsia--today's 'red-brown' alliance. It's a significant contribution to our understanding of the history of the nationalist idea...[Reinventing Russia provides] an enthralling overview of a historic development that has been neglected by most Western researchers...His book proves once more that anyone who seeks to understand developments in Eastern Europe cannot do so by merely analyzing the economic policy of the political maneuvers of the governing elite. --Shlomo Avineri, Ha'aretz Book Review Yitzhak Brudny offers us a most persuasive attempt to explain the intricate, often puzzling relation between Soviet political and cultural bureaucracy and the rise of Russian nationalism in the post-Stalin era. His analysis of Russian nationalist ideology and its role in the corrosion of the official Soviet dogmas is uniquely insightful and provocative. Students of Soviet and post-Soviet affairs will find in Brudny's splendidly researched book an indispensable instrument to grasp the meaning of the still perplexing developments that led to the breakdown of the Leninist state. In the growing body of literature dealing with nationalism and national identity, this one stands out as boldly innovative, theoretically challenging, and culturally sophisticated. --Vladimir Tismaneanu, University of Maryland, College Park, author of Fantasies of Salvation Yitzhak Brudny has produced an impressive and scholarly account of the divisions within the Russian political and cultural elite during the last four decades of the Soviet Union's existence. His book is important both for the fresh light it throws on that period and as essential context for interpreting the debates on nationhood and statehood which rage in Russia today. --Archie Brown, University of Oxford Reinventing Russia provides us with a vivid portrayal of the politics behind the rise of Russian nationalism in post-Stalinist Russia. It is a finely detailed study of not only the relationship of political authority to the spread of nationalist ideas, but also reciprocally of the role played by these ideas in shaping the political. --Mark Beissinger, University of Wisconsin-Madison Rival nationalists literally shook the Soviet Union apart. The very structure of the Soviet state encouraged all major ethnic groups--including the Russians--to view battles over resources in terms of ethnic and national conflict. Brudny, in this important study, explores precisely how rival nationalist claims emerged during the years following Stalin's death, and why they proved to be simultaneously so robust and pernicious. --Blair Ruble, Director, Kennan Institute, Woodrow Wilson Center
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674028961
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 366
Book Description
What caused the emergence of nationalist movements in many post-communist states? What role did communist regimes play in fostering these movements? Why have some been more successful than others? To address these questions, Yitzhak Brudny traces the Russian nationalist movement from its origins within the Russian intellectual elite of the 1950s to its institutionalization in electoral alliances, parliamentary factions, and political movements of the early 1990s. Brudny argues that the rise of the Russian nationalist movement was a combined result of the reinvention of Russian national identity by a group of intellectuals, and the Communist Party's active support of this reinvention in order to gain greater political legitimacy. The author meticulously reconstructs the development of the Russian nationalist thought from Khrushchev to Yeltsin, as well as the nature of the Communist Party response to Russian nationalist ideas. Through analysis of major Russian literary, political, and historical writings, the recently-published memoirs of the Russian nationalist intellectuals and Communist Party officials, and documents discovered in the Communist Party archives, Brudny sheds new light on social, intellectual, and political origins of Russian nationalism, and emphasizes the importance of ideas in explaining the fate of the Russian nationalist movement during late communist and early post-communist periods. Table of Contents: Acknowledgments 1. Russian Nationalists in Soviet Politics 2. The Emergence of Politics by Culture, 1953-1964 3. The First Phase of Inclusionary Politics, 1965-1970 4. The Rise and Fall of Inclusionary Politics, 1971-1985 5. What Went Wrong with the Politics of Inclusion? 6. What Is Russia, and Where Should It Go? Political Debates, 1971-1985 7. The Zenith of Politics by Culture, 1985-1989 8. The Demise of Politics by Culture, 1989-1991 Epilogue: Russian Nationalism in Postcommunist Russia Notes Index Reviews of this book: Mr. Brudny provides a salient background to understanding one of the great phenomena of post-1945 history: how Russians arrive at their view of the West. --Ron Laurenzo, Washington Times Reviews of this book: Brudny is a good guide to the origins of what probably lies ahead. --Geoffrey A. Hosking, Times Literary Supplement Reviews of this book: If readers think that today's anti-Western, antimarket, antisemitic variety of Russian nationalism is simply the fallout from the country's current misery, they should think again. With care and intelligence, Brudny traces its lineage back to the Khrushchev years. What began among the so-called village prose writers as a lament for a rural past ravaged by Stalin's experimentation gradually accumulated further grievances: the devastation of Russian culture and monuments, the infiltration of 'corrupting' Western values, and ultimately under Gorbechev the 'criminal' destruction of Russian power. Much of the book concentrates on how Khrushchev and Brezhnev tried--but ultimately failed--to harness this discontent for their own purposes. --Robert Legvold, Foreign Affairs Reviews of this book: Brudny's survey of relations between Russian nationalism and the Soviet state provides an in-depth insight into one of the most complicated aspects of the Soviet multi-national state. --Taras Kuzio, International Affairs Reviews of this book: A thought-provoking book. --Virginia Quarterly Reviews of this book: Brudny shows that Russian cultural nationalism was a powerful force in the post-Stalin years, with ultimate political consequences. In meticulous detail Brudny sets out the various strains of Russian nationalism and points to the regime's encouragement of a certain kind of nationalism as a means of bolstering legitimacy through the 'politics of inclusion'...This volume is a significant contribution to the literature. --R. J. Mitchell, Choice Reviews of this book: In Reinventing Russia, situated at the intersection of culture (specifically the literature of the village prose movement) and politics, Brudny has managed admirably to draw out the wider implications of his inquiry and provided an extremely useful set of orientation points in the current, seemingly so chaotic, political debate in Russia. --Hans J. Rindisbacher, European Legacy Reviews of this book: Brudny's book paints a fascinating picture. It delineates a rich Soviet culture and society, one that is much more varied than has been previously depicted by most Western researchers. The overriding importance of the book derives from its argument that the post-Stalinist cultural debate in the Soviet Union is what created the infrastructure for the seemingly odd alliance between communist ideology and the nationalist intelligentsia--today's 'red-brown' alliance. It's a significant contribution to our understanding of the history of the nationalist idea...[Reinventing Russia provides] an enthralling overview of a historic development that has been neglected by most Western researchers...His book proves once more that anyone who seeks to understand developments in Eastern Europe cannot do so by merely analyzing the economic policy of the political maneuvers of the governing elite. --Shlomo Avineri, Ha'aretz Book Review Yitzhak Brudny offers us a most persuasive attempt to explain the intricate, often puzzling relation between Soviet political and cultural bureaucracy and the rise of Russian nationalism in the post-Stalin era. His analysis of Russian nationalist ideology and its role in the corrosion of the official Soviet dogmas is uniquely insightful and provocative. Students of Soviet and post-Soviet affairs will find in Brudny's splendidly researched book an indispensable instrument to grasp the meaning of the still perplexing developments that led to the breakdown of the Leninist state. In the growing body of literature dealing with nationalism and national identity, this one stands out as boldly innovative, theoretically challenging, and culturally sophisticated. --Vladimir Tismaneanu, University of Maryland, College Park, author of Fantasies of Salvation Yitzhak Brudny has produced an impressive and scholarly account of the divisions within the Russian political and cultural elite during the last four decades of the Soviet Union's existence. His book is important both for the fresh light it throws on that period and as essential context for interpreting the debates on nationhood and statehood which rage in Russia today. --Archie Brown, University of Oxford Reinventing Russia provides us with a vivid portrayal of the politics behind the rise of Russian nationalism in post-Stalinist Russia. It is a finely detailed study of not only the relationship of political authority to the spread of nationalist ideas, but also reciprocally of the role played by these ideas in shaping the political. --Mark Beissinger, University of Wisconsin-Madison Rival nationalists literally shook the Soviet Union apart. The very structure of the Soviet state encouraged all major ethnic groups--including the Russians--to view battles over resources in terms of ethnic and national conflict. Brudny, in this important study, explores precisely how rival nationalist claims emerged during the years following Stalin's death, and why they proved to be simultaneously so robust and pernicious. --Blair Ruble, Director, Kennan Institute, Woodrow Wilson Center
The State and Revolution
Author: Vladimir Ilʹich Lenin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Communism
Languages : en
Pages : 144
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Communism
Languages : en
Pages : 144
Book Description
Unlearning Marx
Author: Steve Paxton
Publisher: John Hunt Publishing
ISBN: 1789045428
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 122
Book Description
The theories of Karl Marx and the practical existence of the Soviet Union are inseparable in the public imagination, but for all the wrong reasons. This book provides detailed analyses of both Marx’s theory of history and the course of Russian and Soviet development and delivers a new and insightful approach to the relationship between the two. Most analyses of the Soviet Union, from any perspective, focus on trying to explain the failure to establish socialism, giving too much weight to the political pronouncements of the regime. But, for Marx, this approach to historical explanation is back-to-front, it's the political tail wagging the economic dog. When we move our focus from the stated aims of building socialism, and look at what actually happened in Russia from emancipation in the 1860s, through the Soviet era to the 1990s, we can clearly see the patterns which Marx identified as the essential features of the transition from feudalism to capitalism in England from the sixteenth century to the nineteenth. As such, the Soviet experiment forms an important part of Russia’s transition from feudalism to capitalism and provides an excellent example of the underlying forces at play in the course of historical development. Unlearning Marx will surprise Marx’s admirers and his detractors alike, and not only shed new light on Marxism's relationship with the Soviet Union, but on his ongoing relationship with our world.
Publisher: John Hunt Publishing
ISBN: 1789045428
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 122
Book Description
The theories of Karl Marx and the practical existence of the Soviet Union are inseparable in the public imagination, but for all the wrong reasons. This book provides detailed analyses of both Marx’s theory of history and the course of Russian and Soviet development and delivers a new and insightful approach to the relationship between the two. Most analyses of the Soviet Union, from any perspective, focus on trying to explain the failure to establish socialism, giving too much weight to the political pronouncements of the regime. But, for Marx, this approach to historical explanation is back-to-front, it's the political tail wagging the economic dog. When we move our focus from the stated aims of building socialism, and look at what actually happened in Russia from emancipation in the 1860s, through the Soviet era to the 1990s, we can clearly see the patterns which Marx identified as the essential features of the transition from feudalism to capitalism in England from the sixteenth century to the nineteenth. As such, the Soviet experiment forms an important part of Russia’s transition from feudalism to capitalism and provides an excellent example of the underlying forces at play in the course of historical development. Unlearning Marx will surprise Marx’s admirers and his detractors alike, and not only shed new light on Marxism's relationship with the Soviet Union, but on his ongoing relationship with our world.
Varieties of Marxism
Author: Shlomo Avineri
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9789024720248
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 420
Book Description
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9789024720248
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 420
Book Description
Revolutions: a Very Short Introduction
Author: Jack A. Goldstone
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197666302
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 177
Book Description
"In the 20th and 21st century revolutions have become more urban, often less violent, but also more frequent and more transformative of the international order. Whether it is the revolutions against Communism in Eastern Europe and the USSR; the "color revolutions" across Asia, Europe and North Africa; or the religious revolutions in Iran, Afghanistan, and Syria; today's revolutions are quite different from those of the past. Modern theories of revolution have therefore replaced the older class-based theories with more varied, dynamic, and contingent models of social and political change. This new edition updates the history of revolutions, from Classical Greece and Rome to the Revolution of Dignity in the Ukraine, with attention to the changing types and outcomes of revolutionary struggles. It also presents the latest advances in the theory of revolutions, including the issues of revolutionary waves, revolutionary leadership, international influences, and the likelihood of revolutions to come. This volume provides a brief but comprehensive introduction to the nature of revolutions and their role in global history"--
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197666302
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 177
Book Description
"In the 20th and 21st century revolutions have become more urban, often less violent, but also more frequent and more transformative of the international order. Whether it is the revolutions against Communism in Eastern Europe and the USSR; the "color revolutions" across Asia, Europe and North Africa; or the religious revolutions in Iran, Afghanistan, and Syria; today's revolutions are quite different from those of the past. Modern theories of revolution have therefore replaced the older class-based theories with more varied, dynamic, and contingent models of social and political change. This new edition updates the history of revolutions, from Classical Greece and Rome to the Revolution of Dignity in the Ukraine, with attention to the changing types and outcomes of revolutionary struggles. It also presents the latest advances in the theory of revolutions, including the issues of revolutionary waves, revolutionary leadership, international influences, and the likelihood of revolutions to come. This volume provides a brief but comprehensive introduction to the nature of revolutions and their role in global history"--