Communism
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Sergo Ordzhonikidze, a prominent Bolshevik figure during the Stalin era, transitioned from revolutionary to key economic administrator, notably as People’s Commissar of Heavy Industry. His integration of the Caucasus into Soviet governance and eventual coerced death in 1937 illustrate the perilous nature of Stalin’s regime, marking him as both a modernizer and a victim of…
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József Pogány was a Hungarian communist revolutionary and journalist active during WWII and the Hungarian Soviet Republic of 1919. His career reflected the challenges faced by revolutionary intellectuals amid political turmoil. After exile from Hungary, he engaged with the Comintern but was ultimately arrested and executed during Stalin’s Great Purge in 1938.
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Book Review Fitzpatrick, Sheila. Everyday Stalinism: Ordinary Life in Extraordinary Times: Soviet Russia in the 1930s. Oxford UP, 1999. Sheila Fitzpatrick’s Everyday Stalinism: Ordinary Life in Extraordinary Times: Soviet Russia in the 1930s (first published 1999) is among the most influential works of late–20th-century “revisionist” Soviet social history: it shifts the analytic spotlight away from…
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Joseph Stalin’s Dialectical Materialism (1938) serves as a pivotal yet constrictive text in Marxist philosophy, transforming dialectics into an official doctrine aligned with state orthodoxy. By stripping contradictions of their dynamism and reducing philosophy to rigid axioms, it undermines Marx’s historical materialism, ultimately serving political authority over critical inquiry.
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George Novack’s “Democracy & Revolution” critically examines bourgeois democracy, arguing it serves as a form of class rule rather than true political freedom. He emphasizes the necessity of revolutionary democracy and proletarian self-governance, rejecting reformism as inadequate. While offering essential insights into capitalism’s limitations, the text lacks engagement with contemporary issues like race and gender.
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This essay theorizes entrepreneurship in a communist society, redefining it as collective innovation aimed at communal needs rather than profit. Following Marx’s critique of capitalism, the analysis highlights how entrepreneurship could transform into a collaborative process, emphasizing democratic participation, social welfare, and ecological sustainability, ultimately unleashing human creativity for the common good.
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Karl Kautsky (1854–1938) was a pivotal figure in Second International Marxism, shaping orthodox Marxism during a transformative era. He engaged in debates about revolution and reform, criticized Bolshevik methods post-1917, and advocated for democratic socialism. His legacy reflects both the strengths and limitations of Marxist theory amid evolving socialist movements.
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Stephen F. Cohen’s Bukharin and the Bolshevik Revolution offers a nuanced portrait of Nikolai Bukharin, portraying him as a significant Bolshevik strategist rather than merely a foil to Stalin. The book examines Bukharin’s theories and policy proposals amidst Soviet internal struggles, highlighting critiques of the NEP and the importance of peasant alliances, while acknowledging its…
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Ho Chi Minh, born Nguyễn Sinh Cung in 1890, was a Vietnamese revolutionary leader who combined nationalism with Marxism-Leninism. He led resistance against colonialism, proclaimed Vietnam’s independence in 1945, and became a pivotal figure in the Indochina and Vietnam Wars. His legacy is complex, blending achievements with significant internal repression.
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Rob Sewell’s “Germany: From Revolution to Counter-Revolution” offers a concise, politically engaged retelling of the German revolutionary period, emphasizing leadership and mass agency. While it lacks original archival research and simplifies complex narratives, it effectively serves as an accessible pedagogical tool for revolutionary students and activists, stimulating critical reflection on historical events.
Letters from Tomis 