Jeffrey Kahn
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199246991
- eISBN:
- 9780191599606
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199246998.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Russian Politics
The Soviet Union's ‘nationalities problem’ was one of the fundamental hurdles that Mikhail Gorbachev failed to clear in his attempt at systemic transformation of the USSR. Less understood, and far ...
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The Soviet Union's ‘nationalities problem’ was one of the fundamental hurdles that Mikhail Gorbachev failed to clear in his attempt at systemic transformation of the USSR. Less understood, and far less studied, was Gorbachev's ‘federalism problem’. The institutional weaknesses of Soviet ‘federalism’ presented serious obstacles to would‐be reformers of the political system as well as to opponents of reform. After 70 years of Soviet rhetoric, there was deep confusion over just what terms like ‘federal’ or ‘sovereignty’ really meant. Efforts to construct a ‘renewed’ USSR and a new Russian Federation were deeply constrained by Soviet institutions and concepts.Less
The Soviet Union's ‘nationalities problem’ was one of the fundamental hurdles that Mikhail Gorbachev failed to clear in his attempt at systemic transformation of the USSR. Less understood, and far less studied, was Gorbachev's ‘federalism problem’. The institutional weaknesses of Soviet ‘federalism’ presented serious obstacles to would‐be reformers of the political system as well as to opponents of reform. After 70 years of Soviet rhetoric, there was deep confusion over just what terms like ‘federal’ or ‘sovereignty’ really meant. Efforts to construct a ‘renewed’ USSR and a new Russian Federation were deeply constrained by Soviet institutions and concepts.
Robert Adlington
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265390
- eISBN:
- 9780191760440
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265390.003.0001
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
This chapter sketches key contexts (both global-political and scholarly) for the research presented by this book. By way of introduction to the individual chapters in the book, a number of connecting ...
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This chapter sketches key contexts (both global-political and scholarly) for the research presented by this book. By way of introduction to the individual chapters in the book, a number of connecting preoccupations are identified: debates over artistic experiment and populism, and over the handling of cultural difference; the diverse motivations for communist organisations to become involved in music, and their anxieties about such an involvement; attempts made to evade the grasp of political and economic structures (state and commerce especially) that communists typically opposed; and experimentation in alternative forms of musical practice that were imagined better to reflect communist ideology. The irreducible plurality of positions staked out by communist musicians and groups is emphasised.Less
This chapter sketches key contexts (both global-political and scholarly) for the research presented by this book. By way of introduction to the individual chapters in the book, a number of connecting preoccupations are identified: debates over artistic experiment and populism, and over the handling of cultural difference; the diverse motivations for communist organisations to become involved in music, and their anxieties about such an involvement; attempts made to evade the grasp of political and economic structures (state and commerce especially) that communists typically opposed; and experimentation in alternative forms of musical practice that were imagined better to reflect communist ideology. The irreducible plurality of positions staked out by communist musicians and groups is emphasised.
Saul Newman
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719071287
- eISBN:
- 9781781701522
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719071287.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
How do we think about radical politics today, in the wake of the collapse of Marxist-Leninism and the triumph of neo-liberal capitalism? How should radical political theory respond to new challenges ...
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How do we think about radical politics today, in the wake of the collapse of Marxist-Leninism and the triumph of neo-liberal capitalism? How should radical political theory respond to new challenges posed by globalisation, postmodernity, the ‘war on terror’ and the rise of religious fundamentalism? How are we to take account of the new social movements and political struggles appearing on the global horizon? In addressing these questions, this book explores the theme of universality and its place in radical political theory. It argues that both Marxist politics of class struggle and the postmodern politics of difference have reached their historical and political limits, and that what is needed is a new approach to universality, a new way of thinking about collective politics. By exploring various themes and ideas within poststructuralist and post-Marxist theory, the book develops a new approach to universality — one that has implications for politics today, particularly on questions of power, subjectivity, ethics and democracy. In so doing, it engages in debates with thinkers such as Laclau, Žižek, Badiou and Rancière over the future of radical politics. The book also applies theoretical insights to contemporary events such as the emergence of the anti-globalisation movement, the ‘war on terrorism’, the rise of anti-immigrant racism and the nihilistic violence that lurks at the margins of the political.Less
How do we think about radical politics today, in the wake of the collapse of Marxist-Leninism and the triumph of neo-liberal capitalism? How should radical political theory respond to new challenges posed by globalisation, postmodernity, the ‘war on terror’ and the rise of religious fundamentalism? How are we to take account of the new social movements and political struggles appearing on the global horizon? In addressing these questions, this book explores the theme of universality and its place in radical political theory. It argues that both Marxist politics of class struggle and the postmodern politics of difference have reached their historical and political limits, and that what is needed is a new approach to universality, a new way of thinking about collective politics. By exploring various themes and ideas within poststructuralist and post-Marxist theory, the book develops a new approach to universality — one that has implications for politics today, particularly on questions of power, subjectivity, ethics and democracy. In so doing, it engages in debates with thinkers such as Laclau, Žižek, Badiou and Rancière over the future of radical politics. The book also applies theoretical insights to contemporary events such as the emergence of the anti-globalisation movement, the ‘war on terrorism’, the rise of anti-immigrant racism and the nihilistic violence that lurks at the margins of the political.
Nicholas V. Riasanovsky
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195156508
- eISBN:
- 9780199868230
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195156508.003.0010
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter begins by discussing misconceptions about the Soviet Union that stem from the substitution of a struggle of leaders for power. It explains Marxism and Leninism ideologies. It stresses ...
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This chapter begins by discussing misconceptions about the Soviet Union that stem from the substitution of a struggle of leaders for power. It explains Marxism and Leninism ideologies. It stresses that personal dictatorship, occasionally modified by a narrow oligarchy of a few, became the standard form. It discusses that the Soviet Union became divided into fifteen union republics and, within them, over a hundred smaller subdivisions, based again on the ethnic principles. It clarifies that during some seventy-five years of Communist rule, the Soviet people, particularly Russian people believed in Marxism and Leninism, to different depths and degrees of comprehension.Less
This chapter begins by discussing misconceptions about the Soviet Union that stem from the substitution of a struggle of leaders for power. It explains Marxism and Leninism ideologies. It stresses that personal dictatorship, occasionally modified by a narrow oligarchy of a few, became the standard form. It discusses that the Soviet Union became divided into fifteen union republics and, within them, over a hundred smaller subdivisions, based again on the ethnic principles. It clarifies that during some seventy-five years of Communist rule, the Soviet people, particularly Russian people believed in Marxism and Leninism, to different depths and degrees of comprehension.
John Biggart
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198278665
- eISBN:
- 9780191684227
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198278665.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter argues that while Bukharin is considered to have been a custodian of Leninism and the gradual change during the New Economic Policy (NEP), his theory of cultural revolution differed ...
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This chapter argues that while Bukharin is considered to have been a custodian of Leninism and the gradual change during the New Economic Policy (NEP), his theory of cultural revolution differed significantly from that of Lenin. Bukharin advocated a radical break with the NEP system between late Leninism and Stalinism. It also examines the influence of the Bolshevik social thought of Alexander Malinovsky-Bogdanov on Bukharin. In his description of the cultural values of the proletariat under capitalism, he borrowed freely, if selectively, from Bogdanov's work.Less
This chapter argues that while Bukharin is considered to have been a custodian of Leninism and the gradual change during the New Economic Policy (NEP), his theory of cultural revolution differed significantly from that of Lenin. Bukharin advocated a radical break with the NEP system between late Leninism and Stalinism. It also examines the influence of the Bolshevik social thought of Alexander Malinovsky-Bogdanov on Bukharin. In his description of the cultural values of the proletariat under capitalism, he borrowed freely, if selectively, from Bogdanov's work.
Sudhir Hazareesingh
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198278702
- eISBN:
- 9780191684241
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198278702.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This chapter examines the extent to which the intra-party dispute in the French Communist Party (PCF) from 1978–80 led the critics of the Communist leadership to reconsider the nature of their ...
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This chapter examines the extent to which the intra-party dispute in the French Communist Party (PCF) from 1978–80 led the critics of the Communist leadership to reconsider the nature of their attachment to the party. It argues that during this period, there remains an underlying tension between the critique of the principle of democratic centralism and the intellectuals' rejection of factional activity on the traditional Leninist grounds of preserving the political cohesion of the PCF. The chapter shows that on the institutional level, many PCF critics were driven by the objective of completing the party's integration into national political, thus questioning the traditional claim that the PCF is a parti pas comme les autres.Less
This chapter examines the extent to which the intra-party dispute in the French Communist Party (PCF) from 1978–80 led the critics of the Communist leadership to reconsider the nature of their attachment to the party. It argues that during this period, there remains an underlying tension between the critique of the principle of democratic centralism and the intellectuals' rejection of factional activity on the traditional Leninist grounds of preserving the political cohesion of the PCF. The chapter shows that on the institutional level, many PCF critics were driven by the objective of completing the party's integration into national political, thus questioning the traditional claim that the PCF is a parti pas comme les autres.
Jeanne Morefield
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264393
- eISBN:
- 9780191734571
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264393.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
Since his death in the 1950s, most of the narratives of Harold Laski’s anti-imperialism have been mostly biographical rather than scholarly. Chroniclers and historians alike often found his genius ...
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Since his death in the 1950s, most of the narratives of Harold Laski’s anti-imperialism have been mostly biographical rather than scholarly. Chroniclers and historians alike often found his genius and contribution amongst his protégés such as Krishna Menon, H.O. Davies, and other post-colonial leaders. In addition, explorations of his political theories paid little attention to his contributions to critiques on imperialism; in fact, his critics often interpreted Laski’s stand on imperialism as unoriginal. This chapter analyses two of Laski’s works on imperialism: a 1932 chapter entitled ‘Nationalism and the Future of Civilisation’ and a 1933 chapter called ‘The Economic Foundations of Peace’. The first section of the chapter analyses his theory of sovereignty and his critique of the ideological ‘habits’ that condition liberal society. The second section contends that Laski’s theory of sovereignty resulted in his framing of imperialism within Leninist terms as a dialectical relationship between the habits of sovereignty and the habits of imperialism. The chapter suggests that Laski’s thinking on imperialism resembles less a truncated Leninism than it does a critical analysis of the way ideology can obscure domination and disciple subjects. It also reveals Laski’s contradictions due to his political activism and commitment to democracy.Less
Since his death in the 1950s, most of the narratives of Harold Laski’s anti-imperialism have been mostly biographical rather than scholarly. Chroniclers and historians alike often found his genius and contribution amongst his protégés such as Krishna Menon, H.O. Davies, and other post-colonial leaders. In addition, explorations of his political theories paid little attention to his contributions to critiques on imperialism; in fact, his critics often interpreted Laski’s stand on imperialism as unoriginal. This chapter analyses two of Laski’s works on imperialism: a 1932 chapter entitled ‘Nationalism and the Future of Civilisation’ and a 1933 chapter called ‘The Economic Foundations of Peace’. The first section of the chapter analyses his theory of sovereignty and his critique of the ideological ‘habits’ that condition liberal society. The second section contends that Laski’s theory of sovereignty resulted in his framing of imperialism within Leninist terms as a dialectical relationship between the habits of sovereignty and the habits of imperialism. The chapter suggests that Laski’s thinking on imperialism resembles less a truncated Leninism than it does a critical analysis of the way ideology can obscure domination and disciple subjects. It also reveals Laski’s contradictions due to his political activism and commitment to democracy.
Antonio Negri
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231146821
- eISBN:
- 9780231519427
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231146821.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
This book is both a systematic inquiry into the development of Vladimir Lenin’s thought and an encapsulation of a critical shift in theoretical trajectory of its author, Antonio Negri. It is the last ...
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This book is both a systematic inquiry into the development of Vladimir Lenin’s thought and an encapsulation of a critical shift in theoretical trajectory of its author, Antonio Negri. It is the last of Negri’s major political works to be translated into English. It explains that Lenin is the only prominent politician of the modern era to seriously question the “withering away” and “extinction” of the state, and that, like Karl Marx, he recognized the link between capitalism and modern sovereignty and the need to destroy capitalism and reconfigure the state. The book refrains from portraying Lenin as a ferocious dictator enforcing the proletariat’s reappropriation of wealth, nor does it depict him as a mere military tool of a vanguard opposed to the Ancien Régime. Instead, the book champions Leninism’s ability to adapt to different working-class configurations in Russia, China, Latin America and elsewhere. It argues that Lenin developed a new political figuration in and beyond modernity and an effective organization capable of absorbing different historical conditions. The book ultimately urges readers to recognize both the universal application of Leninism today and its potential to institutionally—not anarchically—dismantle centralized power.Less
This book is both a systematic inquiry into the development of Vladimir Lenin’s thought and an encapsulation of a critical shift in theoretical trajectory of its author, Antonio Negri. It is the last of Negri’s major political works to be translated into English. It explains that Lenin is the only prominent politician of the modern era to seriously question the “withering away” and “extinction” of the state, and that, like Karl Marx, he recognized the link between capitalism and modern sovereignty and the need to destroy capitalism and reconfigure the state. The book refrains from portraying Lenin as a ferocious dictator enforcing the proletariat’s reappropriation of wealth, nor does it depict him as a mere military tool of a vanguard opposed to the Ancien Régime. Instead, the book champions Leninism’s ability to adapt to different working-class configurations in Russia, China, Latin America and elsewhere. It argues that Lenin developed a new political figuration in and beyond modernity and an effective organization capable of absorbing different historical conditions. The book ultimately urges readers to recognize both the universal application of Leninism today and its potential to institutionally—not anarchically—dismantle centralized power.
Anthony P. Maingot
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813061061
- eISBN:
- 9780813051345
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813061061.003.0012
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
Cuba always had a small but influential Marxist-Leninist movement. It was, however, highly dependent on the U.S. Communist Party for ideas and funds. This propensity to dependence continued as U.S. ...
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Cuba always had a small but influential Marxist-Leninist movement. It was, however, highly dependent on the U.S. Communist Party for ideas and funds. This propensity to dependence continued as U.S. invasions and embargoes pushed the Castro regime into a tight alliance with the USSR and later with Venezuela. Because the economy has not prospered, large numbers of influential organic intellectuals are now advocating serious changes in the economic model. This, plus changes in U.S. attitudes toward associations with Cuba, appear to be harbingers of improved relations, which should make future changes in the ideological and economic orientation of Cuba possible.Less
Cuba always had a small but influential Marxist-Leninist movement. It was, however, highly dependent on the U.S. Communist Party for ideas and funds. This propensity to dependence continued as U.S. invasions and embargoes pushed the Castro regime into a tight alliance with the USSR and later with Venezuela. Because the economy has not prospered, large numbers of influential organic intellectuals are now advocating serious changes in the economic model. This, plus changes in U.S. attitudes toward associations with Cuba, appear to be harbingers of improved relations, which should make future changes in the ideological and economic orientation of Cuba possible.
Anthony P. Maingot
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813061061
- eISBN:
- 9780813051345
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813061061.003.0009
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
With Marxist-Leninist ideas and plans shaped in England and Trinidad, a small group of intellectuals calling themselves the New Jewel Movement began to oppose the erratic regime of Eric Gairy in ...
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With Marxist-Leninist ideas and plans shaped in England and Trinidad, a small group of intellectuals calling themselves the New Jewel Movement began to oppose the erratic regime of Eric Gairy in Grenada. Knowing that they had no chance of an independent electoral victory, they joined a broad popular coalition of parties opposed to Gairy. Their plan was to position themselves for a swift coup d’état, and it succeeded magnificently. With Cuban and Soviet help, they began to establish a fully militarized state and society. As the economy (heavily indebted because of the building of a major airport) began to fail, the Marxist Party split between a Stalinist, militarist wing, led by Bernard Coard, and a group more open to moderation and negotiation with the United States, led by Maurice Bishop. In an open clash, Coard’s heavily armed faction imprisoned and executed the popular Bishop and many of his cabinet members. An American invasion put an end to any plans to establish a military dictatorship.Less
With Marxist-Leninist ideas and plans shaped in England and Trinidad, a small group of intellectuals calling themselves the New Jewel Movement began to oppose the erratic regime of Eric Gairy in Grenada. Knowing that they had no chance of an independent electoral victory, they joined a broad popular coalition of parties opposed to Gairy. Their plan was to position themselves for a swift coup d’état, and it succeeded magnificently. With Cuban and Soviet help, they began to establish a fully militarized state and society. As the economy (heavily indebted because of the building of a major airport) began to fail, the Marxist Party split between a Stalinist, militarist wing, led by Bernard Coard, and a group more open to moderation and negotiation with the United States, led by Maurice Bishop. In an open clash, Coard’s heavily armed faction imprisoned and executed the popular Bishop and many of his cabinet members. An American invasion put an end to any plans to establish a military dictatorship.
Robin D. G. Kelley
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781469625485
- eISBN:
- 9781469625508
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469625485.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
This chapter discusses how the meshing of the African-American culture of opposition and a Stalinist version of Marxism-Leninism contributed to the growth and survival of the Communist Party in ...
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This chapter discusses how the meshing of the African-American culture of opposition and a Stalinist version of Marxism-Leninism contributed to the growth and survival of the Communist Party in Alabama. It first explores how a Maxist pedagogy in Birmingham and rural Alabama altered black working people's self-definition and pre-existing worldview. It then turns to the traditions of resistance blacks brought to the Party, examining how these modes of opposition affected collective and individual action and dialectically fused with Left culture. Finally, the chapter deals with the complexities and ambiguities of black radical opposition by looking at conflict within the black community and Communists, clergy, and black middle class spokespersons.Less
This chapter discusses how the meshing of the African-American culture of opposition and a Stalinist version of Marxism-Leninism contributed to the growth and survival of the Communist Party in Alabama. It first explores how a Maxist pedagogy in Birmingham and rural Alabama altered black working people's self-definition and pre-existing worldview. It then turns to the traditions of resistance blacks brought to the Party, examining how these modes of opposition affected collective and individual action and dialectically fused with Left culture. Finally, the chapter deals with the complexities and ambiguities of black radical opposition by looking at conflict within the black community and Communists, clergy, and black middle class spokespersons.
Victor Rothwell
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748615025
- eISBN:
- 9780748651283
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748615025.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
The first section of this chapter describes Stalin and Soviet foreign policy, including ideology and criminality. Like German war aims, those of the Soviet Union in the Second World War were largely ...
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The first section of this chapter describes Stalin and Soviet foreign policy, including ideology and criminality. Like German war aims, those of the Soviet Union in the Second World War were largely decided by one man operating within an ideology, though Soviet Marxism–Leninism was less the leader’s own construct than German Nazism was Hitler’s. The second section examines themes of caution and continuity in Russian/Soviet aims in two areas of direct concern: the regions of the Danube delta and the Straits between the Black Sea and the Aegean and the Mediterranean, and of the Baltic and Scandinavia. Succeeding sections consider Soviet aims in central Europe (including Germany and Poland) and how the Soviet Union visualised its postwar relationships with its two great wartime allies, Britain and the United States.Less
The first section of this chapter describes Stalin and Soviet foreign policy, including ideology and criminality. Like German war aims, those of the Soviet Union in the Second World War were largely decided by one man operating within an ideology, though Soviet Marxism–Leninism was less the leader’s own construct than German Nazism was Hitler’s. The second section examines themes of caution and continuity in Russian/Soviet aims in two areas of direct concern: the regions of the Danube delta and the Straits between the Black Sea and the Aegean and the Mediterranean, and of the Baltic and Scandinavia. Succeeding sections consider Soviet aims in central Europe (including Germany and Poland) and how the Soviet Union visualised its postwar relationships with its two great wartime allies, Britain and the United States.
Thomas Martin
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520251175
- eISBN:
- 9780520933743
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520251175.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter investigates imperial intelligence gathering about ideologically driven unrest. Islamic piety and atheistic Marxism-Leninism may seem poles apart, but, from the perspective of ...
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This chapter investigates imperial intelligence gathering about ideologically driven unrest. Islamic piety and atheistic Marxism-Leninism may seem poles apart, but, from the perspective of intelligence analysts, they had much in common. Both attracted committed adherents who abhorred Western materialism and imperialist social theories. It was this internationalist dimension to Islamism and Communism that preoccupied the security services of France and Britain because it suggested that, whatever the relative local weaknesses of pan-Islamist and Comintern-organized anticolonial groups, their real strength lay elsewhere: in their appeal to colonial subjects to unite across imperial frontiers in opposition to European control. The estimates made by imperial intelligence communities about the nature of the enemies they faced must also be taken into account. It is for this reason that the article begins by considering how opponents of Britain and France's Middle Eastern imperial ventures were viewed, first in popular culture, and second in terms of stereotype.Less
This chapter investigates imperial intelligence gathering about ideologically driven unrest. Islamic piety and atheistic Marxism-Leninism may seem poles apart, but, from the perspective of intelligence analysts, they had much in common. Both attracted committed adherents who abhorred Western materialism and imperialist social theories. It was this internationalist dimension to Islamism and Communism that preoccupied the security services of France and Britain because it suggested that, whatever the relative local weaknesses of pan-Islamist and Comintern-organized anticolonial groups, their real strength lay elsewhere: in their appeal to colonial subjects to unite across imperial frontiers in opposition to European control. The estimates made by imperial intelligence communities about the nature of the enemies they faced must also be taken into account. It is for this reason that the article begins by considering how opponents of Britain and France's Middle Eastern imperial ventures were viewed, first in popular culture, and second in terms of stereotype.
Nicholas Thoburn
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748632879
- eISBN:
- 9780748652549
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748632879.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
This chapter is a critique of the militant. In particular, it seeks to understand the ways militancy effectuates processes of political passion and a certain unworking or deterritorialisation of the ...
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This chapter is a critique of the militant. In particular, it seeks to understand the ways militancy effectuates processes of political passion and a certain unworking or deterritorialisation of the self in relation to political organisations and the wider social environment within which militants would enact change. To this end, the chapter traces a diagram or abstract machine of militancy – a diagram comprised of Guattari's cartography of Leninism and the model of struggle set out by the Russian nihilist Sergei Nechaev. It then explores a particular concrete animation of these abstract militant functions in the Weatherman organisation in the United States at the turn of the 1970s. The chapter sketches the principle outlines of an a-militant diagram, or dispersive ecology; of political composition that draws together Marx's figure of the party; Jacques Camatte's critique of the political ‘racket’; and Deleuze and Guattari's approach to the problem of the group and its outside.Less
This chapter is a critique of the militant. In particular, it seeks to understand the ways militancy effectuates processes of political passion and a certain unworking or deterritorialisation of the self in relation to political organisations and the wider social environment within which militants would enact change. To this end, the chapter traces a diagram or abstract machine of militancy – a diagram comprised of Guattari's cartography of Leninism and the model of struggle set out by the Russian nihilist Sergei Nechaev. It then explores a particular concrete animation of these abstract militant functions in the Weatherman organisation in the United States at the turn of the 1970s. The chapter sketches the principle outlines of an a-militant diagram, or dispersive ecology; of political composition that draws together Marx's figure of the party; Jacques Camatte's critique of the political ‘racket’; and Deleuze and Guattari's approach to the problem of the group and its outside.
Andreas Glaeser
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226297934
- eISBN:
- 9780226297958
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226297958.003.0006
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Theory
The quotations opening this chapter provide glimpses of a worldview in operation. They suggest how deeply the secret police officers believe in Marxism-Leninism, and how this belief was wrapped up in ...
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The quotations opening this chapter provide glimpses of a worldview in operation. They suggest how deeply the secret police officers believe in Marxism-Leninism, and how this belief was wrapped up in strong identifications with institutions, most notably the party, the state GDR, and the Stasi. They reflect the success of the SED to create the kind of monolithic intentionality it envisioned for the country as a whole. This chapter is the story of officers' understanding in the making where “in the making” means both—becoming and remaining once become. It shows how socialism in the guise of an idea, a person, an institution, or a setting began to be appealing to these men, and how this appeal becomes compelling through the mutually supporting work of resonances, recognitions, and corroborations. This is done by drawing on the life of one officer, while juxtaposing his development to a more general consideration of others' experience. The officer chosen to allegorize the group over a particular period of time is selected not for reasons of representativeness in a demographic sense—the use of that notion is often just the admittance that one knows little about the relevant processes—but for reasons of highlighting particularly important dynamics of validation.Less
The quotations opening this chapter provide glimpses of a worldview in operation. They suggest how deeply the secret police officers believe in Marxism-Leninism, and how this belief was wrapped up in strong identifications with institutions, most notably the party, the state GDR, and the Stasi. They reflect the success of the SED to create the kind of monolithic intentionality it envisioned for the country as a whole. This chapter is the story of officers' understanding in the making where “in the making” means both—becoming and remaining once become. It shows how socialism in the guise of an idea, a person, an institution, or a setting began to be appealing to these men, and how this appeal becomes compelling through the mutually supporting work of resonances, recognitions, and corroborations. This is done by drawing on the life of one officer, while juxtaposing his development to a more general consideration of others' experience. The officer chosen to allegorize the group over a particular period of time is selected not for reasons of representativeness in a demographic sense—the use of that notion is often just the admittance that one knows little about the relevant processes—but for reasons of highlighting particularly important dynamics of validation.
StanLey G. Payne
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300100686
- eISBN:
- 9780300130782
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300100686.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter discusses the attempt to develop an independent, more original and imaginative Marxism-Leninism adapted to Spanish circumstances, which was carried on by Joaquin Maurin and the Bloque ...
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This chapter discusses the attempt to develop an independent, more original and imaginative Marxism-Leninism adapted to Spanish circumstances, which was carried on by Joaquin Maurin and the Bloque Obrero y Campesino (Worker-Peasant Bloc or BOC), formed in Barcelona in March 1931. The name of the new group stemmed from the original Comintern ploy of 1923 to form a Groupe Ouvrier et Paysan (Worker and Peasant Group) as an electoral front for the French Communist Party. The BOC set itself the goal of forming “a Great Worker-Peasant Party,” with the political nucleus formed by the independent Catalan Communist FCC-B, while the BOC was to form a broader mass organization. Maurin and his colleagues argued that this was the most useful strategy, since direct Bolshevization on the basis of the party alone had failed in both France and Spain.Less
This chapter discusses the attempt to develop an independent, more original and imaginative Marxism-Leninism adapted to Spanish circumstances, which was carried on by Joaquin Maurin and the Bloque Obrero y Campesino (Worker-Peasant Bloc or BOC), formed in Barcelona in March 1931. The name of the new group stemmed from the original Comintern ploy of 1923 to form a Groupe Ouvrier et Paysan (Worker and Peasant Group) as an electoral front for the French Communist Party. The BOC set itself the goal of forming “a Great Worker-Peasant Party,” with the political nucleus formed by the independent Catalan Communist FCC-B, while the BOC was to form a broader mass organization. Maurin and his colleagues argued that this was the most useful strategy, since direct Bolshevization on the basis of the party alone had failed in both France and Spain.
Arvid Nelson
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300106602
- eISBN:
- 9780300130300
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300106602.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Environmental History
In this chapter, the author reflects on his travel to the forests around Eberswalde, an industrial town located some twenty-five miles northeast of Berlin, in 1990. His purpose was to conduct ...
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In this chapter, the author reflects on his travel to the forests around Eberswalde, an industrial town located some twenty-five miles northeast of Berlin, in 1990. His purpose was to conduct research on the decline of forests in East Germany, where bureaucrats had a reputation for prim coldness and intolerance of dissent, while finance and trade officials resorted to shrewd business practices. Marxism-Leninism and the leadership of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany were blamed for the forest decline, with their aggressive management combined with industrial and farm pollution pushing the forested ecosystem to the brink of economic and ecological collapse. When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, West Germans reached out to their eastern counterparts untainted by hypermaterialist socialist forestry. The church foresters for the Protestant Church in Brandenburg and the Catholic Church in Saxony played a key role in the states' return to ecologically based forest management and the rebuilding of the Forest Service.Less
In this chapter, the author reflects on his travel to the forests around Eberswalde, an industrial town located some twenty-five miles northeast of Berlin, in 1990. His purpose was to conduct research on the decline of forests in East Germany, where bureaucrats had a reputation for prim coldness and intolerance of dissent, while finance and trade officials resorted to shrewd business practices. Marxism-Leninism and the leadership of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany were blamed for the forest decline, with their aggressive management combined with industrial and farm pollution pushing the forested ecosystem to the brink of economic and ecological collapse. When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, West Germans reached out to their eastern counterparts untainted by hypermaterialist socialist forestry. The church foresters for the Protestant Church in Brandenburg and the Catholic Church in Saxony played a key role in the states' return to ecologically based forest management and the rebuilding of the Forest Service.
Arvid Nelson
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300106602
- eISBN:
- 9780300130300
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300106602.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, Environmental History
In this chapter, the author narrates his trip to East Germany in the early days after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. He made observations of marshes, forests, and wetlands as well as the old ...
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In this chapter, the author narrates his trip to East Germany in the early days after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. He made observations of marshes, forests, and wetlands as well as the old Prussian “sand and pine” landscape east of the Elbe River. There were reports of a crisis in the eastern forest attributed to the four decades of conflict between Marxism-Leninism and the natural landscape. Forest management under the rule of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany is a testament to its competence and power. In the early years of the nineteenth century, Germany's forest landowners enclosed their forests, which prevented the peasants from foraging for fallen wood and gathering honey, collecting mushrooms, taking small game, and pasturing their livestock on oak and beech mast. Peasants opposed the closing of the forest commons and even won the support of the young Karl Marx. East Germany's forest decline was compounded by weak political geography and ecological and material deficits.Less
In this chapter, the author narrates his trip to East Germany in the early days after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. He made observations of marshes, forests, and wetlands as well as the old Prussian “sand and pine” landscape east of the Elbe River. There were reports of a crisis in the eastern forest attributed to the four decades of conflict between Marxism-Leninism and the natural landscape. Forest management under the rule of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany is a testament to its competence and power. In the early years of the nineteenth century, Germany's forest landowners enclosed their forests, which prevented the peasants from foraging for fallen wood and gathering honey, collecting mushrooms, taking small game, and pasturing their livestock on oak and beech mast. Peasants opposed the closing of the forest commons and even won the support of the young Karl Marx. East Germany's forest decline was compounded by weak political geography and ecological and material deficits.
Robert Daniels
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300106497
- eISBN:
- 9780300134933
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300106497.003.0016
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
Leon Trotsky was a fierce enemy of Leninism prior to the Russian Revolution, but also its most ardent exponent in the revolution and in the civil war. His political outlook changed dramatically ...
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Leon Trotsky was a fierce enemy of Leninism prior to the Russian Revolution, but also its most ardent exponent in the revolution and in the civil war. His political outlook changed dramatically during the succession struggle that erupted in 1923. Trapped between the rigidity of his theoretical commitments to Leninism and Marxism and the bitter political adversity that hounded him in mid-career, Trotsky took the Communist Party leadership to task for violating the workers' democracy that was supposed to be the Communist norm. In 1928, Joseph Stalin broke with Nikolai Bukharin's right wing of the party, a decision that had little immediate impact on Trotsky's thinking despite the capitulation of many of his supporters. Before his expulsion from the USSR, Trotsky considered writing a more systematic treatise on the problem of bureaucracy. During his exile, he continued to follow the factional and doctrinal infighting among Communists outside the Soviet Union.Less
Leon Trotsky was a fierce enemy of Leninism prior to the Russian Revolution, but also its most ardent exponent in the revolution and in the civil war. His political outlook changed dramatically during the succession struggle that erupted in 1923. Trapped between the rigidity of his theoretical commitments to Leninism and Marxism and the bitter political adversity that hounded him in mid-career, Trotsky took the Communist Party leadership to task for violating the workers' democracy that was supposed to be the Communist norm. In 1928, Joseph Stalin broke with Nikolai Bukharin's right wing of the party, a decision that had little immediate impact on Trotsky's thinking despite the capitulation of many of his supporters. Before his expulsion from the USSR, Trotsky considered writing a more systematic treatise on the problem of bureaucracy. During his exile, he continued to follow the factional and doctrinal infighting among Communists outside the Soviet Union.
Robert Daniels
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300106497
- eISBN:
- 9780300134933
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300106497.003.0019
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
Many writers, including Leon Trotsky, have labeled postrevolutionary dictatorship as “Bonapartism” in which elements of the revolution and the Old Regime are combined following the chaos and ...
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Many writers, including Leon Trotsky, have labeled postrevolutionary dictatorship as “Bonapartism” in which elements of the revolution and the Old Regime are combined following the chaos and fanaticism of the earlier revolutionary phases. In the twentieth century, postrevolutionary dictatorship assumed the institutional form of totalitarianism. In Russia, postrevolutionary dictatorship was characterized by the organizational and ideological continuity maintained by Joseph Stalin between the revolutionary era and his own regime. Stalin himself emerged from the apparatus of the party of revolutionary extremism and made it the foundation of his postrevolutionary rule. In addition, he insisted on the formal observance of revolutionary ideology that he called “Marxism-Leninism.” Stalin's postrevolutionary dictatorship was known for its bureaucratic social base and its cultural conservatism. His personal impact is commonly interpreted as a “revolution from above,” which instituted total socialization and militarization by collectivizing the peasants.Less
Many writers, including Leon Trotsky, have labeled postrevolutionary dictatorship as “Bonapartism” in which elements of the revolution and the Old Regime are combined following the chaos and fanaticism of the earlier revolutionary phases. In the twentieth century, postrevolutionary dictatorship assumed the institutional form of totalitarianism. In Russia, postrevolutionary dictatorship was characterized by the organizational and ideological continuity maintained by Joseph Stalin between the revolutionary era and his own regime. Stalin himself emerged from the apparatus of the party of revolutionary extremism and made it the foundation of his postrevolutionary rule. In addition, he insisted on the formal observance of revolutionary ideology that he called “Marxism-Leninism.” Stalin's postrevolutionary dictatorship was known for its bureaucratic social base and its cultural conservatism. His personal impact is commonly interpreted as a “revolution from above,” which instituted total socialization and militarization by collectivizing the peasants.
