Boundaries of Utopia – Imagining Communism from Plato to Stalin

Boundaries of Utopia – Imagining Communism from Plato to Stalin The idea that socialism could be established in a single country was adopted as an official doctrine by the Soviet Union in 1925, Stalin and Bukharin being the main formulators of the policy. Before this there had been much debate as to whether the only way to secure socialism would be as a result of socialist revolution on a much broader scale, across all Europe or wider still. This book traces the development of ideas about communist utopia from Plato onwards, paying particular attention to debates about universalist ideology versus the possibility for ‘socialism in one country’. The book argues that although the prevailing view is that ‘socialism in one country’ was a sharp break from a long tradition that tended to view socialism as only possible if universal, in fact the territorially confined socialist project had long roots, including in the writings of Marx and Engels. Erik van Ree is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of European Studies at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Routledge Contemporary Russia and Eastern Europe Series 1 Liberal Nationalism in 7 The Telengits of Central Europe Southern Siberia Stefan Auer Landscape, religion and knowledge in motion 2 Civil-Military Relations in Agnieszka Halemba Russia and Eastern Europe David J. 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Gorham, Edited by Susanne Oxenstierna Ingunn Lunde and Martin Paulsen 63 Boundaries of Utopia – Imagining Communism from Plato to Stalin 54 Eastern Christianity and Politics Erik van Ree in the Twenty-First Century Edited by Lucian N. Leustean 64 Democracy in Poland Representation, participation, 55 Punk in Russia competition and accountability Cultural mutation from the since 1989 “useless” to the “moronic” Anna Gwiazda Ivan Gololobov, Hilary Pilkington and Yngvar B. Steinholt 65 Democracy, Civic Culture and Small Business in 56 Chechnya at War and Beyond Russia’s Regions Edited by Anne Le Huérou, Aude Social processes in comparative Merlin, Amandine Regamey and historical perspective Elisabeth Sieca-Kozlowski Molly O’Neal This page intentionally left blank Boundaries of Utopia – Imagining Communism from Plato to Stalin Erik van Ree Add Add Add Add Add AddAdd AddAdd AddAdd First published 2015 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2015 Erik van Ree The right of Erik van Ree to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Ree, Erik van. Boundaries of utopia : imagining communism from Plato to Stalin / Erik van Ree. pages cm. – (Routledge contemporary Russia and Eastern Europe series ; 63) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Communism–History. 2. Communism–Soviet Union–History. 3. Stalin, Joseph, 1879-1953. I. Title. HX40.R37867 2015 335.43–dc23 2014048780 ISBN: 978-0-415-70372-7 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-203-76250-9 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Taylor & Francis Books Contents Preface xi Introduction 1 PART I Early Communism 15 1 Communism as New Jerusalem 17 2 Communism as utopia 28 3 Communism as armed fortress 37 PART II Marx and Engels 51 4 Communism as Triple Alliance 53 5 Permanent revolution 62 6 Marxist patriotism 75 PART III The socialist movement 83 7 Socialism as trading company 85 8 Socialism as vast state 91 9 Russian socialism takes a back seat 104 10 Marxism in industrialised Germany 115 x Contents 11 Socialism as autarky 123 12 Socialism as war economy 134 PART IV Revolution 151 13 Socialisation of the national economy 153 14 Socialism in one country 163 15 The Great Debate 176 Conclusion 188 References 197 Index 230 Preface This book has been very long in the making. Writing it has cost me perhaps two years, but the theme of socialism in one country, which is at the heart of the work, had my attention for many more. The first article I wrote about the subject was published in 1998. Boundaries of Utopia might be read as a prequel to my 2002 book The Political Thought of Joseph Stalin, in which I focused on the Soviet dictator’s revolutionary patriotism.

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