The Unfinished Revolution Other Titles of Interest
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The Unfinished Revolution Other Titles of Interest The Letters of Rosa Luxemburg, edited and with an Intro- duction by Stephen Eric Bronner An Infantile Disorder?: The Crisis and Decline of the New Left, Nigel Young Radicalism in the Contemporary Age. Volume 1: Sources of Contemporary Radicalism, edited by Seweryn Bialer and Sophia Sluzar Radicalism in the Contemporary Age. Volume 2: Radical Visions of the Future, edited by Seweryn Bialer and Sophia Sluzar Radicalism in the Contemporary Age. Volume 3: Strategies and Impact of Contemporary Radicalism, edited by Seweryn Bialer and Sophia Sluzar The Unfinished Revolution: Marxism and Communism in the Modern World revised edition Adam B. Ulam Marxism has been the most pervasive and widespread ideological phenomenon of our times, but seldom, if ever, has it been found in its "pure" form. Whenever the Marxist ideology has been historically significant, it has been so as a beneficiary and associate of another set of political beliefs and passions. As a contender for power it seeks to express the dreams and yearnings of societies caught in the painful process of modernization and industrialization. In power it tends to pay lip service to its lofty goals, but associates them with old- fashioned nationalism. Practice does not reflect theory. Ruling elites and parties surpass traditional capitalism in their dedication to political centralization and industrialism at all costs. This revised edition of Adam Ulam's standard work retains the author's summary and critique of Marx's historical, economic, and political arguments. Ulam then examines the relationship of Marxism to other schools of contemporary socialism and to other radical and revolutionary theories. He traces the development of Marxian thought, explains why it has been the potent force in certain societies-while in other societies its influence has been insignificant-and analyzes how Marxism and Leninism have affected the shaping of Russian Communism. Finally Ulam looks at Marxism in the future: the role it will play in the development of the Soviet Union, and how it will affect the contemporary crisis of liberal institutions in the West. Adam B. Ulam, one of this country's most eminent authorities on Marxism and the Soviet Union, has been a member of the faculty at Harvard University since 1946, where he is now professor of government. He is also associated with Harvard's Russian Research Center as a research fellow and member of the executive committee. Adam B. Ulam The Unfinished Revolution Marxism and Communism in the Modern World revised edition Westview Press I Boulder, Colorado First published 1979 by Westview Press Published 2019 by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Copyright © 1979 Taylor & Francis 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. Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Ulam, Adam Bruno, 1922- The unfinished revolution. Includes bibliographical references. 1. Socialism—History. 2. Communism—History. I. Title. HX37.U42 1979 355'.009 79-700 ISBN 13: 978-0-367-29691-9 (hbk) Contents Preface to the Revised Edition ......................... ix Preface to the First Edition ........................... xiii I. The Problem ...................................... I 2. The Argument .................................... 9 Materialism ....................................... 9 Economics . 16 The Class Struggle ................................ 27 Socialism ........................................ 38 3. The Sources and Dynamics of Marxism ............. 51 Industrialization .................................. 52 Anti-Industrialism ................................ 63 Liberalism ................... .- .................. 79 Socialism and Anarchism . .. 95 4. The Diverging Paths: Democracy and Marxism ..... ll9 The English Exception ........................... 122 The Continental Pattern .......................... 134 A New Marxist Synthesis-Leninism .............. 151 5. The Other Side of Marxism ....................... 177 Stalinism ....................................... 178 The International Aspect ......................... 203 VZI VI It Contents 6. The Crisis of Marxism and the Soviet State ......... 227 The Party and the State .......................... 231 Russian Nationalism and the Nationality Problem .. 236 The Economic Side .............................. 242 Soviet Domination and International Communism .. 251 Marxism under Glass ............................ 256 7. Conclusion ...................................... 267 Notes .............................................. 277 Index .............................................. 283 Preface to the Revised Edition It is difficult to assess the role of ideologies in this fast- changing world. This book appeared originally in 1960, but I have found little reason to change my original conclusions about the nature of Marxism and why it has been the most pervasive and widespread ideological phenomenon of our times. Where the work needed emendation, in view of our experience of the last twenty years, was in the assessing the current status and prospects of Marxism in the Soviet Union, as well as in evaluating the in£1 uence of Marxian socialism and its relationship to the contemporary crisis of liberal institutions in the West. One of the main theses presented here is that one seldom, if ever, finds political Marxism in its "pure" form; that is to say, whenever this ideology has been historically significant, it has been so as a beneficiary and associate of another set of political beliefs and passions. As a contender for power, Marxism derives its popular appeal from the basically anarchist feelings exuded by societies undergoing the painful process of industrialization and modernization. Once in power, as in the Russia of the 1920's and 1930's, the Marxist party quickly sheds its semi- anarchist and libertarian vestments and matches and surpasses early capitalism in its ruthless dedication to industrialism and political centralization. When the main task of political and economic moderniza- tion has been completed, Marxism in our experience has been relegated to the status of official cult of the authoritarian state. ix X Preface to the Revised Edition The Soviet Union is the most vivid, but far from being the only, example of a Communist country where whatever significance the ideology still retains is due to its symbiosis with nationalism. In fact, what has proved to be the most vulnerable tenet of the doctrine has been its self-proclaimed role as the solvent of national and racial conflicts and the harbinger of universal peace. Workers have no country, Karl Marx asserted. But today every Communist regime, including those which depend on the power of the USSR, couches its appeal for popular support and acceptance in the nationalist idiom. The one undoubted advantage of Communism has been its ability to preserve the national state from those forces which everywhere else have eroded the bases of political and traditional authority. And it is difficult to resist the conclusion that it is because the rulers on both sides are Communist that the Sino-Soviet conflict has become sharp and remains basically intractable. But even though Communism has shown little promise that it can satisfy the most urgent need of the age and become the foundation of a peaceful international community, its ideology remains a potent force in the non-Communist world. Parties professing allegiance to the ideas o! Marx, Engels, and Lenin exist in practically every country of the world. Revolutionary movements in the Third World and the sects of terrorist fanatics in the West, while rejecting any ideological orthodoxy, still employ the idiom of Marxism. Even those who consider Communism to be an authoritarian and bureaucrat- ic excrescence upon the doctrine and who repudiate violence often seek in Marxian socialism a guide to a more just and effective social order. Do all these developments attest to the strength and correctness of the theory of history and society first propounded by Karl Marx? Or do they reflect the ever deepening condition of social and international anarchy consequent upon the decline of liberalism and other creeds and ideologies, representing in their sum Western civilization? Or does the power of Marxism "proceed out of the mouth of the gun," Preface to the Revised Edition xz reflecting the growth of power of the USSR rather than the inherent political and intellectual strength and attractiveness of the doctrine? It is to such questions that this inquiry is addressed. I have tried, as well, to see the problem in its historical setting. Cambridge, Massachusetts September, 1978 Preface to the First Edition This book is not a genealogy of political ideas. My main interest has been to find out what makes Marxism alive and relevant in certain societies, while elsewhere socialism and Communism remain the creeds of insignificant sects or intellectual coteries. It would take me much too long to list all