Surf Wiki
Save to docs
politics

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Revisionism (Marxism)

Set of ideas, principles, and theories based on Marxism

Revisionism (Marxism)
Summary

Set of ideas, principles, and theories based on Marxism

In Marxist philosophy, revisionism, otherwise known as Marxist reformism, represents various ideas, principles, and theories that are based on a reform or revision of Marxism. According to their critics, this involves a significant revision of fundamental Marxist theories and premises, and usually involves making an alliance with the bourgeois class. Some academic economists have used revisionism to describe post-Stalinist, Eastern European writers who criticized one-party rule and argued in favour of freedom of the press and of the arts, intra- and sometimes inter-party democracy, independent labour unions, the abolition of bureaucratic privileges, and the subordination of police forces to the judiciary power.

In Marxist discourse, revisionism often carries pejorative connotations and the term has been used by many different factions. It is typically applied to others and rarely as a self-description. By extension, Marxists who view themselves as fighting against revisionism have often self-identified as Marxist–Leninist anti-revisionists. Revisionism is most often used as an epithet by those Marxists who believe that such revisions are unwarranted and represent a watering down or abandonment of Marxism—one such common example is the negation of class struggle.

History

[[Eduard Bernstein]], an early revisionist

Revisionism has been used in a number of contexts to refer to different or claimed revisions of Marxist theory. Those who opposed Karl Marx's revolution through his lens of class struggle and sought out non-revolutionary or more conciliatory means for a change are known as revisionists. Eduard Bernstein, a close acquaintance of Marx and Friedrich Engels, was one of the first major revisionists, and was prominent in the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

In the late 19th century, the term revisionism was used to describe reformist socialist writers, such as Bernstein, who sought to revise Marx's ideas about the transition to socialism and claimed that a revolution was not necessary to achieve a socialist society. The views of Bernstein gave rise to evolutionary socialism, which asserts that socialism can be achieved through gradual peaceful reforms from within a capitalist system.

References

References

  1. ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' Revisionism 1. "A policy first put forward in the 1890s by Edward Bernstein (1850–1932) advocating the introduction of socialism through evolution rather than revolution, in opposition to the orthodox view of Marxists; hence a term of abuse used within the communist world for an interpretation of Marxism which is felt to threaten the canonical policy." Cites the first use in English "1903 ''Social-Democrat VII''. 84 (''heading'') Revisionism in Germany."
  2. Paltemaa, Lauri. (2007). "The Democracy Wall Movement, Marxist Revisionism, and the Variations on Socialist Democracy". [[Journal of Contemporary China]].
  3. Tse-Tung, Mao. (July 1964). "On Khrushchov's Phoney Communism and Its Historical Lessons for the World".
  4. (1997). "The Quest for Evolutionary Socialism: Eduard Bernstein And Social Democracy". [[Cambridge University Press]].
  5. (2002). "[[Jahrbuch für Forschungen zur Geschichte der Arbeiterbewegung]]".
  6. Kindersley, R. K.. (1973–74}} referenced in {{cite web). "Dictionary of the History of Ideas". [[Charles Scribner's Sons]].
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

democratic-socialism ideology-of-the-chinese-communist-party ideology-of-the-communist-party-of-the-soviet-union market-socialism marxism marxist-terminology marxist-theory social-democracy
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Revisionism (Marxism) — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report