Karl Marx and the Intellectual Origins of Dialectical Materialism

430 Pages·1996·23.83 MB·English

by  James D. White

KARL MARX AND THE INTELLECTUAL ORIGINS OF
DIALECTICAL MATERIALISM
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10.1057/9780230374218 - Karl Marx and the Intellectual Origins of Dialectical Materialism, James D. White
Also by James D. White
THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 1917-21: A Short History
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10.1057/9780230374218 - Karl Marx and the Intellectual Origins of Dialectical Materialism, James D. White
Karl Marx and the
Intellectual Origins of
Dialectical Materialism
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James D. White a -
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Reader in Russian and Soviet History ustr
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Institute of Russian and East European Studies e,
University of Glasgow astl
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10.1057/9780230374218 - Karl Marx and the Intellectual Origins of Dialectical Materialism, James D. White
M First published in Great Britain 1996 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS
and London
Companies and representatives
throughout the world
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A catalogue record for this book is available 12-
from the British Library. 14-
0
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ISBN 0-333-66594-5 hardcover ct -
ISBN 0-333-66857-X paperback ne
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M First published in the United States of America 1996 by gr
ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC., Pal
Scholarly and Reference Division, alia -
175 Fifth Avenue, str
New York, N.Y. 10010 Au
e,
ISBN 0-312-16085-2 stl
a
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data wc
e
White, James D., 1941- N
Karl Marx and the intellectual origins of dialectical materialism / y of
James D. White, sit
p. cm. ver
Includes bibliographical references and index. Uni
ISBN 0-312-16085-2 d to
1. Marx, Karl, 1818-1883. 2. Philosophy, Marxist—History. e
s
3. Philosophy, Marxist—Soviet Union. 4. Dialectical materialism. en
c
IB. 3T3i0tl5e..M 74W474 1996 m - li
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146'.32—dc20 96-9307 c
CIP ect.
n
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© James D. White 1996 co
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All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of gra
this publication may be made without written permission. al
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No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or w
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transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with m
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10.1057/9780230374218 - Karl Marx and the Intellectual Origins of Dialectical Materialism, James D. White
For Jimmy and Kate
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10.1057/9780230374218 - Karl Marx and the Intellectual Origins of Dialectical Materialism, James D. White
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10.1057/9780230374218 - Karl Marx and the Intellectual Origins of Dialectical Materialism, James D. White
Contents
Preface ix
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Introduction 1 12-
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1 The Romantic Heritage 28 ct - 2
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2 Hegel 69 nn
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3 The Young Hegelians 102 av
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4 Marx 145 a - P
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5 Marx and the Russians 211 str
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6 Engels 281 stle,
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7 Plekhanov 296 ew
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8 Struve 350 y
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Conclusion 358 niv
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Notes 368 d t
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Select Bibliography 397 ce
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Index 408 o
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10.1057/9780230374218 - Karl Marx and the Intellectual Origins of Dialectical Materialism, James D. White
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10.1057/9780230374218 - Karl Marx and the Intellectual Origins of Dialectical Materialism, James D. White
Preface
With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the victory of the
1
West in the Cold War the reputation of Marx's teaching has 2-3
1
suffered something of a decline. It would appear that the 14-
0
demise of capitalism that Marx so confidendy predicted was ct - 2
seriously mistaken. On the contrary, the development of cap ne
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italism is being fostered on the ruins of the Soviet system of Co
e
central planning. av
gr
This interpretation of events of course assumes a close Pal
identification of Marx's ideas with Soviet communism. It is an alia -
identification that is eagerly canvassed by both defenders and str
u
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opponents of the Soviet regime - the former in order to estab e,
lish the Soviet regime's ideological legitimacy, and the latter astl
c
to discredit communist doctrine along with the regime to which ew
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it allegedly gave rise. Moreover, the identification of Marxism of
y
with the Soviet regime - at least in some of its historical phases sit
er
- is rather widespread. It embraces many if not most of the niv
U
scholars who study Marx's ideas or the Soviet system. This is o
d t
unsurprising, since the most common source for the writings e
s
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on Marx and Engels has traditionally been the Soviet Union. ce
Naturally the Institute of Marxism Leninism in Moscow took m - li
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care in the selection of Marx's writings to ensure that any ct.c
divergences between the content of these writings and Soviet ne
n
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ideology were kept to a minimum. One also has to recognize ec
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that in the West a powerful stimulus to study Marxism was the gra
al
supposed insight it gave into the workings of the Soviet system. p
w.
It was, after all, the existence of the Soviet Union and other com ww
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munist states that gave Marxism its contemporary political sig o
nificance. Given this motivation, the tendency was to empha al fr
eri
size elements of continuity between Marx and his Russian and at
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Soviet adherents. It also followed that with the demise of the ht
g
Soviet Union the need to study Marx's ideas lost much of its yri
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rationale. C
But should one really associate the intellectual system Marx
elaborated too closely with the practice of Russian revolution
aries and Soviet politicians? It might be that the insight Marx
provided has a value independent of the fate of any given
political and economic regime, whether that regime calls itself
IX
10.1057/9780230374218 - Karl Marx and the Intellectual Origins of Dialectical Materialism, James D. White