The Crisis of Marxist Ideology in Eastern Europe: The Poverty of Utopia

244 Pages·2023·12.995 MB·English

by  Vladimir Tismaneanu

Routledge Revivals
The Crisis of Marxist Ideology in Eastern
Europe
First published in 1988, The Crisis of Marxist Ideology in Eastern Europe states
that since de-Stalinisation began in Eastern Europe, the ‘dead hand’ of
institutional Marxism has been eroded by revisionist Marxism, with the turn
to young Marx and the philosophy of human emancipation to undermine
prevailing orthodoxies. But this revisionism clung to the old socialist
dogmas and refused a total break with the system, and the effort eventually
failed. The result was the emergence of a dissident counterculture rejecting
the system entirely. Independent social movements (such as unofficial peace
groups and trade unions like Solidarity) have given this counterculture a
major role in Eastern Europe, whilst the ruling elites have responded with
confusion. Tismaneanu concludes that the only hope for the anti-totalitarian
intellectuals of Eastern Europe is to oppose the regimes with non-Marxist
ideas – otherwise they will be permanently reduced to the status of a hope-
less, albeit heroic minority. This book will be of interest to students of eco-
nomics, political science and international relations.

The Crisis of Marxist Ideology
in Eastern Europe
The Poverty of Utopia
Vladimir Tismaneanu
Firstpublishedin1988
ByRoutledge
Thiseditionfirstpublishedin2022byRoutledge
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©1988V.Tismaneanu
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedorutilisedin
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ALibraryofCongressrecordexistsunderISBN:0415004942
ISBN:978-1-032-45859-5(hbk)
ISBN:978-1-003-37902-7(ebk)
ISBN:978-1-032-45862-5(pbk)
BookDOI10.4324/9781003379027
The
Crisis of
Marxist
Ideology in
Eastern Europe
The Poverty of Utopia
VLADIMIR TISMANEANU
R
London and New York
First published 1988
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
a division of Routledge, Chapman and Hall, Inc.
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
Reprinted 1990
© 1988 V. Tismaneanu
Printed in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd
Typeset by Pat and Anne Murphy, Highcliffe-on-Sea, Dorset
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized 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.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Tismaneanu, Vladimir
The crisis of Marxist ideology in Eastern
Europe: the poverty of Utopia
1. Eastern Europe. Marxism, to 1987
I. Title
335.4'0947
ISBN 0-415-00494-2
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
ISBN 0-415-00494-2
Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction 1
1 An Autopsy of Stalinism 8
2 Soviet Ideology and Eastern Europe 42
3 The Decay of Stalinism 61
4 The Search for Renewal 77
5 Poverty of Utopia 91
6 Reconstruction or Disintegration? 108
7 From Criticism to Apostasy 121
8 Peace, Human Rights, Dissent 160
9 Neo-Stalinism and Reform Communism 183
Epilogue 216
Index 226
Acknowledgements
This book was completed during my stay as a Hooper Fellow in
International Security Affairs at the Foreign Policy Research
Institute in Philadelphia, where I found encouragement for inno-
vative ideas, open-mindedness, and a constant interest in the
dynamics of contemporary communism. Daniel Pipes, the director
of FPRI and editor of Orbis, the institute's quarterly journal of
world affairs, was particularly supportive in what looked like an
interminable, labyrinthine project. My colleagues on the research
staff were helpful with fresh insights about radical ideologies and
their metamorphoses at the end of the 20th century. Parts of the
manuscript were masterfully typed by Thelma Prosser. Eraj
Shervani, my research assistant, accompanied me in countless
bibliographical adventures. Bronwen Ewens and Mary Sladex
patiently indexed this daunting onomastic encyclopaedia.
Portions of this book initially appeared in Orbis and Problems of
Communism, and the author is deeply indebted to the editors of
these journals — John H. Maurer and JoAnn Tomazinis from
Orbis, Wayne Hall and Sonia Sluzar from Problems of Communism
— for their suggestions and the welcome improvement of my
somewhat esoteric language. I must also mention fruitful dis-
cussions on Marxism and its fate in East-Central Europe with
Andrew Arato (New School for Social Research, New York),
Richard J. Bernstein (Haverford College), Gyorgy Markus
(University of Sydney, Australia), Ivan Volgyes (University of
Nebraska), as well as the long dialogues in New York and Paris
with the Hungarian dissident philosopher Caspar Miklos Tamas.
Dorin Tudoran, the Romanian dissident writer, enlightened my
understanding of the situation of the intelligentisa in the country
where we were both born and, for better or worse, educated.
Ferenc Feher and Agnes Heller (New School for Social Research)
patiently reviewed the manuscript and helped me with most
valuable suggestions. This study originated with my first Western
contribution in Praxis International (October 1983), a journal which
was then edited by Richard J. Bernstein and Mihailo Markovic.
As always in these cases, the author assumes full responsibility for
all the statements contained in his book. Last but not least, a
special word of gratitude for David Groom, who generously