Revisionism (Marxism)

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In Marxist philosophy, revisionism is a pejorative label given to various ideas, principles, and theories that are based on a fundamental reinterpretation of Marxism. According to critics of revisionism, this involves a significant deviation from classical Marxism, orthodox Marxism, or a specific ideology such as Marxism–Leninism, Maoism, or Trotskyism; and usually involves making an alliance with the bourgeoisie or rejecting the centrality of revolution in favor of reformism. [1]

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The term has been applied by various Marxist tendencies to others, often with varying meanings. By extension, Marxists who view themselves as fighting against revisionism have often self-identified as 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. [2]

Some academic economists have alternatively used revisionism as a neutral descriptor of post-Stalinist writers in Marxist–Leninist countries who criticized one-party rule and argued in favour of freedom of the press and of the arts, intra-party and sometimes multi-party democracy, independent labour unions, the abolition of bureaucratic privileges, and the subordination of police forces to the judiciary power. [3]

History

Eduard Bernstein, an early revisionist Bernstein Eduard 1895.jpg
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). [4]

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. [5] 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. [6]

See also

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. ↑ Tse-Tung, Mao (July 1964). On Khrushchov's Phoney Communism and Its Historical Lessons for the World – via Marxists Internet Archive. ... the revisionist Khrushchov clique base themselves mainly on the argument that ... class struggle no longer exists.
  3. ↑ Paltemaa, Lauri (2007). "The Democracy Wall Movement, Marxist Revisionism, and the Variations on Socialist Democracy" . Journal of Contemporary China . 16 (53): 602. doi:10.1080/10670560701562325. ISSN   1067-0564. S2CID   143933209.
  4. ↑ Steger, Manfred (1997). The Quest for Evolutionary Socialism: Eduard Bernstein And Social Democracy. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
  5. ↑ Eichhorn, Wolfgang, ed. (2002). "Über Eduard Bernstein. Gegensatz und Berührungspunkte zu Rosa Luxemburg und W. I. Lenin" [About Edward Bernstein. Contrast and points of contact with Rosa Luxemburg and V. I. Lenin]. Jahrbuch für Forschungen zur Geschichte der Arbeiterbewegung [Yearbook for research into the history of the labor movement] (in German).
  6. ↑ Wiener, Philip P., ed. (1973–74). Dictionary of the History of Ideas. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. referenced in Kindersley, R. K. "Marxist revisionism: From Bernstein to modern forms". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved 28 April 2008.
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