The October Revolution in Prospect and Retrospect: Interventions in Russian and Soviet History (Historical Materialism Book)

In a series of probing analytical essays, John Marot tracks the development of Bolshevism through the prism of pre-1917 intra-Russian Social Democratic controversies in politics and philosophy. For 1917, the author presents a critique of social historical interpretation of the Russian Revolution. Turning to NEP Russia, the author applies Robert Brenner's analysis of pre-capitalist modes of production and concludes that neither Bukharin nor Trotsky's NEP-premised programs of economic transformation and advance toward socialism were feasible. At the same time, he rejects the view that Stalinism was pre-destined to supplant NEP. Instead, he hypothesises that the superior alternative to Stalinism was NEP without collectivization and the Five-Year Plans an outcome that would have been possible had Bukharin and Trotsky joined forces to stop Stalin. "This is a very important book, one of the very few books published since 1991 on the "Russian question" that will compel people (this reviewer included) long wedded to different characterizations of the post-1917 or post-1929 Soviet regime to think through their commitments." - Loren Goldner, in: __Insurgent Notes: Journal of Communist Theory and Practice__, Fall 2012 **John Eric Marot**, Ph.D. (1987), University of California, Los Angeles, teaches History at Keimyung University in Korea. He has published many articles on Russian and Soviet History, notably "Class Conflict, Political Competition, and Social Transformation: Critical Perspectives on the Social History of the Russian Revolution" (__Revolutionary Russia__, 1994) and "Trotsky, the Left Opposition, and the Rise of the Stalinism: Theory and Practice" (__Historical Materialism__, 2006). Acknowledgements ......................................................................................... ix Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 Chapter One The Peasant-Question and the Origins of Stalinism: Rethinking the Destruction of the October Revolution .......................... 11 Chapter Two Trotsky, the Left Opposition and the Rise of Stalinism: Theory and Practice ..................................................................................... 87 Chapter Three Class-Conflict, Political Competition and Social Transformation: Critical Perspectives on the Social History of the Russian Revolution ...................................................................................... 117 Chapter Four Political Leadership and Working-Class Agency in the Russian Revolution: Reply to William G. Rosenberg and S.A. Smith ...................................................................................................... 166 Chapter Five A ‘Postmodern’ Approach to the Russian Revolution? Comment on Ronald Suny .......................................................................... 181 Chapter Six Alexander Bogdanov, Vpered, and the Role of the Intellectual in the Workers’ Movement .................................................... 187 Chapter Seven The Bogdanov Issue: Reply to Andrzej Walicki, Aileen Kelly and Zenovia Sochor .............................................................. 211 Chapter Eight Marxism, Science, Materialism: Toward a Deeper Appreciation of the 1908–9 Philosophical Debate in Russian Social Democracy .................................................................................................... 220 Chapter Nine Politics and Philosophy in Russian Social Democracy: Alexander Bogdanov and the Socio-Theoretical Foundations of Vpered ........................................................................................................ 238 References ......................................................................................................... 263 Index .................................................................................................................. 271 The Peasant-question And The Origins Of Stalinism: Rethinking The Destruction Of The October Revolution -- Trotsky, The Left Opposition And The Rise Of Stalinism: Theory And Practice -- Class-confict, Political Competition And Social Transformation: Critical Perspectives On The Social History Of The Russian Revolution -- Political Leadership And Working-class Agency In The Russian Revolution: Reply To William G. Rosenberg And S.a. Smith -- A 'postmodern' Approach To The Russian Revolution?: Comment On Ronald Suny -- Alexander Bogdanov, Vpered, And The Role Of The Intellectual In The Workers' Movement -- The Bogdanov Issue: Reply To Andrzej Walicki, Aileen Kelly And Zenovia Sochor -- Marxism, Science, Materialism: Toward A Deeper Appreciation Of The 1908-1909 Philosophical Debate In Russian Social Democracy -- Politics And Philosophy In Russian Social Democracy: Alexander Bogdanov And The Socio-theoretical Foundations Of Vpered. By John Eric Marot. Includes Bibliographical References (pages [263]-270) And Index. " In a series of probing analytical essays, John Marot tracks the development of Bolshevism through the prism of pre-1917 intra-Russian Social Democratic controversies in politics and philosophy. For 1917, the author presents a critique of social historical interpretation of the Russian Revolution. Turning to NEP Russia, the author applies Robert Brenner's analysis of pre-capitalist modes of production and concludes that neither Bukharin nor Trotsky's NEP-premised programs of economic transformation and advance toward socialism were feasible. At the same time, he rejects the view that Stalinism was pre-destined to supplant NEP. Instead, he hypothesises that the superior alternative to Stalinism was NEP without collectivization and the Five-Year Plans — a outcome that would have been possible had Bukharin and Trotsky joined forces to stop Stalin." John Marot tracks the development of Bolshevism from its inception in 1904 to the October Revolution in 1917. In the post-October period, the author, drawing on the work of Robert Brenner, shows that any NEP-premised programme of economic advance was destined to fail.