The Russian Revolution as Ideal and Practice: Failures, Legacies, and the Future of Revolution (Critical Political Theory and Radical Practice)

This volume aims to commemorate, criticize, scrutinize and assess the undoubted significance of the Russian Revolution both retrospectively and prospectively in three parts. Part I consists of a palimpsest of the different representations that the Russian Revolution underwent through its turbulent history, going back to its actors, agents, theorists and propagandists to consider whether it is at all possible to revisit the Russian Revolution as an event. With this problematic as a backbone, the chapters of this section scrutinize the ambivalences of revolution in four distinctive phenomena (sexual morality, religion, law and forms of life) that pertain to the revolution’s historicity. Part II concentrates on how the revolution was retold in the aftermath of its accomplishment not only by its sympathizers but also its opponents. These chapters not only bring to light the ways in which the revolution triggered critical theorists to pave new paths of radical thinking that were conceived as methods to overcome the revolution’s failures and impasses, but also how the Revolution was subverted in order to inspire reactionary politics and legitimize conservative theoretical undertakings. Even commemorating the Russian Revolution, then, still poses a threat to every well-established political order. In Part III, this volume interprets how the Russian Revolution can spur a rethinking of the idea of revolution. Acknowledging the suffocating burden that the notion of revolution as such entails, the final chapters of this book ultimately address the content and form of future revolution(s). It is therein, in such critical political thought and such radical form of action, where the Russian Revolution’s legacy ought to be sought and can still be found. Contents 6 Notes on Contributors 9 List of Figures 14 Chapter 1 Preface 15 Part I Reconsidering the Russian Revolution 32 Chapter 2 Beyond the Horizon: The Russian Revolution Seen from Afar 33 How to Talk About a Story Which Has Been Told and Re-told, Again and Again 35 The Many Russian Revolutions in Retrospect 37 Icons of Soviet Civilization, Archeology of the Soviet Way of Life 39 The Limits of Understanding 42 Reentering the “Poligon Mirov,” Reopening the Narratives 43 References 45 Chapter 3 Reenacting Revolution? Theater and Politics of Repetition 47 As-If Reenactment 50 Pre-enactment 53 The Acting Cure 58 References 61 Chapter 4 Revolution in Sexual Ethics: Communism and the “Sex Problem” 63 Promoters of a Communist Sexual Ethics 64 August Bebel 64 Alexandra Kollontai 65 Ruth Fischer (Pen Name: Elfriede Friedländer) 68 Wilhelm Reich and the Sex-Pol 71 Controversies in Biopolitical Issues of the Age 73 References 76 Chapter 5 Revolution and Salvation 78 A Socialist Chiliasm 79 History With/Out Providence 84 Within History 87 References 92 Chapter 6 Law, Absolute Will, and the “Withering of the State”: Sovereignty at the Limits of Lenin’s “Dictatorship of the Proletariat” 94 Introduction 94 Despotism and the Absolute Will: A Genealogy of the “Dictatorship of the Proletariat” 97 The Politics of Law: Organizing the Quasi-State Form 101 The “Extra-Legal” Nature of the Dictatorship and the Juristic Criteria 104 Conclusion 108 References 109 Chapter 7 What Is Life Like After Revolution? Administration, Habit, and Democracy in Lenin’s “The State and Revolution”—and Beyond 111 Falling Asleep and Waking Up in (Post-)revolutionary Times 111 Post-revolutionary Administration 115 Post-revolutionary Habit 118 Revolutionary Change Between Ideal and Automation 122 Revolution and Experimentation: Thinking with Trotsky Against Trotsky 125 Revolution, Savage Democracy, and the State 129 References 132 Part II Retelling the Russian Revolution 136 Chapter 8 German and Jewish Conspiracies: The October Revolution from the Perspective of the Italian Fascists and the German National Socialists 137 References 148 Chapter 9 A Narrative Theory for the October Revolution (From Maugham to Benjamin and Back) 150 Why Commemorating Revolutions May Be Flawed 150 Ashenden 153 Parataxis 155 Revolution and Melancholia 159 Benjamin and the Storyteller 161 Masochism and Post-revolutionary Subjectivation 164 Postscript 168 References 169 Chapter 10 October and the Prospects for Revolution: The Views of Arendt, Adorno, and Marcuse 171 The October Revolution: Diagnoses of a Failure 174 From the Dictatorship of the Proletariat to the All-Powerful Party 174 When Communism Mimics Capitalism 180 Practice Between Theory and Ideology 182 After October: Is There a Future for Revolution? 186 Conclusion 193 References 194 Chapter 11 Memory Politics and the “Politics of Memory” 196 Platonov: From Within the Revolution 200 Alienation and Mitsein 203 Writing the Politics of Memory 208 References 210 Chapter 12 Into Historical Limbo: The Legacy of the October Revolution in Russia 212 Introduction 212 Limitation of Public Space 216 Confinement Within the Museum 219 Restricted Debates in Academia 222 Educational Platforms in the Internet 224 Conclusions 226 References 227 Part III Reenabling Revolution 229 Chapter 13 The Concepts of Revolution 230 1 230 2 231 3 232 4 233 5 233 6 234 7 236 8 237 9 239 10 241 11 242 12 243 13 244 Chapter 14 The Possibility of the Revolution 245 The Presence of Revolution 245 The Aporia of the Revolutionary Subject 248 Transcendentalization 251 Transcendental Use 254 Enthusiasm 256 References 261 Chapter 15 Time Intensification in Revolutionary Dynamics 263 Time Intensification: An Introduction 263 Catalyzing Critical Junctures 265 Unpredictable Time 269 Signaling in Intense Times 274 Conclusion 276 Appendix: List of Interviews 279 References 281 Chapter 16 Postscript: Communist Subjectivity and the Politics of Collectiversalism 284 Of Legacies and Failures: An Introduction 284 Feminist Foundations: The Assemblic Identity 289 Intersectional Ontologies: The Plural Body 292 Social-Ontological Hermeneutics: The In(De)Finite Other(s) 295 Marxian Origins: “In Seinem Individuellsten Dasein Zugleich Gemeinwesen” 300 What Is to Be Done? Eight Theses on Politics 302 References 307 Front Matter ....Pages i-xv Preface (Thomas Telios, Dieter Thomä, Ulrich Schmid)....Pages 1-17 Front Matter ....Pages 19-19 Beyond the Horizon: The Russian Revolution Seen from Afar (Karl Schlögel)....Pages 21-34 Reenacting Revolution? Theater and Politics of Repetition (Sylvia Sasse)....Pages 35-50 Revolution in Sexual Ethics: Communism and the “Sex Problem” (Enikő Darabos)....Pages 51-65 Revolution and Salvation (Christian Schmidt)....Pages 67-82 Law, Absolute Will, and the “Withering of the State”: Sovereignty at the Limits of Lenin’s “Dictatorship of the Proletariat” (Naveen Kanalu)....Pages 83-99 What Is Life Like After Revolution? Administration, Habit, and Democracy in Lenin’s “The State and Revolution”—and Beyond (Dieter Thomä)....Pages 101-125 Front Matter ....Pages 127-127 German and Jewish Conspiracies: The October Revolution from the Perspective of the Italian Fascists and the German National Socialists (Ulrich Schmid)....Pages 129-141 A Narrative Theory for the October Revolution (From Maugham to Benjamin and Back) (Tatjana Jukić)....Pages 143-163 October and the Prospects for Revolution: The Views of Arendt, Adorno, and Marcuse (Marie-Josée Lavallée)....Pages 165-189 Memory Politics and the “Politics of Memory” (Tora Lane)....Pages 191-206 Into Historical Limbo: The Legacy of the October Revolution in Russia (Stephan Rindlisbacher)....Pages 207-223 Front Matter ....Pages 225-225 The Concepts of Revolution (Geoffroy de Lagasnerie)....Pages 227-241 The Possibility of the Revolution (Christoph Menke)....Pages 243-260 Time Intensification in Revolutionary Dynamics (Donatella della Porta)....Pages 261-281 Postscript: Communist Subjectivity and the Politics of Collectiversalism (Thomas Telios)....Pages 283-308