Alexander Bogdanov’s conception of proletarian culture

White, J. D. (2013) Alexander Bogdanov’s conception of proletarian culture. Revolutionary Russia, 26(1), pp. 52-70. (doi: 10.1080/09546545.2013.806081)

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Abstract

The article deals with Bogdanov's thought in the period of the First World War and the Russian revolution, in particular with the evolution of his views on ‘proletarian culture.’ In contrast to Lenin and others who believed that modern capitalism had created the prerequisites for socialism, Bogdanov thought that the anarchy of the capitalist system remained and that a socialist society would have to be consciously created over a lengthy period of time. A related difference of opinion concerned the reasons why the Second International had collapsed on the outbreak of the war. Lenin's explanation was that the resolve of the socialist movement had been undermined by the presence in the advanced industrial countries of a ‘workers’ aristocracy' which participated in the profits of imperialist exploitation. Bogdanov believed that the capitulation of the socialist movement to war fever reflected the fact that bourgeois modes of thought had permeated the attitudes of the working class. In order to remedy this situation it was essential to strengthen the proletarian outlook and values, to develop a ‘proletarian culture’, which would be a total transformation of the way people related to each other in society.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:White, Professor James
Authors: White, J. D.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences
Journal Name:Revolutionary Russia
Publisher:Routledge
ISSN:0954-6545
ISSN (Online):1743-7873
Published Online:26 June 2013

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