The Controversy over Capitalism: Studies in the Social Philosophy of the Russian Populists

by Andrzej Walicki

This book presents an analysis of classical Russian Populism, shown as an ideological structure within which many positions were possible. Walicki studies the confrontation of Populism and changing attitudes toward Marxism in the Populist milieu and the controversy between Populists and Marxists over the future of Russia.

The Controversy over Capitalism, available here in paper for the first time, reinterprets the ideology of Russian Populism. Andrzej Walicki argues that Populism is a reaction to the development of capitalism in Russia and a response to the capitalist economy and socialist ideologies of the West.

Genres: History

214 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

Reviews

[Bohdan Pechenyak · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thorough overview of the Russian Populist thought in the latter half of the 19th century, from the precursors up to the 1860s (Chernyshevskii, Herzen, Belinskii), through the ‘classical’ formulations of Populist thought in the 1870s (Mikhailovskii, Lavrov, Ferovskii, Tkachev) and to the appearance of Russian Marxist Social Democracy in 1880s and 1890s (Plekhanov, Struve, subsequently Lenin). The mutual influences exerted by the Populists and the Marxists on each other are emphasized, as everyone attempted to grapple with the dilemma of how to make the transition from the archaic peasant commune in the Russian empire toward the socialist system that overthrows the Tsarist autocracy and addresses the needs of the people. Where would capitalism fit into this process? Could Russia skip full capitalist development or not? The ensuing debates among the various camps (Populist, liberal, Marxist) foreshadows the events of the early 20th century and points to the warnings ignored and erroneous interpretations abound. The rest, as they say, is history - the atrocities and terrors, genocides, famines, and totalitarianisms of the 20th century were not inevitable, but their roots lie here, in the confusions of the late 19th century.