Book review: Polemics in Marxist Philosophy by George Novack

Polemics in Marxist Philosophy by George Novack

Marxism and Existentialism

Novack explores the fundamental incompatibility between these two schools of thought. He argues that while Existentialism starts with the "isolated individual" and subjective experience, Marxism begins with social relations and the material conditions of existence. From the perspective of the Glossary, Existentialism is viewed as a form of Subjectivism, where the subject's consciousness is prioritized over objective reality. Novack contends that Existentialism's focus on "absolute freedom" is a middle-class illusion that ignores the Historical Materialism necessary to understand how social structures actually limit or enable human agency.

In Defense of Engels

This chapter refutes modern attempts to separate Engels from Marx, specifically the claim that Engels introduced a "vulgar" or "positivist" distortion into Marxism. Novack defends Engels's application of dialectics to the natural world. He emphasizes that Engels correctly identified the Laws of Dialectics (such as the transformation of quantity into quality) as objective laws of movement in both nature and history. To reject Engels is, for Novack, to reject the Materialist foundation of Marxism in favor of a narrow, human-centered "praxis" that lacks a scientific basis.

Georg Lukács as a Marxist Philosopher

Novack evaluates Lukács as a brilliant but flawed thinker. He acknowledges Lukács's contributions to understanding Alienation and Reification (the process where human relations take on the appearance of relations between things). However, Novack criticizes Lukács's early work, History and Class Consciousness, for its Hegelian tendencies and its initial rejection of the "dialectics of nature". He argues that Lukács's later political accommodations to Stalinism represented a retreat from the revolutionary essence of Marxism.

The Jesting Philosopher: The Case of Leszek Kolakowski

Novack analyzes Kolakowski's journey from orthodox Marxism to a complete rejection of it. He characterizes Kolakowski as an "apostate" who moved toward Skepticism and Idealism. Novack argues that Kolakowski's disillusionment with Stalinism led him to mistakenly blame the Marxist method itself, eventually adopting a "philosophy of the jester" that mocks the possibility of objective social truth or revolutionary progress.

Sebastiano Timpanaro's Defense of Materialism

Novack expresses qualified support for Timpanaro, who defended "vulgar" materialism against the "Western Marxism" of thinkers like Frankfurt School members. Timpanaro emphasized the biological and physical constraints on humanity—what the Glossary refers to as the Objectivity of the external world. Novack agrees with Timpanaro's insistence that nature exists independently of human consciousness, but cautions that Timpanaro sometimes leans too far into a "pessimistic" materialism that underestimates the power of revolutionary Praxis to transform conditions.

Back to Kant? The Retreat of Lucio Colletti

In this critique, Novack examines Colletti's attempt to excise Hegel from Marxism. Colletti argued that Marx's scientific method was closer to Kantian distinctions than Hegelian contradictions. Novack asserts that this is a "retreat" into Dualism (the separation of mind and matter). By discarding the Unity and Struggle of Opposites, Colletti loses the ability to explain the internal motor of social change, effectively stripping Marxism of its revolutionary dialectic.

Is Nature Dialectical?

This chapter serves as a pillar for Novack's Materialism. He argues against the "humanist" Marxists who claim dialectics only apply to human history. Using the Glossary's definition of Dialectics as the "science of the universal laws of motion," Novack argues that if nature were not dialectical, human society (which emerged from nature) could not be dialectical either. He points to modern science—evolution, physics, and chemistry—as evidence of the Negation of the Negation and other dialectical processes occurring in the non-human world.

Leon Trotsky on Dialectical Materialism

Novack concludes by presenting Trotsky as the premier practitioner of dialectical materialism in the 20th century. He highlights Trotsky's use of the Law of Uneven and Combined Development to explain the Russian Revolution. According to Novack, Trotsky maintained the essential link between scientific Theory and revolutionary Practice, demonstrating that a correct philosophical method is not an academic luxury but a vital tool for the working class to understand and change the world.

Key Glossary Terms Influencing These Synopses:

dialectical materialism—the philosophical world view of Marx and Engels, encompassing both nature and society. Materialist in that it postulates the existence of nature prior to humanity and views material conditions as the underlying cause and determinant of society and mind; dialectical in that it postulates the study of matter in motion and transformation by way of contradiction from one form or state to another. 

dialectics of nature—the position, held by classical Marxism, that evolutionary change through the process of internal contradiction is universal in inanimate and organic nature as well as in society and the human thought process. Hegel also believed in a dialectics of nature, but rooted it in a supposed teleological process in which nature was striving for self-consciousness through higher and higher levels of organization, leading to the realization of the Absolute Idea (see entry) in an omniscient and all-powerful subject. Hegelianizers of Marxism retain Hegel's belief that consciousness is required for the existence of contradiction and generally deny that nature apart from human activity is dialectical. Positivistic versions of Marxism reject the dialectics of nature for opposite reasons, maintaining that universal laws of change are incompatible with the findings of the specialized and compartmentalized sciences. 

materialism—philosophically, the view that all of reality is composed of matter in motion, including mind, which is the product of the physical brain in social life. Materialism rejects all supernatural explanations of phenomena. In contrast to vulgar materialism, Marxism does not reduce phenomena to mechanical motion, but postulates distinct sets of laws for nature, society, and thought. It holds, nevertheless, that nature and material conditions in general have causal priority in explaining the development of society and thought. 

praxis—in general the activity of people in pursuit of their aims. It is popularized by Hegelianizing Marxists to designate social action based on and integrated with theoretical understanding. As they use it, the term implies the ability of revolutionary will to substitute for a lack of propitious objective opportunities. 

alienation—literally, separation from, as in the selling of property or the loss of someone's affection. By extension, the loss of one's creations with a consequent sense of aloneness and powerlessness. This concept is central in twentieth-century existentialism, certain schools of socialist humanism, and various psychological interpretations of Marxism. At the same time, Althusser and the Maoists have tried to extirpate this concept from Marxism, leaving it only in the specific form of the alienation of the product of labor under capitalism. Alienation in the Marxist sense has a double origin, in the powerlessness of human beings to control nature, and, secondly, in class society, in the alienation of labor as well as its product. Marx distinguished here not only the physical appropriation of the products made by the exploited but also the feeling among workers that their laboring activity itself was alien to them and did not satisfy their needs. Additionally there is the sense of separation from humanity as a group, inevitable under class society, and the lack of solidarity with other' specific individuals one comes in contact with. Above all, alienation expresses the fact that the objective creations of labor come to dominate their creators so that the market in commodity production stands over them as an alien power. 

Purchase:

https://www.pathfinderpress.com/products/polemics-in-marxist-philosophy_by-george-novack

Origins of the myth of race by Doug Jenness

http://themilitant.com/1992/5607/MIL5607.pdf

Review: 𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘮 & 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮 (1973)

Reading any book by Novack is a breath of fresh air and diamond clarity.

In 𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘮 & 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮 (1973), George Novack provides a Marxist defense of humanism, arguing that true human fulfillment can only be realized through the socialist transformation of society. He traces the evolution of humanity from its biological origins to the potential for a future free from alienation.

𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝

Novack establishes that Marxism is not merely an economic theory but a comprehensive humanism. He argues against the "anti-humanist" interpretations of Marx, asserting that the liberation of the individual is the central goal of the socialist movement.

10 Key Insights & Ramifications:

 * Marxism as Integrated Humanism: Marxism combines scientific social analysis with a commitment to human welfare. Ramification: Social change must be grounded in both objective reality and ethical goals.

 * Rejection of Abstract Humanism: Novack criticizes "liberal" humanism for ignoring the class structures that prevent human development. Ramification: Formal rights are insufficient without economic equality.

 * The Individual and Society: Individual potential is inextricably linked to the state of society. Ramification: One cannot "self-actualize" in isolation from social struggle.

 * Anti-Stalinism: He distinguishes between genuine socialist humanism and the bureaucratic distortions of the Soviet bloc. Ramification: Socialism requires democracy, not just state ownership.

 * Critique of Existentialism: While acknowledging existentialist concerns about "meaning," Novack argues they lack a materialist solution. Ramification: Philosophy must move from contemplating the world to changing it.

 * Science as a Tool: Scientific inquiry is essential for human liberation. Ramification: Rationality is a weapon against both superstition and capitalist chaos.

 * Historical Materialism: History is the record of humans creating themselves through labor. Ramification: Human nature is not fixed; it is historically evolved.

 * The Necessity of Revolution: Humanism cannot be fully realized under capitalism. Ramification: Reformism is a dead end for total human development.

 * The Role of the Intellectual: Intellectuals must align with the working class to be effective. Ramification: Theory and practice must be unified.

 * The Goal of Universalism: Socialism aims for the development of all humans, not just a privileged few. Ramification: The struggle is international and all-encompassing.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐎𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬

This chapter explores how labor transformed our ancestors into Homo sapiens. Novack argues that the use and manufacture of tools were the primary drivers of biological and social evolution.

10 Key Insights & Ramifications:

 * Labor as the Creator of Man: Labor is the fundamental activity that distinguishes humans from animals. Ramification: Humans are self-made through their interaction with nature.

 * The Tool as an Extension of the Body: Tools allowed humans to transcend biological limitations. Ramification: Technology is a product of social labor, not just individual genius.

 * Social Cooperation: Tool use required and fostered collective effort. Ramification: Individualism is a late-stage social construct, not a natural state.

 * Bipedalism and the Hand: Walking upright freed the hands for labor. Ramification: Biological evolution and social activity are interconnected.

 * Environmental Adaptation: Humans adapt to the environment by changing it, rather than just being changed by it. Ramification: We are active agents in our own evolution.

 * Transition from All-Purpose to Special-Purpose Tools: The refinement of tools indicates growing cognitive complexity. Ramification: Material progress drives intellectual development.

 * Materialist Foundation: Human history begins with material production. Ramification: Any "spiritual" or "cultural" history is secondary to economic history.

 * Evolutionary Continuity: There is a bridge between the animal world and the human world through labor. Ramification: We must understand our biological roots to understand our social potential.

 * The Brain-Hand Connection: The hand's dexterity drove the expansion of the brain. Ramification: Intelligence is a result of physical interaction with the world.

 * Humanity as a Process: We are a "species-in-the-making" through our work. Ramification: Stagnation is contrary to human nature.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲, 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐡, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭

Novack discusses how the labor process necessitated communication, leading to the development of speech and abstract thought.

10 Key Insights & Ramifications:

 * Speech as Social Necessity: Language arose from the need to coordinate collective labor. Ramification: Communication is fundamentally social, not private.

 * Thought and Action: Abstract thought is an internalized version of external labor. Ramification: Ideas have their roots in practical activity.

 * The Birth of Society: Social bonds were forged through shared production. Ramification: Society is the primary unit of human existence.

 * Language and Generalization: Words allow for the categorization and manipulation of the world. Ramification: Language is a tool for mastering reality.

 * Collective Memory: Speech allowed for the transmission of knowledge across generations. Ramification: Cultural evolution can outpace biological evolution.

 * Consciousness as a Social Product: Individual consciousness is a result of social interaction. Ramification: "The self" is constructed within a social framework.

 * The Division of Labor: Early divisions (like those between the sexes) began to shape social structures. Ramification: Social inequality has historical, not natural, origins.

 * Control over Nature: Thought and speech increased human dominion over the environment. Ramification: We are increasingly responsible for the state of the planet.

 * The Symbolic World: Humans live in a world of meanings created through speech. Ramification: Ideology is a powerful force in maintaining or changing social orders.

 * The Unified Human Experience: Biological, social, and mental evolution are one single process. Ramification: A holistic approach is needed to study humanity.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞

Novack argues that "praxis"—the unity of theory and practice—is the key to human creativity and freedom.

10 Key Insights & Ramifications:

 * Praxis as Transformation: True knowledge comes from attempting to change the world. Ramification: Passive observation is a limited form of understanding.

 * Creative Labor vs. Alienated Labor: Under capitalism, labor is a burden; under socialism, it becomes creative expression. Ramification: The nature of work must be fundamentally changed.

 * The End of Specialization: Socialism aims to dissolve the rigid division of labor. Ramification: Individuals should be free to develop multiple talents.

 * Practice as the Test of Truth: Theories must be validated through social practice. Ramification: Ideologies must be judged by their real-world outcomes.

 * Subjectivity and Objectivity: Practice bridges the gap between the human subject and the objective world. Ramification: We learn about reality by acting upon it.

 * The Potential for All: Creativity is not a trait of the elite but a potential for all humans. Ramification: Democratic access to culture and education is a revolutionary demand.

 * Overcoming Alienation: Creative practice is the antidote to the feeling of being a "cog in the machine". Ramification: Meaningful work is a human right.

 * Innovation and Progress: Constant creative practice leads to technological and social breakthroughs. Ramification: Stagnant societies are those that stifle praxis.

 * The Future of Play: In a socialist society, the line between "work" and "play" blurs. Ramification: Leisure becomes an arena for development, not just recovery from toil.

 * Unrestricted Practice: The goal is a society where creativity has no economic or social barriers. Ramification: Total freedom requires the abolition of class.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟒: 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬: 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧?

Novack addresses skeptics of progress, arguing that while history is not a straight line, there is a discernible upward trend in human capacity.

10 Key Insights & Ramifications:

 * Productive Forces as the Measure: Progress is measured by the ability to produce and sustain life. Ramification: Economic development is a prerequisite for social progress.

 * Collective Control over Nature: Progress is the increasing ability of humans to regulate their environment. Ramification: Environmental stewardship is a form of progress.

 * Control over Society: Progress is also the degree to which humans can consciously direct their own social relations. Ramification: The shift from "luck" to "planning" is progress.

 * Non-Linear Development: History involves regressions, "dark ages," and contradictions. Ramification: We cannot be complacent; progress must be fought for.

 * The Cost of Progress: Advances in one area (technology) often come at the expense of others (worker alienation) under capitalism. Ramification: Progress is contradictory in class societies.

 * The Dialectic of History: New stages of society grow out of the contradictions of the old ones. Ramification: Crises are often precursors to major advances.

 * Expansion of Human Needs: As we progress, our needs become more complex and sophisticated. Ramification: Socialism must provide more than just basic survival.

 * Increased Interdependence: Progress leads to a more globalized and interconnected world. Ramification: Problems like climate change require global, socialist solutions.

 * The Humanization of Nature: Progress involves making the world more hospitable to human needs. Ramification: The "natural" world is increasingly a social world.

 * The Role of Conscious Agency: Progress is not automatic; it requires the conscious intervention of the oppressed. Ramification: Social change requires political organization.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟓: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦

This chapter defines freedom not as the absence of restraint, but as the "recognition of necessity"—the ability to use the laws of nature and society to achieve human goals.

10 Key Insights & Ramifications:

 * Freedom through Knowledge: We are free only when we understand the forces acting upon us. Ramification: Ignorance is the primary barrier to freedom.

 * Economic Freedom as the Base: True freedom is impossible while one is a slave to economic survival. Ramification: The "freedom" to starve is no freedom at all.

 * Collective Freedom: Individual freedom is achieved through collective liberation. Ramification: Rights must be viewed through a social lens.

 * Mastery of Social Laws: Just as we master physics, we must master the "laws" of economics and sociology. Ramification: A planned economy is the highest expression of freedom.

 * Abolition of Classes: Class society is a state of unfreedom for both the oppressor and the oppressed. Ramification: The elite are also "unfree" because they are slaves to the market.

 * Conscious Choice: Freedom is the ability to choose our future based on rational planning. Ramification: Capitalism's "invisible hand" is a form of enslavement to chance.

 * The "Leap" from Necessity: Socialism represents the move from the "realm of necessity" to the "realm of freedom". Ramification: Post-scarcity is the goal of human history.

 * Responsibility: With greater freedom comes greater responsibility for the state of society. Ramification: Humans must take full ownership of their destiny.

 * Freedom as Development: Freedom is the opportunity for every person to develop their full potential. Ramification: Education and health are foundational to freedom.

 * The Role of the State: In the transition to freedom, the state must be used to dismantle class privilege before "withering away". Ramification: Revolutionary power is a temporary necessity.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟔: 𝐕𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐦

Novack surveys different types of humanism, from the Renaissance to the modern day, showing their limitations compared to socialist humanism.

10 Key Insights & Ramifications:

 * Renaissance Humanism: It broke the chains of religious dogma but remained elitist. Ramification: Secularism was a step forward, but incomplete.

 * Enlightenment Humanism: It championed reason and rights but was tied to the rising bourgeoisie. Ramification: Liberalism's "rights of man" were often just "rights of property."

 * Religious Humanism: An attempt to find human value within faith, but ultimately limited by supernaturalism. Ramification: Moral values must be grounded in material life, not theology.

 * Existentialist Humanism: Correct in focusing on individual choice but fails to provide a social path to freedom. Ramification: Personal "authenticity" cannot replace social revolution.

 * Ethical Humanism: Focuses on moral improvement without addressing the economic roots of immorality. Ramification: You cannot "think" your way out of systemic oppression.

 * Pragmatic Humanism: Too focused on immediate results, lacking a long-term vision of human potential. Ramification: Short-term fixes often preserve the status quo.

 * Stalinist "Humanism": A deceptive use of the term to mask bureaucratic terror. Ramification: The label "humanist" can be co-opted by reactionary forces.

 * The Class Character of Humanism: Every form of humanism reflects the interests of a specific class. Ramification: We must always ask "Humanism for whom?"

 * Scientific Humanism: The belief that science alone can solve human problems, ignoring social power. Ramification: Technology in the hands of the ruling class can be anti-human.

 * Socialist Humanism as the Synthesis: It takes the best of previous humanisms and grounds them in the working-class struggle. Ramification: Socialism is the heir to all previous human progress.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟕: 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐦

This chapter details the specific characteristics of the humanism championed by Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Trotsky.

10 Key Insights & Ramifications:

 * Proletarian Agency: The working class is the only force capable of realizing humanism. Ramification: Labor movements are the primary vehicles for human rights.

 * Abolition of Alienation: The core goal is to end the separation of the worker from their work, their product, and others. Ramification: Economic restructuring is a psychological and moral necessity.

 * Internationalism: Socialist humanism knows no borders. Ramification: Nationalistic "humanisms" are inherently limited and exclusionary.

 * Anti-Imperialism: The liberation of the "Third World" is central to human progress. Ramification: Global solidarity is a requirement for humanism.

 * Equality of the Sexes: True humanism is impossible without the liberation of women. Ramification: Feminism is an integral part of the socialist project.

 * The Ending of Racism: Racial divisions are products of capitalism that must be eradicated. Ramification: Anti-racism is a class issue.

 * Transition to Communism: The temporary "workers' state" is a means to a classless society. Ramification: Power is a tool for its own eventual abolition.

 * The New Man/Woman: Socialism will produce a new type of human with higher moral and intellectual qualities. Ramification: We are currently "pre-human" in our behavior.

 * The Centrality of Struggle: Humanism is achieved through conflict with the old order, not peaceful evolution. Ramification: Militancy is a humanist virtue in a cruel world.

 * Scientific Optimism: A belief that all human problems are ultimately solvable. Ramification: Despair is a luxury we cannot afford.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟖: 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞

In the final chapter, Novack tackles the "ultimate questions" usually reserved for religion or existentialism.

10 Key Insights & Ramifications:

 * Meaning is Created, Not Found: Life has no inherent meaning; we create it through our actions. Ramification: We are the authors of our own purpose.

 * Meaning in Contribution: A meaningful life is one that contributes to the advancement of humanity. Ramification: Selfishness is a form of meaninglessness.

 * The Denial of Immortality: We live on through our works and the memory of others, not in an afterlife. Ramification: We must focus on making this world better, as it is the only one we have.

 * Facing Mortality: A mature humanism accepts death as a natural part of life. Ramification: Rationality helps us overcome the fear of the unknown.

 * Happiness as a By-product: Happiness comes from purposeful activity, not the pursuit of pleasure. Ramification: Consumerism is a false path to fulfillment.

 * The End of Alienated Loneliness: Social bonds in a socialist world will end the "lonely crowd" phenomenon. Ramification: Community is essential for mental health.

 * The Aesthetics of Life: Living itself will become an art form when survival is guaranteed. Ramification: Art and life will merge.

 * Ethics without Gods: A moral life is possible and necessary without the threat of divine punishment. Ramification: Secular ethics are more robust because they are chosen, not coerced.

 * The Significance of the Individual: While emphasizing the collective, Novack argues that each individual life is a unique and precious event. Ramification: The collective exists to serve the individual, and vice versa.

 * The Endless Frontier: The "meaning of life" will continue to evolve as humanity reaches the stars and beyond. Ramification: Humanity is just at the beginning of its true history.

Purchase:

https://www.pathfinderpress.com/products/humanism-and-socialism_by-george-novack

Review: Israel, a Colonial-Settler State? by Maxime Rodinson

"Maxime Rodinson, a Jewish specialist on the history of the Mideast, argues that Israel was at its founding a colonial-settler state. But as he points out, such a state doesn't stay that forever, otherwise the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and many other states would still be colonial-settler states. And not all the Jews who moved to Palestine were Zionists (for the role of Zionism in Europe, see The Jewish Question: A Marxist Interpretation by Abram Leon. Jews went because both during and after the war there was no other place they could go. Few people know that once Israel was founded, almost all of the Mizrahi Jews (those who had already lived in the Middle East and North Africa, sometimes for centuries) were forced out of their homelands...."

Full:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5994174111?fbclid=IwdGRzaAQU-vZjbGNrBBT5G2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHlVER8PWuhkyvNoiZv77vraAMnuN1bu8tuhpXrLBG_8Y5EcmYMC5bOG59Kjn_aem_SSLa9bPKPwwt3IyD2eqxAA

Lizaveta van Munsteren's The Vicissitudes of Psychoanalysis in Soviet Russia, 1930–1980

In Lizaveta van Munsteren's The Vicissitudes of Psychoanalysis in Soviet Russia, 1930–1980, the author explores how Freudianism survived the repressive Stalinist era, characterized by the dismantling of intellectual openness.

Keeping Freudianism Alive

According to van Munsteren, appreciation for Freudian concepts was maintained through several key strategies:

 * Split Languages: A growing divide between "official" and "informal" languages allowed intellectuals to use coded or specialized terminology to discuss prohibited subjects.

 * Scientific Camouflage: Proponents of psychoanalytic thought integrated Freudian ideas into more "acceptable" scientific disciplines, such as psychophysiology and pathopsychology.

 * Key Figures: Intellectuals like Alexander Luria, Bluma Zeigarnik, Filipp Bassin, and Dmitry Uznadze engaged in research on the unconscious and the role of language in mental formation, effectively acting as a "return of the repressed" for psychoanalysis.

 * Interdisciplinary Engagement: By framing psychoanalytic questions within studies of the brain, mental disturbances, and the formation of the mind, these thinkers ensured that the core of the "talking cure" remained part of the Soviet scientific conversation.

Book Review: A Bridge for Modern Radical Thought

Lizaveta van Munsteren's The Vicissitudes of Psychoanalysis in Soviet Russia, 1930–1980 is a masterly reclamation of a "lost" intellectual heritage. For those today interested in the synthesis of Bolshevik Leninism and psychoanalysis, this book is indispensable. It meticulously demonstrates how early revolutionary fervor for human liberation through the mind survived Stalinist stagnation by retreating into "informal languages" and scientific sub-disciplines. Van Munsteren offers a nuanced recovery of figures like Luria and Zeigarnik, proving that even under extreme ideological pressure, the dialectical pursuit of understanding the unconscious remained a resilient, albeit underground, current of Soviet thought.

CHAPTER SUMMARIES

Introduction, Part 1 (1958), and Methodology

 * Marxist-Freudian Synthesis: Early Soviet years saw a genuine attempt to combine Marxism and psychoanalysis to create a holistic science of the human being.

 * The 1958 "Freud Session": This pivotal event served as the official condemnation of psychoanalysis, framing it as "ideological diversion" and "reactionary".

 * Institutional Erasure: After the late 1920s, psychoanalysis lost its institutional standing, forcing its insights into other "sanctioned" disciplines.

 * Scientific Camouflage: To survive, psychoanalytic concepts were rebranded using "Sovietized" terminology like "psychophysiology".

 * Language as Subversion: Intellectuals used "informal language" to maintain analytical rigor while adhering to "official" Marxist-Leninist jargon.

 * Historical Materialist Method: Van Munsteren uses a "socio-historical dimension" to read the history of Soviet psychology as a reflection of class and state struggle.

 * Against Binaries: The book argues against the simple "East vs. West" or "Repression vs. Freedom" binary, seeking a dialectical understanding of Soviet intellectual life.

 * The Archive as Battleground: Access to Soviet archives reveals that the "negation" of Freud was never absolute but a complex process of filtration.

 * The "Schizophrenization" of Society: The state's attempt to force reality into ideological molds created a split between public performance and private belief.

 * The Unconscious and the State: The suppression of the "unconscious" was an attempt by the state to maintain total control over the "conscious" Soviet subject.

Chapter 1: Histories and Discontents

 * Lenin's Neutrality: Initially, leading Bolsheviks like Trotsky were open to Freud, while Lenin remained cautiously skeptical but not strictly prohibitory.

 * Trotskyism and Freud: The association of psychoanalysis with Trotsky led to its eventual branding as a "counter-revolutionary" science.

 * Aron Zalkind's Efforts: Zalkind attempted to create "Pedology," a Marxist science of child development that integrated Freud with social engineering.

 * The Clinical Deficit: By the 1930s, clinical psychoanalysis (the "talking cure") was effectively banned as an individualist luxury.

 * The "New Man" Project: Psychoanalysis was initially seen as a tool to help build the "New Soviet Man" by purging bourgeois neuroses.

 * Pavlovian Hegemony: The state promoted Ivan Pavlov's reflexology as the "only" Marxist psychology because it was materialist and predictable.

 * Negation as Incorporation: Even as the state "negated" Freud, it incorporated his findings into studies of labor productivity and trauma.

 * Dialectical Materialism vs. Freud: Critics argued Freud was "idealist" because he focused on internal drives rather than social relations.

 * The Linguistic Turn: The change in scientific language after 1930 wasn't just censorship; it was an attempt to redefine what it meant to be "human".

 * Global Context: Soviet rejection of Freud was partly a reaction to the use of psychoanalysis in Western "capitalist" propaganda.

Chapter 2: Freud in Public Discourse

 * Public Condemnation, Private Interest: While the press attacked "Freudianism," libraries and institutes continued to hold translations of Freud for "internal use".

 * The Literaturnaia Gazeta Role: Popular journals often used attacks on Freud as a way to discuss prohibited topics like desire and the irrational.

 * Freud as "Imperialist Tool": In the Cold War era, psychoanalysis was framed as a weapon used by the US to "psychologize" social problems.

 * The Legitimacy Gap: There was a clear distinction between "vulgar Freudianism" (condemned) and "scientific psychology" (permitted).

 * Biologism vs. Sociologism: Soviet critics claimed Freud ignored the biological basis of the brain, ironically favoring a hyper-materialist view.

 * Literary Freud: Soviet literary critics often used Freudian concepts to analyze Western "decadent" literature, keeping the terms alive.

 * The "Academic" Mask: Intellectuals published "critiques" of Freud that actually summarized his theories accurately for a hungry audience.

 * Anti-Zionism: Later Soviet periods occasionally linked the "Jewish science" of psychoanalysis with anti-Zionist state campaigns.

 * The Myth of the Blank Slate: The state insisted the Soviet mind was a "tabula rasa" shaped only by labor and society, denying the unconscious.

 * Coded Resistance: Mentioning "unconscious processes" in a Pavlovian paper was a signal of support for Freudian thought.

Chapter 3: Zeigarnik, Luria, and Vygotsky

 * Vygotsky's Dialectic: Lev Vygotsky sought a middle ground where social history and internal psychology met—a "historical materialism of the mind".

 * Luria's "Romantic Science": Alexander Luria combined deep clinical case studies (reminiscent of Freud) with neurophysiology.

 * The Zeigarnik Effect: Bluma Zeigarnik's work on "unfinished tasks" was rooted in Kurt Lewin's field theory but resonated with Freudian tension and release.

 * Pathopsychology: This discipline was created to study the "abnormal" mind as a way to understand the "normal" Soviet subject.

 * The Biological Turn: After 1948, psychology was forced to become "biological" to survive, leading to the "schizophrenization" of clinical practice.

 * Luria's Psychoanalytic Past: Luria was a founding member of the Kazan Psychoanalytic Society, a fact he had to downplay for decades.

 * Mediation and Tools: For Marxists, the most vital insight here is that the mind is "mediated" by cultural tools and social labor.

 * Internalized Speech: The transition from external social speech to internal thought is a core Vygotskian-Marxist concept that mirrors the formation of the Ego.

 * Defense of Clinical Richness: Zeigarnik fought to keep the patient's personal history central, against the state's preference for generic brain data.

 * The Hidden Legacy: Much of what is now "Western" neuropsychology was actually pioneered by these "closet" Marxists/Freudians in the USSR.

Chapters 4 & 5: Luria's Turn and the Soviet Unconscious

 * Psychophysiology of Labor: Luria's work on the brain was framed as optimizing the labor force, a "productivist" application of psychology.

 * Language and Consciousness: Luria proved that higher mental functions are social in origin, a key Marxist tenet.

 * Uznadze's Theory of Set: Dmitry Uznadze developed a theory of "unconscious readiness" (Set) to bypass the ban on the term "unconscious".

 * Filipp Bassin's Return: Bassin was instrumental in the 1960s in "rehabilitating" the unconscious within a Marxist framework.

 * The 1979 Tbilisi Symposium: A massive international event that signaled the return of the unconscious to Soviet scientific respectability.

 * "Activity" Theory: Soviet thinkers replaced Freud's "Drive" with "Activity" (Deiatel'nost), focusing on what the subject does in the world.

 * The Four-Volume Compendium: The publication of The Unconscious (1978-1985) remains one of the most significant Marxist-informed studies of the mind.

 * Communication and Personality: The symposium linked the unconscious not just to sex, but to how people communicate under socialism.

 * Philosophy of the Mind: Journals like Voprosy Filosofii debated whether the unconscious was "material" or "ideal," a core Marxist concern.

 * The Lost Heritage: Van Munsteren concludes that modern Russia has "forgotten" this unique Soviet synthesis in favor of importing Western models.

SWP NC Statement: US Out of the Middle East! – The Militant

[….] Washington has been and remains the biggest obstacle to Israel obtaining a decisive defeat of Hamas. The US rulers’ objective is to strengthen their own class domination of the countries and peoples of the Middle East, in order to exploit the natural wealth and labor of millions of Arabs, Jews, Kurds, Druze, Yazidis, and others. To impose a Pax Americana — an American imperialist peace of the grave — across that region. As we’re already seeing, Washington’s assault on Iran and its buildup of massive firepower in the Middle East increase the likelihood of more devastating wars both there and around the world. The US rulers’ actions are dragging humanity toward a third world war.

As the Socialist Workers Party National Committee stated in the immediate aftermath of Washington’s air attacks on Iran in June 2025: “The US ruling class has its eyes firmly fixed on plunder. On pillage of the Middle East’s vast natural resources — oil and gas fields, above all — and exploitation of its low-wage labor.

“Amid the capitalist world’s profit-driven rivalries and arms buildups today, the last thing Washington wants is to destabilize its economic, political, and strategic relations with bourgeois governments in the Middle East. It acts to maintain US imperialism’s interests — and its control — over what happens there.” And the SWP statement concluded:

“Iran’s working people, of many nationalities, remain the most important curb on the aims of the regime there. They are feared by both the Iranian rulers and imperialist powers. . . .

“The crisis of imperialism is accelerating, and conflicts among rival capitalist powers are becoming ever more explosive. As during the buildup to the second imperialist slaughter of the twentieth century, Jew-hatred and violence are once again being openly embraced as a banner of reaction. It is capitalism and the ruling classes who are the enemy of working people everywhere, however, not ‘the Jews.'”

Defend Israel’s right to exist as a refuge for Jews!

US troops, bases, and warships out of the Middle East!

SWP NC Statement: US Out of the Middle East! – The Militant

Marxism and Freudianism

In his 1927 work Freudianism: A Critical Sketch, V. N. Voloshinov provides an outstanding Marxist critique of psychoanalysis. He argues that what Freud identifies as the "unconscious" is actually a form of "unofficial consciousness"—a collection of social motives that cannot find expression in the dominant ideology of a given (bourgeois) society.

Below is a summary of each chapter and ten key insights/ramifications from each.

Part I: Freudianism and Modern Trends in Philosophy and Psychology

1: The Basic Ideological Motif of Freudianism

Summary: Voloshinov situates Freudianism within the crisis of bourgeois culture. He argues that Freud's focus on the biological, "natural" man is an attempt to find a stable foundation outside of social and historical reality.

10 Insights/Ramifications:

  Ideological Reflex: Freudianism reflects the disintegration of the bourgeois individual.

 * Biological Escape: Psychoanalysis attempts to replace social history with biological "instincts".

 * Fear of History: The focus on the eternal "unconscious" masks a fear of social change.

 * The Sexual Motif: The elevation of sex to a primary mover is a symptom of social decline.

 * A-historicism: Freud treats the 20th-century bourgeois family as a universal, eternal human condition.

 * Subjectivism: Psychoanalysis is the "last word" in subjective psychology, turning away from the external world.

 * Class Context: Freud's patients represent a specific class whose social ties have weakened.

 * The "Natural" Man: Freud's "man" is an abstract creature stripped of social relations.

 * Methodological Individualism: It falsely assumes the psyche can be understood in isolation from the collective.

 * Cultural Pessimism: The theory suggests that civilization is inherently and eternally repressive.

Chapter 2: Two Trends in Modern Psychology

Summary: This chapter examines the conflict between "explanatory" psychology (based on physiological causes) and "descriptive" psychology (based on subjective meaning). Voloshinov argues that Freud attempts to bridge these but fails by remaining trapped in subjectivity.

10 Insights/Ramifications:

 * The Crisis of Psychology: The discipline is split between "objective" physiology and "subjective" introspection.

 * Freud's Hybridity: Freud tries to give subjective "meanings" the force of physical "causes."

 * Pseudo-Biology: Terms like "libido" are used to give psychological concepts a veneer of biological science.

 * The Myth of the Inner: Psychology falsely assumes a private "inner world" separate from social signs.

 * Failure of Introspection: Subjective methods cannot provide a truly objective science of the mind.

 * Objective Behavior: Voloshinov advocates for studying behavior in its social and natural environment.

 * The Role of Language: Psychology ignores that the "inner" is actually made of "inner speech."

 * Mechanical Causality: Freud treats thoughts as if they were physical objects pushing against one another.

 * Scientific Pretense: Psychoanalysis uses medical terminology to justify ideological claims.

 * The Need for Synthesis: A valid psychology must integrate the individual into the social whole.

Part II: An Exposition of Freudianism

Chapter 3: The Unconscious and the Dynamics of the Psyche

Summary: Voloshinov outlines Freud's topographic model (Unconscious, Preconscious, Conscious) and the dynamics of repression.

10 Insights/Ramifications:

 * The Censor: The "censor" acts as a border guard between mental provinces.

 * Dynamic Struggle: The psyche is viewed as a constant battleground of forces.

 * Repression: Thoughts are not forgotten but "pushed back" by social or moral pressure.

 * The Unconscious as Alien: Freud treats the unconscious as a "foreign body" within the self.

 * Psychical Continuity: Nothing in the mind is accidental; every slip has a "meaning."

 * Energy Model: The psyche is treated like a hydraulic system of energy (libido).

 * Resistance: The ego protects itself by refusing to acknowledge certain truths.

 * Determinism: Every mental event is determined by prior (mostly unconscious) causes.

 * Latent vs. Manifest: There is always a hidden "true" meaning behind the "surface" thought.

 * The Ego's Weakness: The conscious mind is merely the "tip of the iceberg."

Chapter 4: The Content of the Unconscious

Summary: This chapter details the Oedipus complex and the infantile roots of adult neurosis.

10 Insights/Ramifications:

 * Infantile Sexuality: Freud claims sexuality begins at birth, not puberty.

 * The Oedipus Complex: The child's first social relation is defined by sexual desire and rivalry.

 * Universal Trauma: Development is seen as a series of inevitable traumatic stages (oral, anal, phallic).

 * The Family as Microcosm: The family is the sole crucible of the human soul.

 * Fixation: Adults are "haunted" by unresolved childhood desires.

 * The Primal Scene: Early observations of parents shape the entire future psyche.

 * Biology as Fate: Gender and family structure are treated as biological imperatives.

 * Sublimation: Higher culture is merely redirected sexual energy.

 * Ambivalence: Love and hate are viewed as inseparable (the "Oedipal" mix).

 * Narcissism: The ego starts in a state of self-absorption before moving to objects.

Chapter 5: The Psychoanalytical Method

Summary: Voloshinov describes the clinical techniques of free association and dream interpretation.

10 Insights/Ramifications:

 * Free Association: The patient must suspend "judgment" and speak everything that comes to mind.

 * Dream Work: The processes of condensation and displacement transform latent thoughts into dreams.

 * The Role of the Analyst: The analyst acts as a "second censor" or a "mirror".

 * Transference: The patient projects childhood feelings onto the doctor.

 * Interpretation as Power: The analyst holds the "key" to the patient's truth.

 * The Symbolic Code: Freud creates a fixed dictionary of symbols (snakes, houses, etc.).

 * Symptom as Language: A physical symptom is a "converted" psychological message.

 * Healing through Speech: Bringing the unconscious into words is the path to "cure."

 * The "Session" as Recapitulation: The analysis recreates the patient's history.

 * Rationalization: Patients often create false "logical" stories to hide their real motives.

Chapter 6: Freudian Philosophy of Culture

Summary: This chapter examines Freud's application of psychoanalysis to society, religion, and art (e.g., Totem and Taboo).

10 Insights/Ramifications:

 * Culture as Repression: Civilization is built on the denial of instincts.

 * The Primal Father: Society begins with a literal or symbolic murder of the father.

 * Religion as Neurosis: God is a projected, "exalted" father figure.

 * Art as Fantasy: Art is a "socially acceptable" way to fulfill forbidden wishes.

 * The Totem: Social bonds are formed through shared guilt.

 * Universal Guilt: Human history is driven by the inherited guilt of the Oedipal crime.

 * Discontent: The more advanced a culture, the more unhappy its members must be.

 * Social Control: Law and morality are internalized "superegos."

 * War and Aggression: The "death drive" (Thanatos) explains human destructiveness.

 * Myth as Dream: Myths are the "collective dreams" of a people.

Part III: A Critical Analysis of Freudianism

Chapter 7: Freudianism as a Variant of Subjective Psychology

Summary: Voloshinov argues that Freud's "unconscious" is not biological but is actually made of words and signs.

10 Insights/Ramifications:

 * Semiotic Nature: The unconscious is not "raw energy" but a system of signs.

 * Verbal Form: Everything Freud calls "mental" is actually "inner speech."

 * Subjectivity Trap: Freud stays within the individual's head instead of looking at social interaction.

 * Language of the Unconscious: The unconscious "speaks" through slips and dreams.

 * Critique of Libido: Libido is a "mythological" term, not a scientific one.

 * Inter-individual Basis: The "psyche" only exists in the space between people.

 * The Sign as Bridge: The sign is the material link between the individual and society.

 * The Illusion of Privacy: Even our most private thoughts are structured by shared language.

 * Methodological Error: You cannot explain a social phenomenon (like culture) using individual psychology.

 * The "Inner" is "Outer": What we think is deep inside is actually a reflection of our social environment.

Chapter 8: The Dynamics of the Psyche as a Struggle of Ideological Motives

Summary: Voloshinov redefines Freud's "struggle of forces" as a struggle between different voices or social motives.

10 Insights/Ramifications:

 * The "Censor" as Social: The "censor" is not a biological filter but the "official" social voice.

 * Unofficial Consciousness: The unconscious is simply "unofficial" thoughts that the social group forbids.

 * Internal Dialogue: The psyche is a dialogue (or argument) between different social positions.

 * Motive vs. Force: What Freud calls "forces" are actually "motives" that can be put into words.

 * Social Conflict: Inner conflict is a reflection of the conflicts in the social world.

 * The "We-experience": Individual consciousness is based on a "we" (social group).

 * Levels of Clarity: Some thoughts are "clear" because they are socially supported; others are "vague" because they are suppressed.

 * Class Motives: Different classes have different "official" and "unofficial" consciousnesses.

 * The Verbalized Psyche: Only that which can be verbalized becomes a conscious motive.

 * Repression as Silence: To repress a thought is to "de-voice" it socially.

Chapter 9: The Content of Consciousness as Ideology

Summary: Voloshinov concludes that consciousness is a "social-ideological fact". He argues that Freud's theory is itself an ideology of a dying class.

10 Insights/Ramifications:

 * Consciousness is Social: There is no "private" consciousness; it is all "ideology."

 * Behavioral Ideology: Everyday speech and gestures are the "raw material" of formal ideology.

 * The "Death" of the Individual: The isolated individual is a fiction; we are nodes in a social network.

 * Freudianism as Symptom: The theory is a symptom of the very "neurosis" (class decline) it tries to treat.

 * The Sexualization of Life: Over-emphasizing sex is a way to avoid economic and political reality.

 * Materialist Psychology: A true psychology must be based on the laws of social development.

 * The Sign as Arena: The "word" is the arena where social struggle takes place.

 * Ideological Breadth: Small slips and grand philosophies are on the same continuum of "signs."

 * Transformation of the Self: To change the self, one must change the social environment.

 * Marxist Synthesis: Psychology must become a branch of the science of ideologies.

Appendices

Appendix I: Discourse in Life and Discourse in Art

Summary: Voloshinov explores how "extra-verbal context" (the social situation) gives meaning to speech.

10 Insights/Ramifications:

 * The "Said" and "Unsaid": Meaning depends on what both speaker and listener already know.

 * Social Evaluation: Every word carries a "judgment" or "tone" from the community.

 * The Enthymeme: Speech is often an "abbreviated" argument where the premises are shared social values.

 * Artistic Form: Art is a "social event" between the author, the hero, and the listener.

 * Style as Relationship: Style is the expression of the social bond between speaker and audience.

 * The Hero: In art, the "hero" is a social entity, not just a character.

 * Poetic Form: Form is a way of "evaluating" the content from a social perspective.

 * Sociological Poetics: Literature should be studied as a social interaction, not just text.

 * The Chorus: The "audience" is always an implicit "chorus" in any work of art.

 * Context is King: A single word ("Well!") can mean anything depending on the social situation.

Appendix II: Voloshinov and the Structure of Language in Freudianism

Summary: This appendix (likely an editor's note or related essay) discusses the modern relevance of Voloshinov's semiotic approach to Freud.

10 Insights/Ramifications:

 * Structuralist Link: Voloshinov anticipated modern structuralist readings of Freud (like Lacan).

 * The "Talking Cure": Confirms that psychoanalysis is entirely a "linguistic" process.

 * Dialogue: Re-emphasizes that the psyche is a "dialogue" between signs.

 * Modern Semiotics: Links Voloshinov to the Tartu-Moscow school of semiotics.

 * Intertextuality: The psyche is an "intertext" of social discourses.

 * Against Biological Reduction: Reinforces the argument that human mind cannot be reduced to brain chemistry or animal instinct.

 * The Politics of the Sign: Every sign is a site of political contestation.

 * Critique of Lacan: While similar to Lacan, Voloshinov is more grounded in social rather than symbolic logic.

 * Historical Materialism: The psyche changes as the modes of production and social communication change.

 * Enduring Relevance: His critique of the "individualist" psyche remains a challenge to modern neoliberal psychology.

Voloshinov is an outstanding example of the caliber of intellectuals won to Bolshevism before Thermidor and the start of the crimes of Cain-Stalin.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TJ3ubBsOG_5mxLrY-Y009ocspSFWBcW0/view?usp=drivesdk

Jay

28 February 2026