Another book along similar lines as Gnostic Wars and Revolutionary Apocalypse is this one by
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Shafarevich's book The Socialist Phenomenon,[7] published in the US in 1980, argued that the leftist-nihilist utopian impulse is a revival of gnostic religion, rooted in rebellion.[8] In his view, this is an anti-Christian urge that fights obsessively with the normal state of the world, demanding material equality and the eradication of individual and gender distinctions.[9] Shafarevich wrote that "the death of mankind is not only a conceivable result of the triumph of socialism – it constitutes the goal of socialism."[10]
Shafarevich's views were influenced by Karl Wittfogel's theory of hydraulic society.[11] The mathematician argued that socialism has two archetypes: ancient despotisms (such as Sumeria, Babylonia and Egypt) and millennial sectarian movements of medieval and early modern Europe, along with a Freudian death-instinct.[11] Out of this combination, he said that this ideology works to co-opt the prestige of science and faith in progress.[11] Shafarevich covered in his work what he regarded as socialist tendencies and socialist states that have occurred during the history of mankind. He contrasts Campanella's (City of the Sun) and Thomas More's (Utopia) visions with the facts known of the Inca Empire and concludes there are striking similarities. Also, in Shafarevich's (1980:207) opinion, Marxist ideology has not even the climate of scientific inquiry. Marx's most important postulates are contradicted by the very reality:
If a socialist state comes into being only under the conditions created by the development of capitalism, if, as Lenin wrote, "socialism originates in capitalism, develops historically from capitalism, and results from the action of a social force that is engendered by capitalism," then whence did it come and as a result of what social force did it develop in the Inca empire or the states of the ancient Orient? History only reinforces the doubts engendered by the contemporary situation: socialist states have arisen in China, North Korea and Cuba--that is, in the countries where the influence of capitalism can in no way be considered a determining factor.
(Shafarevich 1980:202)
"The Socialist Phenomenon", first published in Russian in 1975 and translated here into English by William Tjalsma, by dissident Russian mathematician Igor Shafarevich is a brilliant examination of the history and development of socialism tracing its origins back to ancient times and the medieval heresies to its supposed scientific development under Karl Marx and his followers. Igor Shafarevich (1923 - ) was a dissident Russian mathematician who founded an important school in algebraic number theory and algebraic geometry and who also wrote on political matters. Shafarevich was a friend of the late Nobel Prize winning novelist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (who provides a Foreword to this book) and served as an important critic of the Soviet regime and of future liberal proposals for the development of Russia. This book which was widely read in the West, provides a unique history of socialism tracing the origins of socialism from ancient times, through the medieval heretics, through philosophers and novelists in more recent times, and ultimately to its supposed scientific pretensions under Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels and their followers. In many ways, the understanding provided here by Shafarevich is similar to that of certain other modern political thinkers including Erik Voegelin (who traced the origins of the political religions, including Marxism, back to the ancient Gnostics and through the medieval heretics), Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn (who traced the roots of leftism to medieval heresy), or Norman Cohn (who traced the history of revolutionary movements through the middle ages and beyond). Shafarevich writes from the perspective of a Russian Orthodox Christian and a Russian nationalist and as such provides a unique understanding in this light. The book is also heavily indebted to the economic history of Karl Wittfogel who provided a detailed study of what he termed "Oriental despotism" and related this to modern day socialist movements and Marxism. The book provides a fascinating study on the history of socialism and an examination of the problems within socialist doctrines as held by Marxists. As such, this book remains an important and courageous book showing the errors that lie within the socialist impulse (which Shafarevich ultimately finds to be rooted within the death instinct) and unveils the Soviet state for the monstrosity it was.
This book begins with a Foreword by Russian novelist Solzhenitsyn which explains the importance of Shafarevich's work and details the rise of socialism in the Twentieth century in both "Asiatic" and "Russian" aberrations. Following this appears a Preface, in which the author lays out his understanding of the crises of the Twentieth century leading up to a much more profound crisis. The author quotes from F. Heichelheim regarding the economic history of man showing how the trends of the Late Capitalist Age have led to the end of the development of economic individualism and to a return to Ancient Oriental models which were laid down at the beginning of the Iron Age. The author sees socialism as an important aspect of the developing crisis of man which is leading to the destruction of the "old world" and argues that fundamentally socialism lacks a "definition free from contradictions". The author will trace the history of socialism from ancient times through the medieval heresies to philosophers and novelists and finally to the supposed "scientific" socialism of 'The Communist Manifesto'. The rest of the Preface lays out the plan for the book. Part One of the book is entitled "Chiliastic Socialism" and begins with an Introduction. Here, the author explains that socialism can mean both a doctrine and an appeal based on it for changing life as well as a social structure that exists in time and space. The author comments on the "classic" writings of Karl Marx, socialism as it exists in the U.S.S.R. and the People's Republic of China, and the visit of novelist and thinker H. G. Wells to Russia. The author next considers socialism as a doctrine, considering what he refers to as "chiliastic socialism" (the belief in the thousand-year Kingdom of God on earth). The author quotes from Aristophanes comparing Athenian socialism to the modern _Communist Manifesto_ attempting to show how all socialisms share the same three components: abolition of private property, abolition of the family (i.e. communality of wives and disruption of the bonds between parents and children), and purely material prosperity. Following this, the author turns to "The Socialism of Antiquity" which consists of a discussion of the state as laid out by Plato in _The Republic_ and _Laws_, showing the role of the "philosophers" (which Bulgakov argues should be referred to as "the righteous men" or the "saints") in Plato's ideal state as well as the communality of property and Plato's castes. This section also discusses certain socialist ideals mentioned by Diodorus and various Gnostic sects mentioned by early Christian Fathers. Following this, appears a section entitled "The Socialism of the Heresies", mentioning the role of socialism for the medieval heresies which persisted up to the time of the Reformation. The author provides a "General Survey" discussing such movements as the Cathars (or "pure ones"), the Brethren of the Free Spirit or Apostolic Brethren, the Taborites, the Anabaptists, and Sects in the English Revolution of 1648 (including the Diggers and Levellers). This "General Survey" ends with an Appendix which includes Three Biographies including Dolcino and the Apostolic Brethren, Thomas Muntzer, and Johann of Leyden and the "New Jerusalem" in Munster. Following this appears a section entitled "Chiliastic Socialism and the Ideology of the Heretical Movements" providing a detailed examination of the heretical movements and their relationship to orthodox Christianity. The third section of this part is entitled "The Socialism of the Philosophers" and discusses "The Great Utopias" (mentioning _Utopia_ by Thomas More, _City of the Sun_ by Tommaso Campanella, and "The Law of Freedom" by Gerrard Winstanley). Following this, appears a discussion of "The Socialist Novel" (mentioning several important early socialist novels) and "The Age of Enlightenment" (detailing the role of socialism in Enlightenment thought), and a section entitled "The First Steps" (explaining the origins of the revolution in France) as well as a "Summary". Part Two of the book is entitled "State Socialism" and explains various cases of the socialist state in practice. This part begins with a section on "South America" including mention of "The Inca Empire", and "The Jesuit State in Paraguay". Following this appears a section entitled "The Ancient Orient" including discussion of "Mesopotamia", "Ancient Egypt" (with an Appendix entitled "religion in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia"), "Ancient China" (with an Appendix entitled "Was There Such a Thing as an "Asiatic Social Formation?"), and a "Summary". The discussion of China entails a discussion of Shang Yang who maintained that "When the people are weak the state is strong; when the state is weak the people are strong" and a discussion of the ideas of Wittfogel concerning "Oriental despotism" and relating this to the theories of Marx. Part Three of the book is entitled "Analysis" and examines the question of the phenomenon of socialism. This part begins with a section entitled "The Contours of Socialism" discussing such aspects of socialism as "The Abolition of Private Property", "The Abolition of the Family", "The Abolition of Religion", and "Communality or Equality" and relating all of these to the theories of Karl Marx. Following this appears a section entitled "Survey of Some Approaches to Socialism" which includes parts discussing various notions of socialism entitled "The Marxist standpoint", "Socialist teachings as scientific theory" (relating Marx to Fourier and noting such things as the importance of science at the time of Marx and his need to make his theory grounded in science, but also noting Marx's deficiencies in understanding mathematics and other areas of economics), "Socialism is the theory of preparing and implementing revolution: it is a series of rules which must be followed in order to seize power. At the same time, it is the technology of power, the philosophy of the absolute state to which all life is subjected - - i.e. statism", a section discussing socialism as based on compulsory labor, "Socialism as such does not exist. That which is called socialism is one of the lines of development of capitalism - state capitalism", "Socialism is the expression of the quest for social justice", "Socialism is a special religion", "Socialism is a consequence of atheism, the conclusion to which atheism leads in the field of social relations". The author finds all these notions to be problematic in their own ways while at the same time mentioning such facts about Marx as his unquenchable hatred of the existing order, his intolerance, his atheism and God-hatred, his failures to understand certain facts of economics, his hypocrisy in his reliance upon the capitalist Engels for financial support, the failure of his predictions, his reliance upon the labour theory of value which has been largely superseded by marginal utility, and his dismissal of others who tried to improve the lot of humanity and the poor such as Charles Dickens as mere "bourgeois philanthropists". There is also a discussion of Freud in relation to Marx and the theories of the New Left particularly mentioning Marcuse. Further, there is a discussion of Dostoyevsky concerning socialism as atheism. Following this, appears a section entitled "The Embodiment of the Socialist Ideal" which includes parts discussing "Economy", "The Organization of Labor", "Family", "Culture", and "Religion". This is followed by a section entitled "Socialism and Individuality" which discusses the idea of equality and the theories of Marcuse. Finally, there appears a section entitled "The Goal of Socialism" in which the author relates socialism to the goal of the death of all mankind. The author writes, "The death of mankind is not only a conceivable result of the triumph of socialism - it constitutes the goal of socialism." The book ends with a Conclusion in which the author re-affirms his position on socialism as rooted in the goal of the death of all mankind and relates it to various philosophical positions including Hinayana Buddhism, the philosophy of Schopenhauer, Hegel's system, Sartre's philosophy, and La Mettrie's idea of man as machine ultimately relating all of this to an idea of Soloviev that man must pass through a nihilistic phase on the way to a faith in God. The author concludes that socialists have accomplished little in the way of improving the lot of humanity (such accomplishments being nearly always achieved by men dismissed by Marx as "bourgeois philanthropists") and relates this to the unique experiences of Russia.
This book offers a fascinating study of the socialist phenomenon which fully examines and refutes the theories and predictions of Karl Marx by tracing their roots in ancient systems and medieval heresy. This book is important because it was written by a dissident Russian mathematician who bravely unveiled the Soviet state for the monstrosity that it truly was. It is highly recommended for those who seek to understand the roots of socialism and the crises of the Twentieth century.
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