2020 №1 (66) Article 2

Pinchuk V. N. 

I. Bukharin’s Soviet Marxist Philosophy in 1917–1928 P. 13-25.

UDC 14(47)«1917/1928»

The article analyzes the worldview of an outstanding Soviet philosopher Nikolay Ivanovich Bukharin, who was one of the Bolshevik leaders together with V. I. Lenin, I. V. Stalin, L. D. Trotsky, L. B. Kamenev, G. E. Zinoviev, and A. V. Lunacharsky. Unlike many other high-ranking officials, Nikolay Ivanovich Bukharin was renowned for his philosophical erudition and genuine journalistic talent. His worldview greatly influenced the Soviet Union’s domestic and foreign policy in 1917–1928.

  1. I. Bukharin’s works reflected the philosopher’s axiological, gnoseological and ethical views. Proletarian dictatorship was N. I. Bukharin’s major political value. Dialectical Marxism determined his gnoseological views. The ethics of Bolshevism evinced a high tolerance for proletarian violence. The present research shows that N. I. Bukharin was not unlike other Soviet officials in his adherence to orthodox Marxism and his worship of Lenin. However, N. I. Bukharin’s philosophical approach was rather unique. Thus, he attempted to classify some falsifications of Marxism, distinguished between fatalistic Marxism and conciliatory Marxism, spoke about four phases of the transition from capitalism to socialism (ideological, political, economic, and technical), and introduced the theory of historical balance. Being a leading theoretician of Soviet Marxism, Bukharin stated that idealism was a mere form of religion and, therefore, was to be replaced with scientific materialism. Delivering a report to the 6th Congress of the Communist International in 1928, he underlined the necessity of fighting for global proletarian dictatorship by means of proletarian revolutions and world revolutions.

 

bolshevik leaders; dialectics; dialectical and historical materialism; proletarian dictatorship; Comintern; Communist International; Leninism; Marxism; materialism; worldview; nomenclature; idealism; socialism; social-democracy; philosophy; ethics

 

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