It’s Time for a Closer Look By Lars T. Lih, Summer 2019: After 1914, Lenin and Karl Kautsky became bitter political enemies. No person was denounced by Lenin with so much obsessive fervor as was Kautsky—a reflection of the central role Kautsky had formerly played in the outlook of the Russian Bolsheviks. Nevertheless, despite his […]
What follows is the first online publication of a research tool created by Lars Lih in February 2008 and updated February 2011. — JR By Lars T. Lih: The Kautsky-as-Marxist database is a collection that I have compiled of all comments by Lenin in his final decade, 1914-1924, that bear on the issue on his attitude […]
1917: The Bolsheviks Apply Kautsky’s Tactics Lenin remained true to the tactical ideas of Karl Kautsky after the latter had abandoned them. By Lars T. Lih As we have seen, the Bolsheviks came into 1917 with two pieces of Kautsky advice firmly under their belts: enlist the peasantry as a revolutionary ally, and do not […]
Before the War: The Bolsheviks Applaud Kautsky’s Tactics Lenin remained true to the tactical ideas of Karl Kautsky after the latter had abandoned them. By Lars T. Lih In recent months, Jacobin has seen an exchange of views on the theme of Kautsky vs Lenin. Many good points were made, but on the subject of […]
Mike Taber’s article below responds to Eric Blanc’s text “Why Kautsky was right and why you should care.” Eric Blanc is a talented Marxist historian and activist, with a reputation for questioning accepted wisdom. While one may not always agree with all of his conclusions, Eric’s works generally have a refreshing quality that can only […]
by Eric Blanc The article that follows first appeared in Jacobin, and is reprinted by permission of the author. The text is followed by references to related articles by Eric Blanc. Karl Kautsky’s vision for winning democratic socialism is more radical, and more relevant, than most leftists care to admit. With the recent upsurge in […]
The following is the concluding section of “The Driving Forces and the Prospects of the Russian Revolution,” written by Kautsky in 1906. For a discussion of this article, see “The Logic of Bolshevik ‘hegemony’ ”. Selected and translated by Lars T. Lih.
By Eric Blanc. Abstract: This article reexamines the perspectives on the state and revolution advocated by the early Karl Kautsky and revolutionary social democrats across the Tsarist Empire. Contrary to a common misconception, these “orthodox” Marxists rejected the possibility of a peaceful and gradualist utilization of the capitalist state for socialist transformation. I show that […]
By John Riddell. Karl Kautsky’s 1909 article “Sects or class parties,” posted here on Eric Blanc’s suggestion, awakened my memories of what I heard and learned when I encountered the Marxist movement in Canada in the late 1950s. I do not recall any mention of Kautsky’s article then, but Kautsky’s line of argument was part […]
I’m glad that Eric Blanc was inspired to make Kautsky’s article “Party, class, and Marxism: Did Kautsky advocate ‘Leninism’” better known. Eric’s introductory comments are certainly cogent – I especially liked the bit at the end about not condescending to these people. My comments below are some rather random musings on the issues brought up […]
By Eric Blanc. (Eric Blanc is an activist and historian based in Oakland, California. For the text of the Kautsky article discussed here, see “Karl Kautsky: Sects or class parties”. A Spanish translation of Eric’s article has appear in Links: International Journal of Socialist Renewal.) The question of broad parties has been heatedly debated by […]
By Karl Kautsky. The following article, first published in Neue Zeit in April 1909 (vol. 27, second part, no. 27 ), is republished from Marxists Internet Archive. Some paragraphing has been added and some typographic errors corrected. It is published in conjunction with a commentary by Eric Blanc: “Party, class, and Marxism: Did Kautsky advocate […]
Lars Lih is widely known as one of the most influential and innovative contemporary historians of Marxism. He has provided the following listing of his online articles on Lenin, Karl Kautsky, and Bolshevism. For each article, I have added a quotation indicating its topic. I’ve also added a stimulating recent interview. See also “More ‘Lars […]
Editor’s Note on the 21 Conditions During 1920, a wide range of socialist parties and currents were considering affiliation to the newly formed Communist International. Many of these formations were still mired, in their policies and practices, in the weaknesses of the Second International, which had collapsed at the outset of the World War in […]
The following is an edited version of a talk given at the Online Communist Forum, based in London UK, on 27 March 2022. In it Mike Taber discusses a new book he is preparing, to be published by Haymarket Books. By Mike Taber: Thanks for the invitation to speak at the Online Communist Forum. Some […]