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Socialism in One Country

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	Topics Socialism in One Country Topic Home Socialism in One Country was a thesis developed by Nikolai BukharinNikolai Bukharin Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin , was a Bolshevik revolutionary and intellectual, and later a Soviet politician.... in 1925 and adopted as state policy by Joseph StalinJoseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin , alternatively transliterated Josef Stalin, was the de facto leader and dictator of ... . The thesis held that given the defeat of all communist revolutionCommunist revolution Summary A communist revolution is a proletarian revolution inspired by the ideas of Marxism that aims to replace capitalism with com... s in Europe from 1917–1921 except in Russia, the Soviet UnionFacts About Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , more commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a Communist state that existed... should begin to strengthen itself internally. This theory revised Lenin's belief that, while a revolution may happen in one country, the final success of socialism in one country, especially in such as RussiaRussia Russia , also the Russian Federation , is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of Eurasia.... , is impossible without proletarian revolutions in other, advanced countries of Western Europe (see "World revolutionFacts About World revolution World revolution is a Marxist concept of a violent overthrow of capitalism that would take place in all countries, although ... "). Background According to Stalin and his supporters, the idea of socialism in one country was strengthened by the defeat of several proletarian revolutionProletarian revolution A proletarian revolution is a social and/or political revolution in which the working class overthrows capitalism.... s in countries like GermanyGerman Revolution The German Revolution is a series of events that occurred before and after the end of World War I in 1918-1919, culminating ... and HungaryHungarian Soviet Republic The Hungarian Soviet Republic was the political regime in Hungary from March 21, 1919 until the beginning of August of the s... , which ended BolshevikBolshevik Bolsheviks were members of the Bolshevik faction of the Marxist Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party.... hopes for an imminent world revolutionWorld revolution World revolution is a Marxist concept of a violent overthrow of capitalism that would take place in all countries, although ... . In the first edition of the book Osnovy Leninizma (Foundations of Leninism, 1924), Stalin was still a follower of Lenin's idea that revolution in one country is insufficient. But by the end of that year, in the second edition of the book, his position started to turn around: the "proletariatProletariat The proletariat is a term used to identify a lower social class; a member of such a class is proletarian.... can and must build the socialist society in one country". In April 1925 Nikolai BukharinNikolai Bukharin Overview Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin , was a Bolshevik revolutionary and intellectual, and later a Soviet politician.... elaborated the issue in his brochure Can We Build Socialism in One Country in the Absence of the Victory of the West-European Proletariat? The position was adopted as the state policy after Stalin's January 1926 article On the Issues of Leninism (? ???????? ?????????). 1925-6 signaled a shift from the immediate activity of the CominternComintern The Comintern was an international Communist organization founded in March 1919, in the midst of the "war communism" period,... , the Communist International, from world revolution towards a defense of the Soviet state. This period, up to 1928, was known as the "Second Period", mirroring the shift in the USSR from war communismWar communism War communism or wartime communism was the economic policy adopted by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War with... to the New Economic PolicyNew Economic Policy The New Economic Policy was officially decided in the course of the 10th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union... . In his 1915 article "On the Slogan for a United States of Europe", Lenin stated the following: "...Uneven economic and political development is an absolute law of capitalism. Hence, the victory of socialism is possible first in several or even in one capitalist country alone. After expropriating the capitalists and organising their own socialist production, the victorious proletariat of that country will arise against the rest of the world ...". After Lenin's death, Stalin used this quote and others to argue that Lenin shared his view of Socialism in One Country. Criticism and reaction The theory of Socialism in One Country was vigorously criticized by ZinovievZinoviev Zinoviev, Zinovyev or Zinovieva is a Russian surname.... and Trotsky. In particular, Trotskyists often claimed, and still claim, that Socialism in One Country opposes both the basic tenets of MarxismMarxism Marxism refers to the philosophy and social theory based on Karl Marx's work on one hand, and to the political practice base... and Lenin's particular beliefs that while a communist revolution may happen first in one country, the final success of socialism in one country depends upon the revolution's degree of success in internationalizingProletarian internationalism Proletarian internationalism is a Marxist social class theory concept that members of the working class should act in solida... itself and would ultimately be impossible without successful proletarian revolutions in the more advanced countries of Western EuropeWestern Europe Western Europe is mainly a socio-political concept coined, forged and used during the Cold War.... . Trotskyists base their criticism of Socialism in One Country on Trotsky's theory of Permanent RevolutionPermanent Revolution Permanent Revolution is a Marxist theory most closely associated with Leon Trotsky, devised as an explanation of how sociali... . Trotsky believed that the development of the international division of labor made autarkyAutarky Summary An autarky is an economy that limits trade with the outside world, or an ecosystem not affected by influences from its outsi... , or economic isolation from the world, economically reactionary in its own right. Yet, Trotsky acknowledged that dependence upon the international capitalist market leads to economic plans becoming subordinate to world capitalism. He elaborated on these theses in his works The Draft Program of the Communist International: A Criticism of Fundamentals and Permanent Revolution. Relation to Leninism Stalin claimed that his theory of "Socialism in one country" is a further development of Leninism. In his February 14, 1938 Response to Comrade Ivanov ("????? ???????? ???????, ????? ??????????"), formulated as an answer to a question of a "comrade Ivanov" mailed to PravdaFacts About Pravda *Pravda* was a leading newspaper of the Soviet Union and an official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party... newspaper, Stalin splits the question in two parts. The first side of the question is in terms of the internal relations within the Soviet Union: whether it is possible to construct the Socialist Society by defeating the local bourgeoisie and fostering the union of workers and peasants. Stalin quotes Lenin that "we have everything necessary to construct the complete socialism" and claims that despite the claims of Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev ("who later became spies and fascist agents", in Stalin's words), the socialist society has for the most part been indeed constructed. The second side of the question is in terms of external relations: whether the victory of the socialism is final, i.e., whether capitalism cannot possibly be restored. Here Stalin cites Lenin that the final victory is possible only on the international scale and only with the help of the workers of other countries. In other words, Stalin draws a line between the "victory of socialism or the victory of socialist construction in one country" and the "ultimate victory of socialism" stating that the latter problem cannot be solved only by internal efforts. Communist Revolution in One Country "Will it be possible for this revolution to take place in one country alone? No. By creating the world market, big industry has already brought all the peoples of the Earth, and especially the civilized peoples, into such close relation with one another that none is independent of what happens to the others. Further, it has co-ordinated the social development of the civilized countries to such an extent that, in all of them, bourgeoisie and proletariat have become the decisive classes, and the struggle between them the great struggle of the day. It follows that the communist revolution will not merely be a national phenomenon but must take place simultaneously in all civilized countries—that is to say, at least in England, America, France, and Germany. It will develop in each of the these countries more or less rapidly, according as one country or the other has a more developed industry, greater wealth, a more significant mass of productive forces. Hence, it will go slowest and will meet most obstacles in Germany, most rapidly and with the fewest difficulties in England. It will have a powerful impact on the other countries of the world, and will radically alter the course of development which they have followed up to now, while greatly stepping up its pace. It is a universal revolution and will, accordingly, have a universal range." — Friedrich EngelsFriedrich Engels Friedrich Engels , a 19th-century German... , The Principles of Communism, 1847 External links , Trotsky, Leon, 1928 (also know as "The Third International After Lenin") Engels, Frederick 1874