Vasily Vorontsov
Encyclopedia
Vasilii Pavlovich Vorontsov (Pseudonym: V.V., 1847-1918) was an influential Russian narodnik
economist and sociologist, one of the principal protagonists in the controversy between narodnik and Marxist
economists (like G.V. Plehkanov and P.B. Struve) in the 1880s and '90s.
Vorontsov was one of the first Russian economists to study the works of Karl Marx
and was strongly influenced by Marx' historical materialism. However, unlike other early Russian students of Marx (e.g., N.I. Ziber
, N.F. Danielson
or G.V. Plekhanov
), Vorontsov did not think the development of industrial capitalism was possible in Russia. His argument was that Russia did not have access to sufficient markets to fuel capitalist industrialisation: foreign markets were largely dominated by older, established capitalist powers, and Russia's domestic demand was too weak. As the 1890s wore on, Vorontsov had to admit that capitalism had made some inroads in Russia, but he attributed this to misguided government policies, such as protective tariffs on foreign manufactured goods, subsidies and low-interest loans to Russian industrialists and an ambitious infrastructure programme (e.g., railway building), together with agrarian policies designed to undermine communal land tenure. By contrast, Danielson thought that industrial capitalism had already taken root in Russia and that industrialisation was not necessarily bad, but that Russia, owing to its belated development, did not have to reproduce all the forms of capitalist relations of production under which industrialisation had occurred in the West, but could proceed to a more humane non-capitalist form of modernisation. Nevertheless, Vorontsov and Danielson are usually grouped together as major exponents of narodnik economics (much to Danielson's dismay).
The thesis that Russia did not have to undergo a period of capitalist development was sharply attacked by Russian Marxist economists. One of the earliest Russian Marxists, the economics professor N.I. Ziber (who was not a revolutionary), interpreted Marx to mean that a prolonged period of capitalism was a necessary 'historical stage' any society must undergo. While capitalism might already be in a state of crisis in Western Europe, in Russia, its development had just begun. The prospect for the foreseeable future -- which Ziber welcomed -- would therefore be a period of capitalist modernisation lasting several decades at least. Plekhanov, Struve and the young V.I. Lenin
, who were associated with the revolutionary movement and with the founding of Russian Social-Democracy (RSDRP), looked for a quicker transition to socialism (although in the 1890s they insisted that Russia's coming revolution would be 'bourgeois-democratic'). Pace Vorontsov, they argued that the development of capitalism in Russia was not only inevitable but had already progressed sufficiently far to make its future breakdown visible on the horizon. They also disputed Vorontsov's argument that lack of markets made capitalism 'impossible' in Russia. The controversy between narodnik and Marxist economists in the 1880s and '90s was crucial in the formulation of Russian "orthodox" Marxism, and hence in the ideology that subsequently influenced the ideologies of Menshevism and Bolshevism and its derivatives.
Vorontsov sympathised with the February Revolution of 1917 but opposed the October Revolution
. Nevertheless he remained in Russia. He died in 1918.
Narodnik
Narodniks was the name for Russian socially conscious members of the middle class in the 1860s and 1870s. Their ideas and actions were known as Narodnichestvo which can be translated as "Peopleism", though is more commonly rendered "populism"...
economist and sociologist, one of the principal protagonists in the controversy between narodnik and Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
economists (like G.V. Plehkanov and P.B. Struve) in the 1880s and '90s.
Life
V.P. Vorontsov came from a distinguished aristocratic family. In the 1860s and '70s he became involved in the populist (narodnik) movement. Although he had contacts with illegal narodnik circles, he was not himself involved in significant revolutionary activity. Instead, he was associated with the 'Legal Populists' who advocated political and economic reform from above. In particular, Vorontsov advocated measures to protect the repartitional peasant land commune which still survived in Russia.Vorontsov was one of the first Russian economists to study the works of Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
and was strongly influenced by Marx' historical materialism. However, unlike other early Russian students of Marx (e.g., N.I. Ziber
Nikolai Ziber
Nikolai Ivanovich Ziber was a Russian academic economist and one of the first advocates of Marxism in Russia. His interpretation of Marxism differed sharply from that of early narodnik economists like V.P. Vorontsov and N.F. Danielson and laid the groundwork for the 'orthodox' Marxism of G.V....
, N.F. Danielson
Nikolai Danielson
Nikolai Frantsevich Danielson was a Russian economist and sociologist.-Early Life:...
or G.V. Plekhanov
Georgi Plekhanov
Georgi Valentinovich Plekhanov was a Russian revolutionary and a Marxist theoretician. He was a founder of the Social-Democratic movement in Russia and was one of the first Russians to identify himself as "Marxist." Facing political persecution, Plekhanov emigrated to Switzerland in 1880, where...
), Vorontsov did not think the development of industrial capitalism was possible in Russia. His argument was that Russia did not have access to sufficient markets to fuel capitalist industrialisation: foreign markets were largely dominated by older, established capitalist powers, and Russia's domestic demand was too weak. As the 1890s wore on, Vorontsov had to admit that capitalism had made some inroads in Russia, but he attributed this to misguided government policies, such as protective tariffs on foreign manufactured goods, subsidies and low-interest loans to Russian industrialists and an ambitious infrastructure programme (e.g., railway building), together with agrarian policies designed to undermine communal land tenure. By contrast, Danielson thought that industrial capitalism had already taken root in Russia and that industrialisation was not necessarily bad, but that Russia, owing to its belated development, did not have to reproduce all the forms of capitalist relations of production under which industrialisation had occurred in the West, but could proceed to a more humane non-capitalist form of modernisation. Nevertheless, Vorontsov and Danielson are usually grouped together as major exponents of narodnik economics (much to Danielson's dismay).
The thesis that Russia did not have to undergo a period of capitalist development was sharply attacked by Russian Marxist economists. One of the earliest Russian Marxists, the economics professor N.I. Ziber (who was not a revolutionary), interpreted Marx to mean that a prolonged period of capitalism was a necessary 'historical stage' any society must undergo. While capitalism might already be in a state of crisis in Western Europe, in Russia, its development had just begun. The prospect for the foreseeable future -- which Ziber welcomed -- would therefore be a period of capitalist modernisation lasting several decades at least. Plekhanov, Struve and the young V.I. Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
, who were associated with the revolutionary movement and with the founding of Russian Social-Democracy (RSDRP), looked for a quicker transition to socialism (although in the 1890s they insisted that Russia's coming revolution would be 'bourgeois-democratic'). Pace Vorontsov, they argued that the development of capitalism in Russia was not only inevitable but had already progressed sufficiently far to make its future breakdown visible on the horizon. They also disputed Vorontsov's argument that lack of markets made capitalism 'impossible' in Russia. The controversy between narodnik and Marxist economists in the 1880s and '90s was crucial in the formulation of Russian "orthodox" Marxism, and hence in the ideology that subsequently influenced the ideologies of Menshevism and Bolshevism and its derivatives.
Vorontsov sympathised with the February Revolution of 1917 but opposed the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
. Nevertheless he remained in Russia. He died in 1918.
Works
- Sud’by kapitalizma v Rossii. St. Petersburg, 1882.
- Ocherki kustarnoi promyshlennosti v Rossii. St. Petersburg, 1886.
- “Krest’ianskaia obshchina.” In Itogi ekonomicheskikh issledovanii Rossii po dannym zemskoi statistiki, vol. 1. Moscow, 1892.
- Artel’nye nachinaniia russkogo obshchestva. St. Petersburg, 1895.
- Sud’ba kapitalisticheskoi Rossii. St. Petersburg, 1907.
- Ot semidesiatykh godov k deviatisotym. St. Petersburg, 1907.