Stalin: From Theology to the Philosophy of Socialism in Power
Authors: Boer, Roland
Free Preview- Examines the complex role of theology in Stalin’s political philosophy through a painstaking study of Stalin's texts
- A pioneering study of the thought generated from the realities of socialism in power
- Identifies distinctly new – and for some controversial – contributions Stalin made to the Marxist tradition
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- About this book
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This book not only explicates Stalin’s thoughts, but thinks with and especially through Stalin. It argues that Stalin often thought at the intersections between theology and Marxist political philosophy – especially regarding key issues of socialism in power. Careful and sustained attention to Stalin’s written texts is the primary approach used. The result is a series of arresting efforts to develop the Marxist tradition in unexpected ways.
Starting from a sympathetic attitude toward socialism in power, this book provides us with an extremely insightful interpretation of Stalin’s philosophy of socialism. It is not only a successful academic effort to re-articulate Stalin’s philosophy, but also a creative effort to understand socialism in power in the context of both the former Soviet Union and contemporary China.
------- Zhang Shuangli, Professor of Marxist philosophy, Fudan University
Boer's book, far from both "veneration" and "demonization" of Stalin, throws new light on the classic themes of Marxism and the Communist Movement: language, nation, state, and the stages of constructing post-capitalist society. It is an original book that also pays great attention to the People's Republic of China, arising from the reforms of Deng Xiaoping, and which is valuable to those who, beyond the twentieth century, want to understand the time and the world in which we live.
-------Domenico Losurdo, University of Urbino, Italy, author of Stalin: The History and Critique of a Black Legend.
- About the authors
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Roland Boer is a distinguished overseas research professor at Renmin University of China, Beijing, and research professor at the University of Newcastle, Australia. Among numerous works on Marxism, religion and philosophy, he has published the five-volume work, The Criticism of Heaven and Earth (2007-14). In 2014 he was awarded the Isaac and Tamara Deutscher Memorial Prize. He has also published Lenin, Religion, and Theology (2013) and is director of the ‘Socialism in Power’ international research project.
- Reviews
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“By utilizing Christian Theology, Boer is able to synthesize a new understanding of the thoughts and writings of Stalin that is both comprehensive and rigorous. It is here that I would like to claim, ‘If you want to understand Stalin and the U.S.S.R. in which he presided over, then there is no better book.’” (Dalton Winfree, Marx and Philosophy, marxandphilosophy.org.uk, September, 2018)
- Table of contents (6 chapters)
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Stalin’s Bible
Pages 1-18
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The Delay of Communism: Stalin and Proleptic Communism
Pages 19-46
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Babel Versus Pentecost, or, the Dialectic of Linguistic Diversity
Pages 47-64
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A Materialist Doctrine of Good and Evil: Stalin’s Revision of Marxist Anthropology
Pages 65-114
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Party and People, or, Transcendence and Immanence
Pages 115-139
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Table of contents (6 chapters)
- Download Preface 1 PDF (52.9 KB)
- Download Sample pages 2 PDF (251.4 KB)
- Download Table of contents PDF (128.1 KB)
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Bibliographic Information
- Bibliographic Information
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- Book Title
- Stalin: From Theology to the Philosophy of Socialism in Power
- Authors
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- Roland Boer
- Copyright
- 2017
- Publisher
- Springer Singapore
- Copyright Holder
- Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
- eBook ISBN
- 978-981-10-6367-1
- DOI
- 10.1007/978-981-10-6367-1
- Hardcover ISBN
- 978-981-10-6366-4
- Softcover ISBN
- 978-981-13-4865-5
- Edition Number
- 1
- Number of Pages
- XXII, 240
- Topics